Is there a correlation between behaviors and career decisions?
I had the chance to interview Thomas Erikson, behaviorist and bestselling author of Surrounded by Idiots (2014).
In this episode, Thomas covers the (not so-straightforward) correlation between personality types and career drivers. Before diving into the topic, I asked him about his book.
A quick overview of Surrounded by Idiots
How did it start?
At 24 years old, Thomas was a bank director who struggled a lot with the job. ‘I didn’t do very well, and I caused a lot of chaos at that time.’
His manager’s manager referred him to HR, who suggested a personality assessment analysis — ‘a 25-page book about me which was true and hurtful to read’ says Thomas.
He never thought people in the company would perceive him in such a negative way. While he thought he was funny and charming, some people in the company found him frustrating.
Writing Surrounded by Idiots was a way for him to raise awareness by helping individuals understand different behaviors and, ultimately, improve their communication style in different situations.
How does it work?
It’s a basic 2x2 matrix based on the following:
- Extroversion
- Introversion
- Task orientation
- People orientation
It’s just a way to sort things out — you can act in as many combinations as you can imagine (19,468 algorithmically speaking).
The book describes behaviors, not motivators or personal drivers (two very different things!). There is no right or wrong. The trick is to define the people that you meet and try to understand them to communicate better in a specific environment.
What are the different color types?
How can readers identify their colors?
The danger with self-identifying your own colors is personal bias. We’re all biased and would like to have specific features.
What’s important is to understand and embrace your natural style. You can have two color styles or more. Reading Surrounded by Idiots gave me insights into my style and personality. If you don’t want to read the book (although quite enjoyable!), you can take this short and free DISC test analysis.
Deep dive into personality types and career drivers
How much of it is nurture versus nature?
Claims and results differ between which kind of research and psychological studies you look into.‘For the sake of argument, it’s a 47–48% split, with an X factor that was not yet determined,’ says Thomas. Let’s say half of your personality is inherited from your family (nature and genetics). The other half is driven by your environment, experiences, and traumas.
We’ve all experienced something unique that will ultimately influence and affect who we are in many different ways.
The DISC profile (the basis for the four-color system) was developed by psychologist William Moulton Marston in 1928. In his book, Emotions of Normal People, he says that when we reach adulthood (defined by the age of 23 years old in his book), that is when our personality ‘gets more fixed.’ It’s about when the front lobe is closing in: for girls, it’s around 18–19 years old; for boys, it’s around 23–24 years old.
That’s nature, it’s the fact, and there’s nothing we can do about it!
Is it possible to shift from one color to another?
‘If people want to shift, it means that they are dissatisfied with who they are. Don’t violate your personality it will give you stress-related diseases.’ says Thomas. For example, Yellows usually receives compliments about their personality, but there’s also the part about them forgetting everything, losing things, interrupting others…
You can still change your behavior. Yellows can decide to be Green (great listeners), Blue (detailed oriented), or Red (decisive and competitive).
You can add things, but you will never shift to a new color completely.
We consciously and continuously develop ourselves by fine-tuning our fundamental values as we go.
It’s up to you to live up to the first impression you’re giving.
There’s a difference between behaviors and drivers.
You can be Yellow with a theoretical driver — it doesn't necessarily make you Blue. It’s important to identify your drivers to understand your behaviors better.
You need a reason to pick a field or career. To do so, you need to observe yourself in different environments to know where you belong.
Figure out in which context you feel calm, motivated, inspired, and empowered. That’s where you should put most of your energy.
Thomas encourages young people to test as many things as they can, especially in their 20s; that’s the time to make mistakes and get closer to the things that make you happy, calmer, and more empowered.
Thomas’ personality: Blue and Red. Yellow on stage. No Green!
A smart person learns from their mistake. A wise person learns from everybody’s mistakes because life is too short to make mistakes on your own.
