The Power of Personality

I have always been interested in what makes people tick. As a teenager when the internet became a bigger thing (ugh, so old), you'd find me quizzing online "which Disney Princess are you?". Jump ahead to today and I'm the first to send my friends a new groundbreaking personality profiling tool I've discovered which has revealed the inner workings of my soul! From The Enneagram, to DISC and Myers Briggs, there are so many great tools that help put into words what makes each of us who we are.

When I mention my interest in personality profiling, people often groan.... Many objections arise, such as "I don't want to be pigeon holed!" or "I can change depending on the context". I get it, we don't want something/someone else to define us, neither do we want our awareness of these "traits" to become self fulfilling prophecies. All valid concerns. However, whether we profile or not, I believe it's so important for each of us occasionally to step back and reflect on our unique blend of strengths, weaknesses and everything in between. All sorts, including our history, circumstances and ambitions can affect how others perceive us and how we perceive ourselves, but I truly believe we can all point to some natural tendancies that have remained in us for as long as we can remember.

Both personally and professionally, I've gained a huge amount from understanding more about myself and what these tendencies are. It was once helpfully described to me that an awareness of oneself is like being presented with a pre-lit gas hob (bear with me here..). We are all "programmed", for want of a better word, with some traits "burning" more fiercely than others. For example, I am prone to walking into any situation with high empathy, but less assertiveness. As a deeply people oriented and relational person, I can struggle to push back or invite opposition, even when it's neccessary. Having an awareness of this and putting it into words enables me to adjust the "hob", as it were, before I enter a potentially challenging situation. I understand empathy is one of my strengths, but that it can present as a weakness when more objectivity is required. I can therefore give myself permission to "turn up" my assertiveness (however uncomfortable that may be!) when required. I can grow as a person through a greater awareness of myself, and navigate my relationships with a heightened understanding of where we are different.

As a recruiter, I'm quizzing people every day on what they want out of their job. I love it when the subject turns to personality and the nitty gritty of what people enjoy about their work, team, or work environment. Despite the stereotype, my job isn't about ticking boxes on a CV, but really understanding the person behind the paper, and making a match for the long term. Unlocking personality traits helps me in several ways, and most importantly it helps my candidates make good decisions about their next steps. I don't think any role is off limits to certain personality types at all, so I say this with a big caveat that it is categorically wrong to use any personality assesment as the sole basis for recruitment decision making, but it can be a great place to start for an honest conversation with someone about team fit. For example, if someone has great people skills and loves the relational aspects of their role, they aren't easily going to thrive in a role looking at a spreadsheet alone at home all day long.

We trundle through life so often without asking ourselves the simple questions that could be key to greater fulfilment in our personal and professional lives. Job searching does naturally lead us to reflect on ourselves, as we're forced to present ourselves to the world and be scrutinised in light of a company's own values. I like to ask my candidates questions like "What really comes naturally to you?" or "What would your team say about your strengths?" Sometimes this has led to much deeper conversations about what the future looks like for them.

So if you're looking for your next role, or happily working in a job you love, take a moment to reflect, and to celebrate what makes you, you! Remember you have the power to adapt, your personality doesn't mean you "can't" do anything, but allows you to own your strengths, celebrate and build on them. These are the strengths and differences unique to you that others do/will truly value on your team.

Check out Stopgap's own Character Analysis tool, found on our website (https://www.stopgap.co.uk/character-analysis) and shout if you want to chat through your results, or your next move with our team.

Oh and by the way, I was Ariel, always Ariel...