Comments on: Putting Your Personality to Work http://gigaom.com/collaboration/putting-your-personality-to-work/ Fri, 25 May 2012 10:45:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Marc http://gigaom.com/collaboration/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62759 Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:57:28 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/08/07/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62759 I used to think/feel the same way as the first two responders above. However, I have come to recognize certain ‘default’ patterns of behavior that myself and others that I know tend to slip into. Yes, we can adapt in ways that are contrary to our nature, but once the crisis is over or the goal achieved, it takes great discipline to not slide back into our well worn grooves of behavior. These ‘tendencies’ exert a very powerful influence over our lives. Like the force of gravity, it is ever present in the background, exerting its inevitable influence over the long term. The smart thing to do is to place yourself in environments that leverage your natural strengths.

Labels are only bad if they are false to begin with, or are abused or misused. Labels aren’t needed if an employee has a work history to draw on when considering promotions, etc. Never-the-less, there are pigeon holes that are 100% accurate in defining our limits. Being labeled as a human means that I won’t be experiencing the world of air currents or of ocean currents in the way of an eagle or a whale anytime soon.

]]> By: Michael RoBards http://gigaom.com/collaboration/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62758 Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:03:31 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/08/07/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62758 Personality type can be a great way to improve relationships at work and home, but it isn’t designed to base hiring decisions upon the results. There are other great tests that can provide more in-depth personality analysis. The Insight Game (insightgame.org) was developed by a psychologist, and has been in use by universities and Fortune 500 companies for 16 years. It’s free and as accurate as any other test available. Good luck!

]]> By: Top Posts « WordPress.com http://gigaom.com/collaboration/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62757 Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:00:09 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/08/07/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62757 [...] Putting Your Personality to Work Companies spend a fortune putting people through Myers-Briggs, 360-degree feedback and predictive indexing — in […] [...]

]]> By: David Yeiser http://gigaom.com/collaboration/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62756 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:25:18 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/08/07/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62756 On the subject of personality tests, I would highly recommend Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham. Like The Personality Code, you get access to an online personality test with very accurate results (at least for me). It’s based on two decades of research with interviews of over a million employees worldwide.

]]> By: Suzanne Doyle http://gigaom.com/collaboration/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62755 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:10:57 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/08/07/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62755 Hey, read the blog entry again before you get all grumpy. ;-) I didn’t see anything about employers testing employees in it. Suggesting we (wherever we are in the hierarchy) could test ourselves makes sense to me. Seems like it’s just more self-information, so we can do a better job of what Quint talks about at the end of his or her comment (be self-aware and adapt more effectively to those around us and the situations we’re in). For the price of a book instead of a career or ‘life’ coach’s fees.

]]> By: Luke Hoersten http://gigaom.com/collaboration/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62754 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:39:35 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/08/07/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62754 I’ve never taken one of these tests before but I’d like to in order to form a more accurate opinion about them. Does anyone know of any reputable free personailyt tests?

If they are anything like those job tests we all take in high school, then the personality test is nothing more than what we consciously see ourselves as.

]]> By: Jeffrey http://gigaom.com/collaboration/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62753 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:52:20 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/08/07/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62753 Myers Briggs, in particular, is complete bunk. It was created by someone with absolutely no medical or psychological training and attempts to reduce the entire spectrum of humanity into just sixteen possible types.

Half of the people who take the Myers Briggs test turn out to have a different “personality type” the next time they take the test, which is the classic definition of pseudo-science.

If your employer tries to foist this junk on you, you should refuse. (A worker did this at Wal-Mart, sued them, and won.)

]]> By: Quint http://gigaom.com/collaboration/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62752 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:27:38 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/08/07/putting-your-personality-to-work/#comment-62752 I think personality tests are bunk. They are a cheap way for companies to measure and label everyone and pigeonhole them based on a $15.00 scantron fill in the circle survey. People should be hired based on skills and past performance, and even on the gut reaction of the interviewer. I would trust that over a personality test any day.

How many excellent employees are passed over in organizations because some lame quiz said the applicant is an otter, and the hiring manager was looking for a camel because the metrics say a camel will fit in better with their team.

I don’t believe my “personality type” defines who I am, or how I will react in a given situation. If I am truly self aware, I can rise above the labels, and choose my reactions appropriately in the circumstance. I can change and adapt to my environment, and if I find my environment unsuitable, I can leave and find a new one.

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