The Power of Personality: How Self Discovery Leads to Success

FIRST THINGS FIRST
We tend to minimize the importance of personality. When we say that somebody has a good personality, we usually mean they're likable. But there's a lot more to it than that. For example, when a leader is looking to expand his team, his prime objectives are to establish three things:

1. Can you do the job
2. Will you do the job, and
3. Will you fit in with the team

Your personality has a significant impact on all three of these objectives. because of that fact, leaders make use of a variety of formal and informal personality assessments in order to observe how you handle relevant activities, such as solving problems, managing others, working in teams, complying with rules and regulations, coping with stress and more.  So, the first thing you need to understand is that your personality is directly tied to performance, not popularity. 

PERSONALITY INDICATORS
There are many elements of personality, and each one offers its own unique insight into how you can make a more meaningful contribution to your life and the lives of those you're destined to serve. Focus, self-motivation, diligence and honesty are not only virtues, but also personality traits. Some personality traits are natural. Others must be practiced. Either way, your personality traits have considerable impact on how you show up in the world and what you're best suited to do.

I remember when I was learning to play the trumpet. Because I loved the instrument dearly, I was overjoyed to meet an Afro Cuban musician who had played with the National Symphony. Soon after we met, I asked him to show me some drills for trumpet mastery. He shared three exercises with me right away. When I happened to run into him a couple of weeks later, he asked how I was doing with the drills he had given me. As soon as I told him I had not done them for a few days, he flatly told me, "The trumpet is a very demanding lover. She will not accept inconsistency. You'll never be a serious trumpet player if you cannot master those drills. Maybe you'll be good at something else... But not the trumpet."  

The trumpet suited my taste in music, but not my personality type. That is, I loved the sound, but I didn't have the methodical discipline to master the trumpet. Here, it's worth repeating that the most important aspect of personality is the way it is directly tied to performance. In order for you to achieve and sustain excellence, your personality must be closely aligned with the tasks most strongly associated with your craft.

Many years after my trumpet-playing, I was introduced to personality assessment instruments, commonly referred to as "personality tests." I found the Enneagram very interesting but Myers-Briggs has always been my favorite. ​The basis of Myers-Briggs is that every individual has a primary mode of operation within four categories:
             

1. Our flow of energy
2. How we take in information
3. How we prefer to make decisions
4. The basic day-to-day lifestyle that we prefer

Within each of these categories, we "prefer" to be either:

1. E/I: Extraverted or Introverted
2. S/N: Sensing or iNtuitive
3. T/F: Thinking or Feeling
4. J/P: Judging or Perceiving [1]

My personality type is ENFJ, who are described as "natural-born leaders, full of passion and charisma. Forming around two percent of the population, they are oftentimes our politicians, our coaches and our teachers, reaching out and inspiring others to achieve and to do good in the world. With a natural confidence that begets influence, ENFJs take a great deal of pride and joy in guiding others to work together to improve themselves and their community..." [2]

One thing that I enjoy about personality assessment is that it is not geared towards abstract navel-gazing. When you really explore the details of your personality type, you will gain valuable insights into optimal fields of study, professional careers, strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, personality assessments tend to be outcome driven.  They provide actionable behaviors and habits related to performance. For example, as subordinates, ENFJ's tend to be quick learners and excellent multitaskers. People with the ENFJ personality type are able to take on multiple responsibilities with competence and good cheer. As colleagues, ENFJs’ desire to assist and cooperate is even more evident as they draw their coworkers into teams where everyone can feel comfortable expressing their opinions and suggestions, working together to develop win-win situations that get the job done. While perfectly capable as subordinates and colleagues, ENFJs’ true calling, where their capacity for insightful and inspiring communication and sensitivity to the needs of others really shows, is in managing teams. As managers, ENFJs combine their skill in recognizing individual motivations with their natural charisma to not only push their teams and projects forward, but to make their teams want to push forward. [3]
 
WHO ARE YOU... REALLY?
Identity is complex and multifaceted. Ancestry, culture, nationality, gender and class are just a few of the factors that determine who you are. In the Yoruba tradition of West Africa, there are elaborate rituals and ceremonies that help people answer the eternal question, Who am I? As a result, more and more people are gravitating towards knowing more about the extensive pantheon of Orisa, as well as the almost inexhaustible information found in the sacred text, called the Holy Odu. 

The prevailing idea is that you will be more successful, happier and more comfortable once you have found yourself. And while I wholeheartedly accept that notion, I am also certain that knowing who you are is only the beginning. Long term success also requires that you know how to show up; how to express yourself. That is, you must know how to demonstrate your natural gifts and talents in ways that complement your environment and get the job done.  Getting the job done requires a balanced assessment of the weaknesses, as well as the strengths of your personality type. Let's take another look at ENFJ.  

ENFJ Weaknesses:

• Overly Idealistic – People with the ENFJ personality type can be caught off guard as they find that, through circumstance or nature, or simple misunderstanding, people fight against them and defy the principles they’ve adopted, however well-intentioned they may be. They are more likely to feel pity for this opposition than anger, and can earn a reputation of naïveté.
• Too Selfless – ENFJs can bury themselves in their hopeful promises, feeling others’ problems as their own and striving hard to meet their word. If they aren’t careful, they can spread themselves too thin, and be left unable to help anyone.
• Struggle to Make Tough Decisions – If caught between a rock and a hard place, ENFJs can be stricken with paralysis, imagining all the consequences of their actions, especially if those consequences are humanitarian.

ENFJ Strengths:

• Tolerant – ENFJs are true team players, and they recognize that that means listening to other peoples’ opinions, even when they contradict their own. They admit they don’t have all the answers, and are often receptive to dissent, so long as it remains constructive.
• Altruistic – Uniting these qualities is ENFJs’ unyielding desire to do good in and for their communities, be it in their own home or the global stage. Warm and selfless, ENFJs genuinely believe that if they can just bring people together, they can do a world of good.
• Natural Leaders – More than seeking authority themselves, ENFJs often end up in leadership roles at the request of others, cheered on by the many admirers of their strong personality and positive vision.

CONCLUSION
If there is one thing that makes the difference between average and exceptional performance, it is self awareness. Too often, people limit their self assessment to their likes and dislikes. Authentic self awareness, however, demands that you discover why you like certain activities and dislike others. It means learning to live with yourself - even those aspects of your personality that you would rather not acknowledge. Even more valuable than awareness is the way in which it enables a clear understanding of how to apply your personality traits strategically so that you can create specific outcomes. Without the ability to manifest your vision of life, according to your personality traits, you will remain incomplete and unfulfilled. There can be no maturity without full self expression. Ultimately, as you reconcile the contradictions of your personality in the full expression of your natural gifts and talents, you will achieve greater levels of success personally and professionally. 

​Check out my podcast episode on personality: Your Culture IS Your Brand

Obafemi Origunwa, MA | ObafemiO.com
#PersonalPriesthood 
#LiveTheMedicine