Who Are You?

Every person is different, and every leader will lead differently. It is important for leaders to understand their personality and how it works with other personality types.  When leaders know who they are, they have a better understanding of connecting with others, and better communication skills. Leaders need to be able to help themselves before they can help others. This idea also carries with it the idea of taking care of yourself before you can help others (put on your oxygen mask before helping someone else).

Take a Personality Test

There are many different personality tests out there. Enneagram, DiSC, and Myers Briggs are just a few of the personality tests that someone could take. These tests will quickly give you a great representation of what your personality is and how they might work with the other personalities. Just remember that personality tests categorize and simplify someone’s personality. Humans are more complex than what is shown on piece of paper. Use these personality tests as a framework for understanding your unique personality and then start to ask other people around you how you come across.

 Ask Someone Close to You

Who knows you better than someone that works close to you or live with you. Ask two or three people that are close to you to describe you in three words. The catch here is to ensure that the people you ask will be completely honest with you. You don’t want to ask people who will just give you good words.  Find a few people who you trust to give you honest answers. Once you hear their answers ask some questions to dig deeper. Questions could include…

“Give me an example of a time where I was (blank)”

“You used the word (blank) to describe me, tell me a little more about when you see this in my personality.”

The key to asking other people is that you need to be humble and willing to hear what they have to say. Refrain from defending yourself and really try to listen to the other person. When they are done, make sure that you thank them for being honest and open with you. It is not easy to for a leader to ask for feedback and it can be just as hard for someone to give feedback to a leader.

When you understand who you are, and you understand your personality you can start to lean into your strengths. Conversely when you know what areas you can grow in you become a better leader faster. Will you have the courage to dig into your personality strengths and weaknesses?