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Better work relationships: understanding personalities

31st May 2016
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CABA provides lifelong support for past and present ICAEW members.

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Whether you’re a manager, supervisor, team leader or co-worker, knowing what motivates you, your strengths, weaknesses and what working methods get the best out of you can understandably help to boost your energy and productivity.

If you work with other people, having a similar awareness about them can also be important if you want to work together effectively and have good working relationships. Knowing and accepting the differences between the people you work with – and making the most of those differences – isn’t just good for the individuals concerned, it’s good for business too.

One of the best ways to discover what makes you and your co-workers tick is to take a personality test. There are, of course, numerous different types of personality tests available, but one that’s based on the classic personality types as described by Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers is the Jung Typology Test.

In 1971, Jung published his psychological types, characterising people as extroverted or introverted, sensing or intuitive, and thinking or feeling. Briggs Myers – an author and researcher who used Jung’s ideas – added two further personality characteristics to Jung’s list: judging or perceiving.

Extrovert vs introvert   If you’re an extrovert, you focus your attention on the external world, whereas introverts look inwards.

Sensing vs intuitive   These characteristics describe how you take in information – sensing means you believe information comes directly from the external world, whereas an intuitive person believes information comes from their internal world or imagination.

Thinking vs feeling   These describe how you process information (if you’re a thinker, you use logic to make decisions; but feelers tend to make decisions based on their emotions).

Judging is perceiving   How you act on the information you process can be a matter of judging (you organise your life and stick to your plans) or perceiving (you’re more likely to improvise and explore alternatives).

Together, these eight characteristics form 16 individual personality types. For instance, the ESTJ type is extrovert/sensing/thinking/judging – someone who like to take charge and get things done, who’s hardworking and grounded in reality. If you’re an INFP, on the other hand, you’re introverted/intuitive/feeling/perceiving; an idealist who’s sensitive, caring, creative and compassionate.

Take the test

Once you and the people you work with have taken the Jung Typology Test, the results will undoubtedly help you to have a better awareness of each other.

For instance, different personalities have different learning styles – ESTJs like to ask direct questions and have information presented in a straightforward manner, whereas INFPs learn best when information actively engages their feelings, and they prefer to understand new information rather than memorise it in a mechanical way.

An ESTJ is likely to enjoy analysing problems logically, but may struggle with constant changes and working with others who are unorganised. An INFP, on the other hand, is usually more flexible and spontaneous, but they may find it difficult when their values are undermined or challenged.

Taking the test online is free, and involves answering a series of questions (it shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes to complete). At the end of the test, you receive your personality type and can click through to a detailed description.

Once you and your colleagues have completed the test, you may like to get together to discuss the results. Some of the things you may discover could include that some people need peace and quiet when they work, while others don’t mind distractions and may even actively thrive on social engagement at work.

Similarly you may find out that some of your colleagues perform best as part of a team, while others may prefer solo work; and that some need lots of facts and figures to make a decision, and others prefer to rely on instinct.

If you’re a manager, why not join us on our developing team resilience course? This course can help you to recognise the signs and symptoms of stress in yourself as well as the workers you manage, and how to apply effective stress management within your team.

Our Developing team resilience course is free to past and present ICAEW members and their families with people management or leadership responsibility within the public, voluntary, corporate and private sector. Visit our website to find out more, or call is on +44 (0) 1788 556 366.

For advice and information call +44 (0) 1788 556 366 or chat to an advisor online 24 hours a day.

 

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