It’s Monday afternoon and 40 Stanford MBAs are gazing longingly out the window of Knight Management Center to the 80 degree sunshine outside. There’s no way to get our attention. We’re graduating in 5 weeks; we’re outta here.
Our over-inflated egos already know we’re fascinating. But we don’t yet know how to prove it, scientifically.
We took the How to Fascinate personality test developed by Sally Hogshead, and low and behold, each of us was fascinating. Now you have our attention.
My archetype was “The Avant-garde,” which is described as “a forward-thinking and enterprising leader.” It’s amazing how accurate this test is.
My bubble burst when I discovered my “primary advantage” was Prestige. The word reminds me of elitism, and I felt icky. I consoled myself with the description, which I read as ambitious rather than elitist.
Besides, my overall analytics were high on multiple dimensions, suggesting that I easily could be a number of different archetypes.
I was struck by how high my results were across the board, especially compared to the average user. This might be because I’m a bit of an extreme personality across most of these dimensions. Or perhaps more likely, it might mean that I tend to inflate my own scores in self-reported diagnostics. After all, we all tend to think we’re above average.
Now my secondary advantage, Innovation, that was exciting. Apparently I’m amongst the visionary leaders Madonna and Betty White. Sally, you flatter me too much. Don’t stop.
It felt good to be recognized for what I consider to be my best trait, and the one that is most exciting and motivational to me. It also justified my petrifying yet invigorating plan to launch my career as a self-employed creative after graduation.
Now let’s get to my “dormant advantage” (re: weakness). Mine was Mystique. Shocker. I’ve always been an open book; I’ve never been one to hide my emotions and opinions. If they’re not coming out of my mouth, they’re written all over my overly-expressive face. To quote Sally, I’m “dramatic” at times.
Thanks a lot, Sally. I guess I don’t leave a lot of my “mystique” to the imagination.
What I liked about Sally’s take on my “weakness” was that she encouraged me to accept my weakness for what it was, and not to try to force anything. She describes how using your dormant advantage “feels like quicksand.” In my case, using mystique costs me “disproportionate amount(s) of energy,” just like Sally describes.
Honestly, Sally’s approval of me not using my mystique and instead playing to my other advantages felt like a relief. Phew! I hate trying to be something I’m not.
All in all, the diagnostic gave me validation. Validation of who I think I am, and a playbook for using my strengths to be my best self. Thanks Sally!
Now, back to the sun.
