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People love personality tests and online media has a lot of them. But if you’re looking for deep insights, the type that will actually help you better understand who you are, why you react the way you do, and what your strengths are, quit that Buzzfeed quiz about what “Parks and Rec” character you’re most like (apparently I’m more like Jerry, hell no!). Instead consider taking these personality tests.
I have always been fascinated with the why we communicate and act in certain ways. In my young adult years, I used to do all sorts of quizzes, but it wasn’t until I decided to launch in business that this got serious. Exploring who I am, getting to know myself better, helped me become more aware of my strengths, my weaknesses, my decision-making process, my accountability habits and potential to grow.
As an entrepreneur, these are all important aspects to reflect on – our mindset will make or break our business and joy of life. The reason I’m listing these personality tests is because I know entrepreneurs who are just starting are having a hard time developing clarity about their mission, building the confidence to get started (and continue even when they’re struggling). I’m also sharing because these are great resources for entrepreneurs and individuals who want to grow, who want to become better in life, in business, and in their relationships.
Myers-Briggs personality test
The Myers-Briggs is one of the most popular personal strengths tests out there. It was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Briggs, and it aims to identify the preferences of each of the four dichotomies specified or implicit in Carl Jung’s theory (Extroversion (E) versus Introversion (I), Sensing (S) versus iNtuition (N), Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F), Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P)) and to identify and describe the 16 distinctive personality types that result from the interactions among the above mentioned preferences.
Sounds complicated, but this is just to give you some context on what this personality test aims to deliver.
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You can browse the description of the 16 personality types as described by the Myers-Briggs test, right here.
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You can see a sample of what a report looks like here.
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There are different ways to take the Myers-Briggs personality test. All details are available here. You can take it online for $49.95.
I took mine and I am ENFP, an Imaginative Motivator.
You can learn more about the Myers-Briggs Personalities with these books:
The 16personalities.com test
You can take a simplified version of the Myers-Briggs personality test at 16personalities.com for free.
This is my favorite personal strengths test and it’s an instrument I use on myself every year or so, just to see how I change year after year.
The only difference I noticed is moving from ENFJ-A (Protagonist) to ENFP-A (Campaigner) in a 3 years-span. It’s also one of the instruments I recommend to my coaching clients when they feel stuck or unclear on their strengths.
“We use the acronym format introduced by Myers-Briggs for its simplicity and convenience, with an extra letter to accommodate five rather than four scales. However, unlike Myers-Briggs or other theories based on the Jungian model, we have not incorporated Jungian concepts such as cognitive functions, or their prioritization. Jungian concepts are very difficult to measure and validate scientifically, so we’ve instead chosen to rework and rebalance the dimensions of personality called the Big Five personality traits, a model that dominates modern psychological and social research.” Source.
While this personal strengths test delivers some customized insights, the gold is in the description of every personality type. They give detailed information regarding strengths & weaknesses, relationships, friendships, parenthood, career paths and more. Obviously, not all of the info will feel true to yourself, don’t expect a perfect description of who you are, this is an online personality test after all.
In my case, the quote used to sum my personality hit home in a big way, as it describes my whole coaching philosophy:
DiSC personality test
The DiSC personal strengths test was introduced by Walter Clark in 1940, and aimed to measure dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness in individuals. It is commonly used in workplaces, team building events, and trainings to help participants become more self-aware about how they respond to conflict, what motivates them, what causes them stress, and how they solve problems, among other aspects.
Tony Robbins has a free version of a DISC personal strengths test available on his website. It uses a “simple, practical, easy to remember and universally applicable model” that “focuses on individual patterns of external, observable behaviors and measures the intensity of characteristics using scales of directness and openness for each of the four styles: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientious”.
These personality strength tests are not only for personal use. You can use them when you are recruiting new team members, interns or considering partnering up with someone you don’t really know at a deep level. These are general descriptions (obviously), but out of all the quizzes I tried (and there were many), I found these to be the most accurate.
I would love to hear from you and learn about your results, and maybe even some surprising facts that brought on introspection. Leave a comment to this article, or contact me via social media.