Speaking of self-awareness, I had just recently sent out an email survey to some close ones to ask for good and bad feedback on myself. I recently stumbled upon this test from Penelope Trunk’s post and decided to give it a shot. I don’t exactly fancy tedious lengthy questionnaires, and this one was only 20 questions, Penelope recommended it, so I figured I’d give it a shot. Pretty insightful, I recommend it; it tells you how you interact with other personality types. Here is the link to J.T. O’Donnell’s Interaction Style Assessment Test.
Now on some of the questions, they were basically polarized yes/no types, with no in-between answers like “sometimes” or “depends”. That was tough, so just shoot from the hip and go with your gut. First thing that comes to mind is probably right, so don’t think too hard on these questions.
Below is my report card. This is just for my personal reference to remind myself. Take your own test here:
Based on the results of the ISAT, you are an….ENERGIZER!
Full of persuasive energy, ENERGIZERS are natural people-persons. You know how to strike up a conversation and keep it going. Take a look at the following grid to learn more about your professional strengths as they compare to the other three Interaction Styles:
Every Interaction Style is valuable in the workplace. However, the key to being successful on-the-job and as part of a work team is to understand your Interaction Style so that you can A) choose a role on the team that leverages your style’s strengths, and B) understand the other styles on your team so you can communicate with them effectively.
Often, when a person is unhappy in their current career, much of the trouble can be linked to their Interaction Style. Some of the following challenges are examples of Interaction Style-related problems:
1) Having a manger who’s style is the polar opposite of your own, leading to miscommunication and frustration on a daily basis.2) Having co-workers who don’t appreciate your Interaction Style and who do not respect your opinions.
3) Having a job that doesn’t allow you to communicate in a manner that makes you feel happy and fulfilled.
4) Having a job that doesn’t promote or value your particular Interaction Style.
What many people forget is that there are four different Interaction Styles. That means, at any given time, as much as 75% of the population could be thrown off by your style and unable to relate to you very well. Thus, it’s important that we take note of how our Interaction Style can be misinterpreted by others in the workplace (especially, those with a style that is opposite of your own) so that we can work hard to minimize conflict and breakdowns in communication on-the-job. Take a look at the grid below to see how you might be misperceived by others:
Ouch! The information above isn’t fun to read, but we must remember that our strengths our our weaknesses too. Your Interaction Style serves you well. You wouldn’t have developed it over the years if you didn’t find it effective. Yet, we must also recognize that choosing to be one style means having qualities that won’t always be appreciated by others. How do we minimize any negative effects from our Interaction Style? We choose careers, managers, and companies to work for that embrace and leverage our unique style. Here is a chart that can help you see how to assess what kind of job will suit you best:
Can you see how your style impacts your ability to be happy on-the-job? Think of the one job in your past that you hated the most. Do you now have some insight as to why it wasn’t a match for you?
In summary, Interaction Styles impact our ability to achieve goals in two ways. First, the Interaction Styles of others have a direct impact on our perceptions of our career situation. You must make sure you recognize how people perceive things differently, based on their own Interaction Style. Secondly, each Interaction Style has both strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing how they impact your ability to succeed can help you remove the roadblocks holding you back from the personal and professional satisfaction you seek. Thus, the more you strive to understand and appreciate all the Interaction Styles, the easier it will be to find ways to work with them. Leverage your own strengths as much as you can, while working to minimize the impact of your weaknesses and your career will go to new heights.