Idealist Themes

This theme has four personality types associated with it: Foreseer Developer, Harmonizer Clarifier, Envisioner Mentor, & Discoverer Advocate.

Foreseer Developer: These individuals consider a worthy life as a process towards their own and others’ personal growth. If something does not create personal growth, then it is not worth engaging in. When something does generate personal growth, then all the efforts necessary to make that growth happen are worthwhile. They find it pleasurable to engage in problem solving in order to maintain the vision of what is possible and who we can become. Their lives are devoted to honoring the personal strengths of others, helping them discover what those strengths are and how to develop them. It is essential for them to explore all relevant issues and to navigate through all the emotions that are associate with those issues. Finding the most meaningful and creative approach to life gives them the inner-strength to allow others the space to be themselves and make their own choices. The difficulty comes when others don’t want to hear all the insights that they can give. Their senses of purpose is so profound, that they can be seen as overly task-oriented that can conflict with their more idealistic side. This often causes them a lot of stress, which can result in them withdrawing from others to seek some sort of relief and revitalization.

Harmonizer Clarifier: These individuals like to uncover the mysteries of life, personal values, and meaning in general. Learning about people and why they do things is pleasurable for this personality type, as is relating to others on a deep level and resolving issues with them. If they are to feel comfortable with their relationships, they need to understand what people’s intentions are. They find it fascinating to delve into what is right or wrong, the battle between good and evil, and what it means to have a sense of congruence with one’s own values. Facilitating listening and knowing the meaning behind what people say is their strong suite, as is their ability to help others enjoy who they are, accept and believe in themselves. At times, it is difficult for them to turn of the deep listening. They are constantly living in paradoxes and balancing opposites, while juggling the playful and serious sides of their personality. By relating to others through stories and metaphors they are able to connect differences, provide soft encouragement, and tap into the world without words that is the source of wisdom.

Envisioner Mentor: This personality type considers life’s meaning to be about succeeding at relationships to foster mutual growth. The creative process brings them joy, allowing them to bring a bright view and enthusiasm to the projects that they work on. Realizing their own dreams and helping other to the same is what sparks them to get up each day; a life without the process of manifesting one’s dreams is deemed worthless. Interpersonal relationships are fostered through logical explanations that can lead to development and a purposeful life. They are well aware of the occasional painful experience that comes with focusing so much attention on interpersonal relationships. In order to help people find their life vision, they use a thought process entailing integrative and global thinking. It is tremendously important to heed the call to one’s life mission and they are always available to help others’ discover their own. Their ease in connecting with others can become a hindrance to their own well-being as they can lose sight of their own identity by focusing to much on another person’s life. This can also make it difficult for them to live in the moment, as they spend much of their thinking energy on futuristic planning.

Discoverer Advocate: These individuals view life as a process of inspiring and assisting others, enabling them to reach their highest potential. They are able to look “into” a person’s core, see their unspoken goodness and help him/her discover their higher purpose. Exploring different perceptions and sharing deep emotional content is enjoyable for this personality type. It is essential that they develop ideal relationships where they are able to “connect” deeply. Their thought processes seem random, but in reality they are very connective and relational. Mediating differences and conflict comes easy to them and they have an uncanny knack for keeping communication channels open. They are able to make things happen without always knowing how they do it, which makes them seem “magical” as they respond courageously to their insights. It is easy for them to put their own needs and wants on hold when they are helping others. When they first meet someone, they either like that person or they don’t. Discovering a definitive direction for themselves is essential, and they can find themselves restless if the “magical” moment does not last.

Rational Themes

The four personality types associated with this theme are Conceptualizer Director, Designer Theorizer, Strategist Mobilizer and Explorer Inventor.

Conceptualizer Director: These individuals consider life to be a process of maximizing achievements versus just attaining accomplishments. These achievements are maximized if they entail deep thought and profound integration of everything that they have learned. A consistent drive for self-mastery allows them to stay focused on their intentions and the more they are challenged the happier they are. Their thinking can be described as analytical, integrative and very complex. They are able to analyze a situation and build a vision that no one else could have even thought of, which allows for a natural long-range visioning to occur. In order to help others understand the vision, they will dress it up with logic because very few are able to just stay with the general concept. It is easy for them to grasp the interrelatedness of everything in their Universe and to see the reasons behind things. Maintaining their independence is important to them, because it allows them their need to be an independent thinker. The need for independence can be a problem in the interpersonal realm as people can misread it for arrogance versus the desire to come up with useful solutions that will help people in the long run. Staying on course of their vision is necessary for their very survival, and they find life dull and draining during the “lows” of that progression.

Designer Theorizer: These individuals consider life to be about becoming an expert, which causes them to never quite feel like they are enough. Reflecting on how things work, why they work and making them work if they don’t is something they enjoy. Seeing new patterns, generating new ideas, and making elegant connections brings them a clarity for defining problems so that they can go right to the core of a problem, situation, or a concept. They are logically coherent, even if the outside world views them as random and chaotic. Their conceptualization and design work often involves crossing the arbitrary boundaries of thought and disciplines to spark the imagination so that they can see the patterns. Reflecting on the very process of thinking allows them to produce a design to solve both social and technical problems. They are also able to connect people to new ideas, information, and other people, which is a unique talent given their preference for solitude. The best relationships, for them, are made through sharing knowledge, even though they often detach from those very people to analyze a situation or problem before re-engaging those relationships. By default of this tendency, they are often viewed incorrectly as uncaring. They struggle with the physical world and have difficulty deciding what to wear and maintaining a healthy body. In addition, it is difficult for them to find the right words to accurately say what they are thinking.

Strategist Mobilizer: These individuals are leaders who maximize results by enhancing the talents of those that they lead and making them better people. Accomplishing and strategically coordinating complex projects while forging partnerships along the way provides these individuals with great joy. By assembling all available resources, from people to financial backing to institutional help, they are able to achieve whatever they have envisioned. They get energized through mentoring and empowering people, rather than just directing the actions of those they work with to allow for better efficiency in the long-run. Their thinking is best described as integrative and analytical, which results in the ability to integrate the insights they have gained from intuitive exploration into a coordinated plan that sequences events effectively. When dealing with others interpersonally, they are able to balance harmony and conflict while distinguishing between worthy disruptions and unimportant ones. Others, at times, view them as abrupt and overly critical, which can cause them to miss out on the depth of their caring. The Strategist Mobilizer displays kindness and affection by doing things for the people that they care about and consistently pursuing goals and advice based on strategic thinking. They struggle with the sense that they’ll never be able to totally manage their time and resources properly, causing them to feel inadequate and overwhelmed. Yet, they rarely miss a deadline.

Explorer Inventor: Per the name, these individuals consider life’s purpose to be about inventing things and discovering new ways of conceptualizing challenges. They are not necessarily trying to fix the problems, just find ingenious solutions to them. Seeing the world through multiple lenses or perspectives is another of their character traits. Their creative process is usually way beyond the current norm, but they always trust their instincts regarding how to be efficient. Launching projects is something they are particularly good at, as is their ability to be diplomatic when dealing with others. Their interest in being original is not a selfish or egoistic one, but is for the betterment of everyone they come in contact with. When they can bring people together and make them at ease by sparking interesting conversations, while also engaging the give and take of drama and debate. They think in an abstract and random way that does not rely on the gathering of data to ensure that they are right. When conceptualizing and hypothesizing potentialities, they do not always relate the facts at hand. Yet, relevancy is something they often achieve. Thus, until the end of their life, they will strive to learn in both formal and informal settings.
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Artisan Themes

The four personality types associated with this theme are Analyzer Operator, Composer Producer, Promoter Executor and Motivator Presentor.

Analyzer Operator: These individuals are known for the ability to actively solve problems, which causes others to often seek out their help in many of life’s chaotic situations. By observing how things work, the Analyzer Operator is able to systematically breakdown the details of most situations in order find the best solution available. Also, they have an uncanny ability or talent for knowing which tools will work best for a particular situation. Based on these abilities, they can easily be open minded and understanding of people’s differences and idiosyncrasies. The tendency to be an independent thinker is coupled with the need to be isolated and self-imposed when they are over worked. Also, they rely heavily on their hunches and intuition when making decisions, which causes others to question, at times, how they reach their conclusions. Even though it is difficult for them to always explain why they know something, the people that they interact with don’t doubt the Analyzer Operator’s understanding of a situation. They are always willing to share the discoveries that they come up with, but can become unsettled by experiences that are emotionally powerful.

Composer Producer: These individuals are able to take full advantage of the opportunities that they are presented with and consider such opportunities as dreams fulfilled. Another fine characteristic that they possess is conviction in what they choose to do and to never sell out on what they believe in. They also are able to see what is important for others, and can help them achieve their goals beyond what was originally sought. Others often underestimate the amount of work it took to get them what they wanted because of the Composer Producer’s talent for creative problem solving. Their thinking patterns can be described as composing, random scanning of available resources, and cohesiveness of ideas, words and actions. They get so lost in what they are doing that they can often lose track of time. Building relationships and attracting loyal friends and colleagues, as well as being free to express their own personal style is important to them.

Promoter Executor: These individuals are able to take charge of most situations and have an uncanny ability to make things happen. They are willing to push to the limits to get the results they seek, which is what drives them forward. Keeping their options open and having the freedom to act is essential for their sense of well-being. Tactical prioritizing is something they are skilled at doing. Yet, if things begin to go off course, the can easily change their approach or even abandon an entire project. Their thinking patterns are most reflected in the ability to scan their environment for relevant information, opportunities, and resources. Following this, they then quickly adjust their behavior and act accordingly with split-second timing. Working both sides of an issue, finding bargaining points and determining the bottom-line is achieved by their strong negotiating skills. Winning people over is easy as they have a strong sense of humor, a high enthusiasm and a directness.

Motivator Presenter: These individuals love to engage in stimulating action to begin projects and complete them, often engaging in several projects at once. They trust their intuition and act accordingly with a great deal of flare. Engaging others is easy for them, as is helping them see and trust the existence of all available possibilities. Rather than seeing obstacles and roadblocks, they see challenges and opportunities. They appreciate the value of freedom for themselves and others, and will meet any attempt to take it away with strong resistance. Taking risks comes very naturally for them, viewing them as natural parts of life. Their thinking patterns are characterized by being able to take in a variety of information at once, and to manage simultaneous perceptions while always asking, “what is the primary goal?” Processing information happens very quickly for them, which makes it difficult for them to allow others to process at a slower pace.

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Guardian Themes

This theme has four personality types associated with it: Planner Inspector, Protector Supporter, Implementor Supervisor and Facilitator Caretaker.

Planner Inspector: These individuals enjoy being prepared and having a plan gives them a sense of security. They are characterized by traits such as being orderly, systematic and organized. This ensures that nothing goes unchecked and allows for a sense of control. They take pride in implementing detailed tasks on time, following through with their commitments, and finishing work before having fun. Contributing to the community, social welfare and family is the driving force that allows them to maintain a high level of motivation while bearing the burdens and adversities of their endeavors. Their thinking patterns are linear and structured, and these individuals will use past experiences as reference points when making decisions.

Protector Supporter: These individuals take care to consider everyone’s needs so that each person is happy. They have a keen sense of how things work, which allows them to maintain a sense of order during chaotic times. Being prepared, organized, and detail oriented is achieved by following a strict schedule. This allows them to meet all deadlines, giving them a sense of accomplishment in what they do. It is rare that they get the recognition of a job well done by others because they accomplish things so effortlessly. Traditions give them a sense of security and help them feel like they fit in. If this sense of belonging is absent, they often feel anxious and stressed out. Their thinking patterns are linear and structured and they have exceptional listening and memory skills.

Implementor Supervisor: These individuals enjoy educating themselves so that they know the best way to do things. By setting up routines, schedules and standard operating procedures, they are able to bring order to chaotic situations. They need to be in control of the things they are responsible for and enjoy making things run with ease. A strong work-ethic is a part of who they are, which instills in them a high sense of accountability. Balancing work and play is easy for them and they require it for their effectiveness. Following a philosophy of life enables them to be consistent and to build a strong foundation for their steps to success. Others tend to view them as bossy and overbearing because of their ability to know the best way to achieve a task. In reality, the Implementor and Supervisor is very open to new ideas. Their thinking patterns are sequential and associational, which allows them to easily see when things are out of order or don’t make sense. They use past experiences to help them connect the dots of an issue at hand. Once this is done, they are able to take the necessary steps for success.

Facilitator Caretaker: These individuals take pride in helping others, having dialogues to create interpersonal harmony, and managing people at work and home. They genuinely admire other people’s success and being in a strong community of friends and professional peers is what energizes them. The Facilitator and Caretaker constantly strives to make things pleasant, often setting aside their own needs in an effort to avoid conflict. It is problematic for them when others don’t equally give the same care and attention, because they above all require a sense of fluidity in their professional and personal relationships. Accounting for costs, protecting resources, organizing events, and remembering things are characteristics that they all possess. Their thinking patterns are rational and sequential, allowing them to equally provide for their family, work members and community. Telling good stories assists them in keeping everyone in touch with each other and also enables them to be good hosts.

References:
1) “The 16 Personality Types: Descriptions for Self-Discovery,” by Linda V. Berens, Dario Nardi
2) Personality Types:www.wsc.edu/advising/program/ career/personality/types.html

Finding Your Personality Type

We all have our own unique personalities, which have resulted from our experiences with ourselves, our parents, teachers, classmates, friends and so on. Not all the characteristics of our personality come from such learned experiences; some we were born with and are innate. Regardless of how we got our personalities, it can be difficult to determine or adequately describe our personality type. Being able to describe and put into words our own unique personality type is valuable when trying to discover our dream job.

What is a personality type? Simply, it is rooted in our basic psychological interests that make up the core of who we are. It has very little to do with things like a favorite type of music or clothing, and more to do with the patterns of our thinking and behavior that have developed over time (i.e. our communication style and our ability to react to challenges or positive events). To assist you in this process, I will discuss the various personality types by there associated themes.

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