Myers-Briggs

Might as well post this here too. If you're not familiar with Myers-Briggs personality typing, it's essentially a system used throughout the business world to "categorize" people by their cognitive style. It's actually proven to be fairly effective and accurate. After some wrestling with the results (I walk the fence in at least one category) I've decided that I'm most likely an ENTP. That's Extroverted, INtuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving. The alternatives are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Judging.

I won't waste space here explaining the system, but it's described pretty well at www.personalitytype.com if you're curious.

So here it is (from bestfittype.com):

What’s it like to be you?
Life feels like a constant state of moving from one interesting thing to another, and I can get frustrated when there isn’t enough time to pursue all those interesting things.

I have a wide range of interests. I love to explore the world, how other people live, what they believe in, and what their lives are like. I have a deep need to understand the human condition and what brings people to life, even above difficult odds. I like it when the conversation goes wherever it wants to go—deep imaginative, intellectual, or philosophical conversation. Going off on one theory or another is fun, but long stories with nothing to learn frustrate me.

Ideas mean change. When I meet people who have interesting ideas, talents, or projects, I want to get to know them and help them make whatever they want to do possibly much bigger, more successful, or more impactful than they had intended. I start aligning with them and building trust because I want to get invited in—to probably change whatever they want to do because I tend to see more possibilities. Then we cook up the project. It’s fun to learn. I enjoy that in-the-moment experience of connecting things in my mind. Challenge and intellectual stimulation get me excited.

I just see a different world than the one in which I live, and I admire people who have genuine compassion and a commitment to serve others. I really respect people who have the ability to take the slings and arrows that come with leadership roles and working for change, who can cope with all the misunderstanding and resistance, who can say, “This is an idea whose time has come and we’re going to get it done.” It’s important to me to be in a setting where people are committed, where facts are respected, and where there is a space for people to tell the truth or at least look for the truth—and be open to listening.

Colleagues describe me as someone they can go to when they want an idea or help with an issue or problem they’re trying to solve. I often can condense or simplify a complex idea. I really often know the right words to use, not necessarily the right empathetic words but the right words. Coaching and giving ideas I do well. Just giving direction is boring. I don’t feel things have to be done my way, but they have to be done well.

I am very partner oriented, and being creative together is what makes a relationship alive.
I work a lot, always looking for new projects, something to sink my teeth into, and I am constantly challenging myself to make things better. Things I’ve already figured out I like to put together in a format or structure, so I don’t have to sit down and go through all the nitty-gritty details. I think in terms of the future—why am I here, what is this connected to, where are things going, where did they come from and wouldn’t it be better if…? When my intuition is working it produces a lot of excitement and ideas.

I tend to look at things from a very objective basis. Sometimes I don’t take the time to stop and thank people and let them know I’m trying to build on what they have already done. When I look at things, I am trying to figure out the system—looking beneath, behind, or above, somehow looking beyond the sensory data to figure out how it all works. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out in my head everything around me. Competence is a must, trying to perfect things, finding a new way. I am hardest on myself, with incredibly high standards, and I hold others to my standards even though sometimes I wish I hadn’t. And yet I often seem pretty easygoing.

Fairness and consistency are really important. I feel that people should be treated with respect at all times, and I don’t like behavior demeaning to others. When there is conflict I feel a compulsion to figure it out, to resolve it. When I’m personally involved, it can be difficult to initiate a discussion about the conflict. Sometimes I feel inadequate.

I think life is a puzzle and we keep playing with how to fit the pieces together. Something new and challenging is always more interesting to me than something I am already competent at.