How Can the "16 Personalities" Test Help You Be a Better Leader
A quick hint: it has to do with getting to know your team to the fullest.
Architect. Logistician. Advocate. Entrepreneur. If those sound to you just as randomly listed occupations or job titles, then perhaps you haven't taken the 16 Personalities Test. But trust me on this — you should, and so should your team members!
In today's article, I'd like to focus on the advantages of taking the 16 Personalities Test in terms of leading a team in a company. Of course, this test can be taken by just about anybody for no apparent reason whatsoever. Its main goal is to give a person detailed information about their personality. It's quick, easy, and incredibly funny — yet, the end results sound so accurate and curious.
So, if you are a leader who finds it hard managing their team or just one who wishes to be the best leader possible, I strongly encourage you to spare 10 minutes of your busy day to take the test. I promise you'll come across some quite valuable information that will make you think and will help you further evaluate each and every person's unique individuality.
Let's get to it!
The art of getting to know people is the very fundament of proper leadership.
As a team leader in a company, one is supposed to not only adequately distribute the workload among the employees but also communicate with them on a daily basis, solve problems, come up with decisions, etc. In order to do so properly, the leader should, by all means, know their team quite well. If you're wondering why this is so important, let me explain.
Leadership as a whole is strongly based upon communication and relationships. Imagine being assigned to a project — you are aware of the deadlines, the client's requirements, as well as the expected end results. Your job would be to assign a variety of tasks to each team member and manage the establishment of those same tasks and duties. But in order for you to do so, you first need to properly know your colleagues, so you know which task to assign to which member of the team.
We all have strengths and weaknesses — while some of us are excellent multitaskers, others prefer focusing on one task at a time. Some of us are great at executing tasks through the Agile methodology, while others prefer the strict planning behind the Waterfall system. Some people are incredibly proactive and always ready to take the initiative; others are more laid-back individuals who prefer to be given instructions and to be constantly supervised.
As you can see, people have a tremendous volume of personalities, characteristics, and quirks. Much like we tend to change our approach in daily situations when we communicate with different individuals, we also can change our professional approach when it comes to communicating with team members regarding tasks and projects.
The reason this attitude works charms is mainly because we take into consideration each person's individuality. This way, we can better communicate and better acknowledge each person's needs, strengths, and preferences.
What exactly is the 16 Personalities Test, and how can you use it to your advantage in leadership
The 16 Personalities Test is a free test whose goal is to determine a person's character type by them answering quiz-like questions. The software at the end gets their answers and calculates the person's type, providing detailed information regarding the level of extroversion, strengths, weaknesses, approach toward life, other people, and situations, etc. It gives you a full picture of your personality — essentially, this helps you better understand yourself and the majority of your thoughts and actions in various situations.
The 16 Personalities Test groups people into four major character types as follows:
- Analysts — those are the logical and analytical people among us who prefer rational thinking over emotional response. In this group, we find the Architect, Logician, Commander, and Debater subtypes.
- Diplomats — are often described as intuitive, rather introverted, empathetic, and diplomatic. In this group, we find the Advocate, Mediator, Protagonist, and Campaigner subtypes.
- Sentinels — this group is defined by strong judgment, stability, and focus on order. In this group, we find the Logistician, Defender, Executive, and Consul subtypes.
- Explorers — the explorers are defined as being rather extroverted, flexible, and wishing to observe and try things out. In this group, we find the Virtuoso, Adventurer, Entrepreneur, and Entertainer subtypes.
As you can see, each and every group is quite different than the other with each subtype being quite different from the other subtypes even in the same main group. The test results can only further prove to us peoples' uniqueness in terms of character and individuality.
Now, imagine leading a team filled with representatives of each of the four main groups. Do you really think one single approach would work the best way possible with all of those differences in character?
Leadership has much to do with psychology.
Knowing someone definitely helps you in terms of finding the right path toward communication and teamwork. The 16 Personalities Test could be a fun way to get to know your team more and act accordingly in terms of task assignments.
People have different work pace.
While some people can be really quick when it comes to task execution, others may need more time and a sense of calmness when working.
It's important to know who in your team is extroverted or introverted
The right approach in terms of extroversion and introversion is definitely a key toward successfully initiated workflow.
Each person's personality can tell you a lot about their need for micromanagement.
As I've stated, there are people who prefer to be more proactive and free in decision-making, while others feel calmer and more confident when being micromanaged and supervised.
The above-mentioned character traits are just a fair example of how inconvenient having a single approach toward everybody can be. Instead of viewing your team as one person only, perhaps you'd prefer to view them as the individuals they really are. Of course, getting to know someone usually takes years and a lot of situations — sadly, in leadership and management, we hardly have the chance to do so. That's why having a fun yet effective tool might be quite helpful.
Besides, engaging your team in taking the 16 Personalities Test can indeed be a mutual fun activity, perfect for team building. Get together and take the test — then share your results in turns and openly communicate to what extent the information appears to be correct for every single one of you.
In a nutshell
Getting to know your team members is actually very important, especially if you want your work and projects to run smoothly and effortlessly. While there are many ways to get to know your colleagues, this test is one of the fun ones — besides, it can give you a solid starting point.
Hi, guys, I'm Ivan, and I'm here to share with all of you my passion for words, great content, entrepreneurship, personal development, management, hobbies, and everything in between.
I serve as the CEO of my WordPress Development Agency @ Vipe Studio, where I have the pleasure to lead a diverse, wonderful and energetic team of experts. Feel free to contact me anytime — I would love to exchange new ideas and inspire each other!
