In reality, individuals often embody a mix of personality types, adapting their behaviours based on circumstances and comfort levels. This flexibility means we are more like a blended drink than separate ingredients. For instance, you might exhibit a highly organized approach at work but adopt a more relaxed demeanour at home—only to revert to being organized again when home stress levels rise.
As you explore the descriptions below, reflect on how they resonate with your behaviour as a team member in professional settings, whether during meetings or while collaborating on projects. You’ll also gain insights into how to effectively connect with various personality types described.
Mostly A’s – Inquiring Rationals
Inquiring Rationals are often drawn to jobs such as banking and engineering. They like to figure out how things work. They consider the structure and configuration of things. They process information intuitively and look at the big picture. These are visionaries, such as Albert Einstein and Bill Gates. When it is time to make decisions, they apply logic, and they are not persuaded by emotions. If they do not respect you, you will not keep their attention. Experience and competency are very important to Inquiring Rationals.
This temperament profile makes up approximately five to seven per cent of the population. Other notables in this group are Walt Disney, Ben Franklin, Margaret Thatcher, and Napoleon. To connect with Inquiring Rationals on your team, demonstrate your expertise in your work.
As a member of the team, you are the person who keeps track of things, most often with checklists and guidelines. You can be counted on to know what the assignment is and when it is due. You get frustrated with team members who are not focused on details, or who want to try something new. You like to follow a recipe and you know where your tools are. You probably do not like surprises very much.
Most of the time you complete assignments in a timely and efficient manner, with all the needed detail. You also share the information and materials you have with other members of the team, and provide the technical training or background that they need. People usually see you as dependable, systematic, proficient, practical, and efficient.
Too much logic might mean that you are demonstrating some rigidity. Tap into your sense of humor and try to keep other people’s styles in mind, especially if you are leading a team. You may go into data overload with long reports, push for unrealistic standards, and tend to lose patience with team climate and process issues.
Mostly B’s – Authentic Idealists
Authentic Idealists are natural teachers, counselors, and leaders. They are benevolent and intuitive, and they focus on global issues such as world poverty and humanitarian issues. Idealists love metaphors, stories, and symbols, rather than statistics and figures. They make decisions that reflect their values, and rely on emotion and instinct as opposed to logic. In fact, statistics and facts bore them. They are looking for significance, and they seek the truth.
The Authentic Idealist temperament makes up about 10 per cent of the population. Notable members of this group include Eleanor Roosevelt, Billy Graham, Mahatma Gandhi, Jane Goodall, Oprah Winfrey, and Albert Schweitzer.
Authentic Idealists are people-oriented. They do not want to rock the boat, and their focus is on establishing harmony on the team. They can focus more on people’s feelings than results. They will step in to resolve process problems (for example, with conflict or lack of involvement), listen attentively while withholding judgment, and offer praise and recognition to other team members.
To connect with the Authentic Idealists on your team, share your values and personal convictions. Be authentic and reach out to them by telling stories that demonstrate your empathy. Appeal to personal ethics and a higher calling. Show that you care about them and each person in the room. Authentic Idealists are more interested in how much you care than how much you can cite statistics.
If your teamwork style is that of an Authentic Idealist, your strengths include making deep connections with your team at an emotional and personal level. You motivate and encourage. You are a good storyteller, so you find innovative ways to present your information. You have wisdom to share and are eager to do so. Your lack of ego about what you know makes you likeable. You have a sincere enthusiasm and empower people to act. People see you as encouraging, enthusiastic, supportive, humorous, and relaxed.
Areas for development include a tendency to be overly sensitive to others. You are intuitive and will interpret meaning behind everything. This also means that you can get distracted by reactions of other individual in the audience, and that can make you lose track. You may see team processes as an end to themselves and fail to challenge or contradict other team members. Make sure that you are well prepared for areas you are responsible for, and that you accommodate other members of the team by being sufficiently serious and aware of the bottom line.
Mostly C’s – Organized Guardians
Organized Guardians are extremely dependable and loyal, and they play by the rules. They have an amazing work ethic, stay down-to-earth, and they like routine. They are thorough and orderly. At times they are too serious, but they are practically always serious. They are good at taking care of other people. They want to hear about the bottom line, and they want the facts.
Organized Guardians will consider charts and graphs and follow a well prepared presentation longer than most people, but they can shut down when too much emotion is presented and may get bored with stories. This temperament makes up 40 to 45 per cent of the population and includes people such as Queen Elizabeth II, Mother Teresa, George Washington, and Colin Powell. With their respect for tradition, they are drawn to the military and policing. These are also the people who will pass traditions to their children and grandchildren.
To connect with Organized Guardians on your team, be concise, organized, and support statements with data. Present information in a logical sequence, and do not wander off on a tangent. Quote other experts. Expect and encourage them to collaborate.
As a team member Organized Guardians will be very logical and organized. You will take notes, and you will know how to find them. You are a big-picture thinker, looking for the better way to do things. You can be persuasive, and you do not need to be tied down by excessive details. You see the vision, mission, and goals of the team as paramount. You are flexible to new ideas and willing to help out even in areas outside of your defined roles. You are willing to share in the limelight with the members of the team. You work hard to meet your objectives. People usually describe you as forward-thinking, cooperative, independent, flexible, and imaginative.
Your weaknesses can be predictability. The data will be there, but you may have to remind yourself (repeatedly) to give the group opportunities for self-discovery and application. Draw on your compassion for others to add emotional depth to your work and an appreciation of the strengths of others. Sometimes you may be tempted to publicly complain about team failures. Resist the urge! You may overlook the mission at times by being too future oriented, or lose sight of tasks. Resist the urge to dream, and get on with the doing.
Mostly D’s – Resourceful Artisans
Resourceful Artisans crave action and live in the moment. They are very social, confident, and persuasive. Steven Spielberg and Madonna are notable Resourceful Artisans. They are witty, playful, and fun. If they had a message to share, it would be that the world could lighten up a little. Like Organized Guardians, they can also perceive the world concretely. They can get bored with visionary tasks. They enjoy stories that they can easily relate to and imagine happening to them. This temperament makes up about 35 per cent of the population.
To connect with Resourceful Artisans, be real and spontaneous. Engage them with questions and discussion. Be prepared for them to challenge your ideas, and at times, authority. They will play the devil’s advocate and look for weak links in anyone’s argument.
If you are a Resourceful Artisan, your strengths include energy, personality, and creativity. Build in some interaction when you present your work to leverage your spontaneity. You are a natural storyteller, so tell some stories. You will encourage action, and you have good listening skills, so you are responsive to your team. While most people will appreciate your candor, it may take some practice before you know when to back off an issue. You will challenge the team to take well-considered risks and push them toward high ethical standards. People usually see you as candid, honest, principled, assertive, and ethical.
Your weaknesses can show up in your organization and structure. Because you are living in the moment, you might avoid the homework that goes into the development of a brilliant report or presentation. You might avoid preparation and be willing to rely on spontaneity, but then you are less focused on content. Be careful not to be so spontaneous that you miss a good opportunity to deliver a powerful message. You can be too direct in communicating with other team members, and sometimes become rigid and inflexible. Avoid painting yourself into a corner by knowing when to back off.
What’s Important?
We all have our preferred ways of doing things, and it’s valuable to understand these preferences better. It’s essential to recognize that everyone possesses a mix of the personality traits discussed here. While you may primarily identify with one type, you can draw on behaviors associated with other types—such as B, C, or D—when the situation calls for it. Additionally, you might find that your characteristics overlap with multiple types, making it easier for you to adapt your style based on the group’s needs.
Having a diverse range of personality types in the workplace and on each team is crucial. The combination of individuals who focus on facts and data alongside those who prioritize emotions, spontaneity, or adherence to rules and traditions enhances the effectiveness of our business. This blend of different temperaments, each with its unique strengths, is what makes our work environment dynamic and engaging.
