You are what you do!

… And you do what you are!! I’m interested in different ways of finding out about people’s personality. That’s because personality questionnaires can only take you so far, and to be fair they rely on you having sufficient self-insight to answer the questions accurately, and of course, in being honest about yourself. What if there was a different way of doing it? What if your daily behaviour also said something about your personality? Well, it would make sense, wouldn’t it? Check out this questionnaire by James Pennebaker…

• The LIFE project

And as I’ve no doubt mentioned in a previous post, you may also like to read Sam Gosling’s intriguing book:

• SNOOP – What your Stuff Says About You.

You’ll never think about Facebook, your website, bedroom, office, and behaviour in meetings in quite the same way again!

How to change your whole personality

Have you noticed there’s a Wiki for practically everything, including the highly informative WikiHow. However I think they may have gone too far this time… in this article they tell you how to change your whole personality! Although to be fair, in the final step, they do mention that you may be better off with your old self . Take a look:

http://www.wikihow.com/Change-Your-Whole-Personality

It reminds me of those old Monty Python sketches. Want to learn to play the flute? Pick up a flute and whilst blowing across the opening move your fingers over the keys. Next week: how to create nuclear fission using some everyday chemicals you’ll find under your sink.

Free personality tests…

If you want some reputable, free and easy-to-use personality tests here are a few links:

• BBC Big Personality Test (Trait)
• Finding Potential Personality Test (Trait)
• Team Technology MMDI (Type)
• Keirsey Temperament Sorter (Type).

You will also find many more links to free tests and questionnaires on my website at:

• www.markparkinson.co.uk.

PS: Strictly speaking personality tests aren’t ‘tests’, it would be more accurate to describe them as questionnaires, inventories or indicators – one of the reasons being that unlike tests there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers to the questions.

Photo credit: Ambro/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Can introverts lead?

Watch this video interview. The expert is Francesca Gino who is an Associate Professor at Harvard Business School.

Can introverts lead?

It lasts just over 9 minutes.

If you never change your mind, why have one?

… A quick thought for those who need to complete a personality questionnaire for selection or development purposes. It’s supposed to reflect your typical behaviour so play about with the answers if you have to – the person on the receiving end needs your best estimate of your personality. First thoughts are not necessarily the most accurate!

Typealyze your blog!

You what? Quite difficult to explain quickly, but if you want to explore how the communication style in your blog or website reflects your persona try this:

• http://www.typealyzer.com

Make sure you read the ‘About’ bit because there’s some interesting intent behind this project.