4 Ways Understanding Personality Types Can Benefit You

Every one of my friends loves personality testing. Every. Single. One. My best friend is a certified Myers Briggs administrator. I’ve read 2 books this week about The Enneagram alone. Letters, numbers, categories, analyzing, matchmaking, occupation/spiritual calling-finding fill my Sunday brunch conversations. As an ethical opportunist (self-characterization), I’m always looking to understand people more deeply and assimilate that information in a practical way. Some helpful uses of personality analysis:

To get ahead in business. An astute coworker said she keeps her personality nuances private, because savvy climbers in a competitive corporate environment can use your weaknesses against you. I never considered this before, but she is right. I choose to look for personality types in the office, so I can adjust my communication style and work approach to be more effective. If a person is a data-driven decision maker, I present facts. If a person is type A and anxious, I give clear timeline expectations and frequent follow-up. If a person is a sensitive feeler, I’m empathetic and look for healthy compromise.

To find out if you are my soul mate. You probably most definitely are my soul mate, because I fall in love with everyone (I’m an ENFP, after all). It is incredibly efficient to look for objective personality traits that fundamentally don’t work with mine and vice versa (particularly while wading through online dating profiles, ahem). I typically know by the second day of texting what the person’s Myers Briggs type is (or my best guess). To work out family issues. I have fun at holidays testing my family members for personality types and reading Myers Briggs and Enneagram descriptions. It’s a way of saying, “Let’s all remember we are VERY different (winky smiley face).” Through personality awareness, we can learn to accept these differences as a reality of functioning in a beautifully diverse world and not as a personal slight.

To find out who’s a friend and who’s…um….better as an acquaintance. I’m learning who is “safe” to share my thoughts and feelings with and who drives me up the emotional wall. The result of this personality study has given me healthy boundaries. Some of my personality peeves are: Demanding too much of my time and attention (I’m independent). Being too data-driven to read the grey between the lines (I’m intuitive). Forcefully sharing your opinion without understanding that I’m a processor and will get there on my own, eventually (I’m a messy thinker). You get the idea. It takes all kinds to make the world go round, but not “all kinds” are my or your bestie.

Personality tests and our perception of them are flawed, but their positive impact is real, and even fun. Some people understandably writhe at being put in an identity box and seemingly judged this way. The best intent is not to mechanically define a person, but to appreciate their strengths and understand their weaknesses, as well as our own.