What type of personality are you?

You've likely heard people refer to themselves or others as either “Type A” or “Type B.” If you've been near the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, then you have probably heard of acronyms such as ISTJ or ENTP or INFP. We don't prescribe to these. Read on to see why.

At NBPeople, we prefer not to label people as a certain “personality type” based on their assessment results.

The primary reason for this is that personality trait scores lie on a continuum and dividing people into convenient buckets sacrifices precision. Further, even two people with highly similar personality profiles can be dramatically different from each other if they only differ on a single scale.

So, what’s the value of assigning personality types? First, types give people a natural way to think about those around them. Second, personality types refer to the whole person and not just various aspects of personality. Third, applying types to people makes personality easy to understand when it comes to coaching and development.

Although Hogan still avoids labeling people with types, we did a deep dive into our archive to see if there were some common types we could discover. Using the data of 332,935 individuals who completed the Hogan Personality Inventory, Hogan Development Survey, and the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory, we identified eight different personality types – or common profiles – that can be applied to the vast majority of the working population. ccording to Hogan personality assessments there are 8 most common types of personality;

1. Rebels - Make up 8% of the human working population

• Bright, Charismatic and Exhibitionists

• High on Sociability, Inquisitiveness, and Commerce

• Typically, they are people who want to be famous, want to make an impact and be known for it

• On the flip side, they are very low in adjustment, so they are persistently dissatisfied always wanting to change things

• These people tend to be very excitable, sceptical, and mischievous so they don’t trust people and are prepared to bend or break the rules to make things happen

• Although this group represent only 8% of the human working population, they represent 50% of Entrepreneurs

2. Marketers - Make up 18% of the human working population

• This group represents a high % of the general population

• They tend to be very charismatic, good at getting people’s attention and are self-confident

• They are persistent and like to win

• Downside is that they think they can do everything, so they take on too much and often spread themselves thin

• This group is heavily represented in sales jobs

3. Proletarians (Citizens) - Make up 14% of the human working population

• This group of people is interested in stability and simplicity

• They don’t want to be caught up in the chaos and the hustle and bustle of life

• They are not trying to climb up the corporate ladder and tend to be satisfied working hard at their own jobs

• This group is a little reserved and not very sociable

• They stay within the boundaries and follow rules

• This group is best suited in many government or public service jobs

4. Congenials - Make up 18% of the human working population

• This group are not motivated by fame, wanting to change the world, or take charge of things

• This group cares about other people, are easy going, friendly and don’t want to offend anyone

• Congenials have the highest 360 and performance ratings of all the other groups

• Supervisors and colleagues like to work with them

• They don’t complain, they are resilient to stress, self-sacrificing and want to make people happy

5. Over-achievers - Make up 16% of the human working population

• This group is really interested in career success and insist on playing by the rules. They are law abiding citizens

• Over-achievers are seen to be extremely hardworking and believe that if they consistently work hard enough, their true talent will eventually shine through, and they will reach the top

• This group cares about other people and want to protect themselves and others

• This group is different from proletarians in that proletarians work hard but are not interested in reaching the top

• This group is extremely ambitious

6. Networkers - Make up 13% of the human working population

• This group is interested in being well known, famous and are exceptionally social

• Networkers are creative, good in front of people and are really good at connecting with people at all levels

• Unlike over-achievers, this group is totally willing to play politics and can competently navigate the interpersonal and social landscape within organisations

• They are often rapidly promoted and are prepared to take risks

• Although networkers are not always good at controlling their emotions, they are very good at using their emotions to get what they want

• The main difference between Marketers and Networkers is that marketers tend to be happier in individual roles. They are not team players like the networkers are

• Networkers are highly represented among the C suite in organisations

7. Misfits - Make up 7% of the human working population

• Misfits score really low in affiliation and interpersonal sensitivity

• This group of people are mostly reclusive and find it difficult to form close relationships

• Misfits are motivated by security and fear of things going wrong. They are always looking for stability and predictability

• They are generally unhappy and usually always dissatisfied with things around them

• They don’t want to work with other people and people find it difficult to work with them

• The most suitable work environment for misfits is working from home where they can set their own hours, rules etc. and don’t need to have a great deal of interaction with other people

8. Preppers - Make up 6% of the human working population

• This group is similar to misfits but with a few key differences

• They too have a strong preference for stability and predictability but are more dependable at work

• This group can be described as defensively pessimistic – they will always prepare for the worst-case scenario

• Preppers are worriers, detail oriented and extreme rule followers

• Given the right stable environment, preppers can functionally work with other people and be productive

• If you have a team with marketers and networkers who are always upbeat and positive, having a prepper will ensure the team is looking ahead and planning for what can also go wrong

For more information on understanding your personality or your people’s personality and the role personality assessments play in ensuring you get the best out of your people, please visit www.nbpeople.com.au and/or email us on info@nbpeople.com.au for a personal no obligation discussion with one of our senior coaches.