Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “She is definitely going to challenge this idea; she’s an 8” or “He’s an INFP, so he will understand where you’re coming from and get it”. No, these are not Gen Z’s explaining the latest social media app...although it can feel like it. These are various personality descriptors based on common personality tests.

What’s this have to do with agency operations? Well, as a service-based business, an agency’s success relies on the many personalities and skills of your team members. By understanding everyone’s personality types, teams can work more effectively, efficiently, and can set teams up to astonish their clients. We’ll try to make it less painful for you by breaking it down!

What’s a Personality Test?

A personality assessment is a tool that allows a user to identify themselves on a spectrum or graph, typically through a series of questions. Then the user gets a synopsis of their “type.” Depending on the test, users can then read through the descriptions of each type and see generalized personality traits and behaviors that can be associated with that person. Even if you have one tool you’ve used, it might be worth looking at trying another resource to see if it brings up new insights.

Getting Started Today

How to select and implement a personality test

There are many qualified, useful personality tests that have been used by businesses all across the world. Each tool accomplishes a slightly different effect, so it’s worth researching all of them and selecting wisely. Today I’ll highlight three of my favorite tools that might work for your team.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

This test is well known for a reason! The Myers-Briggs test was created by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, in the 1940s using psychological theories from Carl Jung. Through a series of questions, the assessment will present a 4-letter code that answers the following questions for a user:

Do you recharge with people or by yourself? (Introverted or Extroverted)
Are you more likely to take basic data at face value or allow interpretation to change your opinion? (Sensing or Intuition (N))
Do you rely more on logic or empathy when making decisions? (Thinking or Feeling)
Do you typically prefer things to be decided or do you like to maintain openness to new options? (Judging or Perceiving)

There are many ways to take this test. Our team recently used the free version on 16Personalities. Their page gives valuable summaries and opportunities to compare types.

The Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory

The Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory (ICS) focuses primarily on a person’s conflict style and the impact that upbringing or culture might have on that style. This tool follows the same format as many other personality assessments with a 15 minute questionnaire. The taker’s results are then placed on a simple graph with 4 quadrants.

A person who falls into the Engagement category will be direct and emotionally expressive when addressing conflict. This person values the facts and the feelings, and wants to be upfront with their side of the story. On the opposite side, a person in the Accommodation quadrant will beat around the bush in conflict. Rather than saying what they are upset about, they might talk about an adjacent topic to avoid direct accusation. The Accommodation type also withholds their emotional response in conflict. They want to dissolve the conflict more than having their feelings understood. In the United States, the two most common types are Discussion and Accommodation!

Primary Value for Agencies: The ICS dials into one of the most taboo subjects in business: conflict. This style inventory invites companies to bring up the topic of conflict and approach it head on with helpful tools that give everyone an opportunity to be heard.

The Enneagram

This personality assessment is a mixture of modern psychology and ancient observations on form. It finds each person as one of 9 interconnected personality types, based primarily on their motivations rather than behavior. A singular type will have a multi-faceted description that connects to a person’s core fear and core desire. One of the most powerful aspects of this model is that it is best when users self-identify. This addresses what often annoys people about personality tests: the nagging friend that says, “Oh you are totally this type!”

Users can take the Enneagram test through the Enneagram Institute or use the resources available on their website to read through the different types and select which one resonates with them the most. After each team member has identified the number they believe they are, you can start engaging resources that discuss the relationships between numbers. For example, if the agency owner is a 3 type, they should be aware of how they communicate with 4 types. While these recommendations are not universal, you can begin to find aha moments as you read about your types!

Primary Value for Agencies: This tool is an investment in the whole person, encouraging growth of self understanding and self advocacy. This also takes some of the shame out of the personality assessment conversation. Since there is no dominant or superior type on this test, everyone can see strengths and shadows.

Creating and maintaining a positive team culture is more important now than ever. Our office happy hours, daily standups, and conversations over the coffee pot are no longer there for us as points of connection. We need to take this time to invest in developing our team and using a personality assessment is a great way to start!

Obviously there are many more tools available than the ones we listed here. We are big fans of using these resources to communicate and connect with your team.

Have you already used one of these tools with your team? Did you learn something new from them? We’d love to have you join the discussion on our LinkedIn page.