In this reflection, I will be using the previous stated assessments as an observation of my personal strengths and as a guide on discovering areas of weaknesses that can be improved to strengthen my leadership roles in future endeavors. James Buchanan The Fifteenth President of the United States once said “The test of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.”
Objective Self-Assessment Results
In order to gain a better understanding of myself I completed the MBTI Indicator, Kingdomality Assessment, and the SAPA Test. The results for each assessment are as follows. The MBTI Indicator which was based on Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers’ personality type theory (Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers, ‘MBTI® personality types’) breaks down your personality profile into four different dimensions. Where you focus your attention, extraversion or introversion, the way you take information sensing or intuition, how you make decisions thinking or feeling, and how you deal with the world, judging or perceiving. I received a final analysis of INFJ which can be best broken down as introversion, intuition, feeling, and judging. In the Kindomality Assessment, (‘Kingdomality Personality Profile ‘) which can best be defined as an assessment which combines a medieval them with analytical psychology to determine which medieval character you are which can aide in team building and working with a team. In this assessment I received an analysis of being similar to “The Shephard” to where people with this analysis are vigilant and reliable and on the positive side empathetic, caring and understanding. In retrospect it can also mean that you may carry the traits of being manipulative, close minded, and sentimentally rigid. “The Shephard” is also likely to tend to their human flock and understand the needs of those that he/she may be responsible for. Lastly, I completed the SAPA test (Is it long? (not really) Is it free? (yes), developed? psychology., & Sort of. But it’s also something more.) which is a collaborative research tool gives feedback regarding your personality on two levels. One of which provides a score bases of twenty- seven personality dimensions formulated through statistical research and the other which scores on a factor of the Big Five factors of personality which includes a score based on cognition. The results are also compared with over three hundred thousand participants and is places you in a margin that is either above or below other participants who have completed the study. In this assessment I scored favorably higher then other participants in the areas of impulsivity, neuroticism, openness, and conscientiousness. In retrospect, I scored considerably lower then the peer average in the areas of extraversion, conservatism, humor, and attention- seeking. In the section of cognition, I scored higher then 66% of previous participants. This measurement is connected with commercial IQ measures.
In summary of the four assessments it is it has been identified that I may feel a sense of comfort in introversion, and that I may exhibit the following strengths of being vigilant, reliable, and dependable. It can also be inferred that decisions made are based upon feeling first and acting with the heart in mind before using logical reasoning or decision making. In the areas of weaknesses, it was also inferred a lack of open mindedness, a sense of rigidness with a lack of humor, and a substantial amount of impulsiveness when it comes to decision making.
Subjective Interpretation
In reviewing the results from the four assessments, there was a sense of resonation when reviewing over the results for each test. In just a short time, I have been able to utilize the information in these tests to gauge a level of understanding in past decisions I have made in my personal and professional life. The one thing that stuck out to me in each of the assessments is the overall similarity in the term of introversion as it relates to my interaction with others and my preference to be alone rather then in large groups or in a social setting. This has been something that I have experienced for as long as I could remember, it has been just recently though within the past year that I have been able to confirm that it is related to introversion. Aside from confirming those details I have also been able to reflect on my traits of dependability and reliability. I feel as if I do not give myself enough credit for being there for others and being reliable and dependable to not only my family, but also my teammates at work. Looking at the big picture, I have been able to examine my strengths, while also reviewing how I can work better at turning my comfortableness in introversion and how to make sure that my thoughts are expressed to others, rather then just holding them in when it comes to speaking up when prompted to sharing ideas, and sharing my feelings on decisions that may involve me or a work team that I may be collaborating with.
I would have to say that I do agree with the results of the assessments. In my personal life. I have undergone many different evaluations of my personality by my family, friends, and health care professionals to where a majority of the traits provided in the assessments have been discussed with me in the past when discussing my personality and the way I interact with others. It can sometimes though be difficult when you are in the process of working to improve areas of weaknesses and you take three different assessments to where they all highlight the same weaknesses. I also personally have always found it to be difficult to work on the task of expanding my social circle in work engagements, so this assessment has definitely provided some tools to work on speaking up more around others and being more assertive.
Outside Observation
Comparing your own personal assessment against one of a peer can provide a more broadened perspective on how you view yourself, versus how others may view you. In analyzing this comparison, I interviewed a close relative Zachary Cravens to whom has known me for over 13 years to see if his view of how I would respond to the self-assessment concerning learning styles using multiple intelligences would be similar to those responses provided by me. Upon the interview he provided the following results, out of the fifteen questions asked which prompted for a response of mostly false or mostly true to choose as an answer there were only four questions where his answers were different than mine. His responses were as follows he stated that it is mostly true that I have three or more friends, and that it is mostly false that I like to take personality tests, enjoyed language and social studies in school, and can pick up on a tune quickly once I hear the melody. (Z. Cravens, personal communication, February 13, 2019). It was surprising to compare his answers with mines to only see that there are only four responses that were different from what I had chosen. In a percentage, this would mean that he chooses 73% of the same answers that I initially chosen. With such a small amount of variance in his responses versus the ones that I had initially chosen, it would still place me in the higher margin for verbal- linguistic intelligence which can best be defined as a person who uses language to guide reasoning, problem solving, and learning. (Logsdon, ‘Verbal Linguistic Learners Love to Study Language’)
The results of the outside observation had several similarities and ties to the score I received in the observation of the verbal-linguistic learning style. This ties in directly with each assessment I completed which highlights many traits that seem to be a trend throughout my analysis in the text. Starting with the MBTI assessment it is noted that I scored higher in the margin of introversion which has a direct connection to the questions answered in outside observation, which also mimicked my response. These questions that are directed towards the concept of introversion include the questions of my preference in social situation and the lack of being involved in social activities. In addition to the analysis in the Kindomality, and SAPA test both show the following traits which link to one who may have a verbal linguistic learning style. Of the traits in each assessment I find the following to be the most connected to my observation, dependability, reliability, and the understanding. I also received a favorably high score in the area of cognition which confirms my preference to solve complex problems and to engage in critical thinking.
The Future
Reed Markhem once said “Successful leaders see the opportunity in every difficulty rather then the difficulty in each opportunity.” In my own reflection of the assessments and the outside observation I have identified many personality traits and common trends of potential weaknesses that have had a huge effect on my current leadership skills. Focusing on my weaknesses and learning how to turn them into strengths will help to provide a foundation for me to become a better leader. It was noted in the Kindomality assessment that I can tend to carry the trait of being close minded and rigid. This in my own reflection is connected to my introversion to where I feel as if at times speaking up and sharing ideas with an open mind can be more difficult simply due my personal comfortability of being reticent. To combat this trait, I plan to engage in more social activities in my current position and to engage in forums where I share my ideas and stay focused and engaged on others point of views. This goal is one that may not be easily completed overnight, so I plan to engage in smaller groups first and to work myself up to larger groups that require more input as I feel more comfortable. Secondly, I noticed a trend of the impulsivity which was noted in the SAPA results. This I feel has impacted my leadership to where I tend to be extremely critical of myself and have difficulties in using constructive feedback from leaders on ways to improve. I tend to become stagnant on formulating a plan to make changes to reduce the amount of pressure I put on myself to achieve perfectionism. To combat this, I plan to set time aside to commend myself on every achievement small or large and to try to conceptualize the big picture of success in relation to it being what achievements and goals I set for myself, rather then trying to fast track things based on impulse. Lastly, I would like to challenge myself to use my verbal-linguistic learning style when delegating tasks and responsibilities to my peers. In aspiring to become a human resource manager upon receiving my degree, it will be essential to have a strong sense of organizational skills and mental clarity when working with others. In this I would like to use more written guides that are based on language reasoning when sharing information with my fellow peers. I also want to work on being flexible to others learning style when faced with potential work disputes and challenging situations that may require a higher need of logics rather then feelings.
“To believe in oneself is a great strength, and any step towards the intent of being a better leader, teacher, and friend is a step in the direction of success”- Dasia Cravens
References
- Cravens. (2019, February 13). Personal interview
- Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://kingdomality.com/personality-profile-portal/
- Is it long? (not really) Is it free? (yes), Developed? H. W., Psychology., L. M., & Sort of. But it’s also something more. (n.d.). SAPA-Project | Your Customized Personality Profile Report Retrieved from https://sapa-project.org/
- Logsdon, A. (n.d.). Verbal Linguistic Learners Love to Study Language. Retrieved from https://www.verywellfamily.com/verbal-linguistic-learning-style-2162785
- MBTI® personality types. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://eu.themyersbriggs.com/en/tools/MBTI/MBTI-personality-Types
