Every place I’ve worked has encompassed a broad dynamic of management and leadership, along with co-workers who each have complex personalities. I believe that the personalities of the people in an office greatly impact the culture, teamwork, management, and output.
Studying the characteristics of people’s personalities and how they communicate, feel and interact, set expectations, and approach the world is exciting for me and helpful to be aware of at work. Some of my favorite work-related websites and educational videos on social media are about personality tests and experts in the field who discuss personalities, organizational behavior, and leadership.
The Myers & Briggs Foundation website, which administers the MBTI Assessment, is quite interesting. The assessment asks you questions and then classifies you into 1 of 16 personality types based on your responses. Once you complete the test, you are provided your personality statistics and can search for specific information about yourself, from how you interact in social situations to how you like to work with others.
I’ve found my personality classification results to be very helpful in providing insights about myself in both my professional and work lives. I feel I am now more self-aware of my decision-making, as well as how others make decisions. I greatly value constructive feedback and ideas, and understanding how people like to receive feedback, and how that feedback is given, matters. Because I am more aware of the different ways people may like to receive ideas and feedback, I can give feedback better suited to the personality of the co-worker I’m speaking to, so they feel most comfortable and valued.
My infatuation with reading about personalities and organizational behavior started during college. Many reports required us to use the Harvard Business Review (HBR). From listening to my professors, participating in group assessments, and reading case studies and articles in the HBR, I became interested in the impacts of personalities on work culture, especially the reactions and effects of managers and leadership styles on employees. Just like everyone else, I had managers who I thought did a great job… and some who did a not-so-great job! By learning this information, I could prevent repeating some of those same mistakes.
As we impact each other every day at work, I think about the workplace puzzle and how the pieces of personalities fit together. I appreciate the research available that helps all of us better understand each other.
