Recently at work, our Human Resources department conducted an Insights personality profiling for all employees.
Based on 50 short questions we had to answer, the result was a 16-page booklet summarising your working style, key strengths, weaknesses and more.
I’ve done many of these personality tests before and they are generally accurate and describe me well. From my Insights profile, these are:
THINGS I ALREADY KNOW
• Stubborn when committed to an ideal. People have always told me I was stubborn since I was a child, hence my nickname “ah ban” and “goo” at home.
• Avoids attempting to change or control people. A somewhat pessimistic outlook in life a la King Soloman in Ecclesiastes.
• Not usually prepared to commit to high risk decisions. You can tell this from the way I manage my finances and from not wanting to try new ice-cream flavours.
• A good mediator or peace keeper who hates confrontation. ABSOLUTELY. CANNOT. DEAL. WITH. CONFRONTATION.
• Tries to please a lot of people. Always makes me angry at myself after, though I’m getting better at being selfish and saying no.
• Suitable for psychology, counselling and educational roles. Very true, and is definitely a career path I would consider.
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THINGS I HATE TO ADMIT ARE TRUE
• Does not seek positions of “front-end” leadership and prefers a more supportive role behind the scenes. I hate to admit this because I see it as a sign of weakness, although I really thrive as a supporter.
• Has difficulty in quick or unprepared articulation. I’d like to think of myself as a good speaker, however, more work definitely needs to be done.
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THINGS I ONLY DISCOVERED FROM THIS EXERCISE
• Loyal, supportive, idealistic and creative. If a leader treats me well, I will work for his/the company’s benefit and follow him should he leave.
• Appears calm and unruffled in a conflict. Panicky people never fail to amaze me.
• Sees financial reward as proof of worth rather than an end in itself. I like money but I don’t care very much for money, certainly not in the “make my first million by 30” sense.
• Ignores judgements based on logical analysis. I’m very much an intuitive and emotional decision maker who just likes to wing it and learn by trial and error. Logic? Bah!
• Needs to organise my thoughts. SO TRUE! There are busy weeks that go by with me thinking, I need to sit down and write something or I’m going to lose track of my life!
• Put important messages in writing for clarity. If something is not written down, it means I haven’t quite grasped it.
• Find the deeper meanings within most situations. This is something that I haven’t quite found in many people I know, and it makes it quite hard for me to have meaningful conversations as I really like discussing ideas, theories and philosophy.
• Solid organisational abilities. Something I only discovered when I started working. I quite enjoy organising and coordinating a task, but do find it stressful when I’m dependent on others to deliver.
• Idealises others. Something I perceive to be highly dangerous as it causes me to have high expectations of others – only to be disappointed in the end (duh!)
• Makes great effort to build and maintain relationships with others. As introverted as I may think I am, there’s one thing I can’t do and it’s ignore the people around me.
• Does not speak up immediately if I feel that I’m being taken advantage of. This has landed me in puddles of poo many times in the past, and has resulted in many sleepless nights thinking about how I should’ve said no!
• Tends not to look beyond the moment and may miss the broader view. I once saw a female photographer’s very ambitious 10-year plan, split according to short, medium and long-term goals. I tried to follow suit, but gave up very quickly. It’s true that I live for the here and now, and won’t be able to tell you where I’d be in the next 5 years. But then again, life doesn’t have to be lived this way.
Wan Phing Lim 