Do Your Personality Traits Support or Sabotage Your Business?
As an entrepreneur and business owner, I’ve got ideas that never stop coming. Book ideas, course ideas, events, new ways to say old things…like I said, no shortage.
No “entrepreneur blocks” in this area.
Many of us have tons of ideas, yet we have a difficult time picking which one to work on. Or worse, we start a bunch of ideas and never finish them.
Has it ever occurred to you that who you are may be getting in your way? Or your personality is a helper to your success and growth?
A Self-Starter and a Finisher
When I was in my twenties my fiancé (now husband) and I moved into an apartment together. I was so excited to set up “house.” I decided to make curtains for every window in the place. We had two bedrooms, an office, two bathrooms, living room, dining room, etc. I had a lot of curtains to make!
I decided I’d make all the curtains during a week when my fiancé was on a business trip. I started on a Sunday afternoon. I came home every night after work and sewed. I turned up my favorite James Taylor album and stitched…and stitched, well into the night.
By Friday night (late), I was done. I’d finished making curtains for the entire apartment.
I’ve had this tendency to complete my tasks my whole life. I do what I say I’ll do. I don’t short shrift or bail out. I finish. It’s just part of my DNA.
It wasn’t until I owned my own business that I recognized this personality trait in myself and saw it as part of my success.
(Let me assure you, I don’t start every idea I have…there’s a system I run through to validate an idea and see if it’s “worthy” for my business, something I teach my students in THRIVE and STRIVE.)
Your Personality Traits in Business: A Help or a Hinder?
We all have strong suits in our personalities, but we also have weak aspects that get in the way of our moving forward in our personal and professional lives.
Broadly speaking, knowing your personality as a human, and as a business owner, is key to having it work FOR you, not against you.
Some business owners take this knowledge seriously. They take personality tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, Kolbe A Index, the Enneagram test, or StrengthFinders (also called CliftonStrengths).
These personality tests try to teach you about who you are and what your natural reactions and responses tend to be in different situations. Ultimately, these can give insight on your behavior. They can also alert you to potentially problematic behavior so you can work on it.
Like anything “tested,” however, results can be widely interpreted, nuanced and situational, so take what you learn with a grain of salt.
For me, I know I’m a “finisher.” It’s in my nature to finish what I start. I use this self-knowledge as a strength in my business.
Here are a few questions to prompt your thinking in this area:
- Do you complete what you start or bail out?
- Do you get working ahead of time or procrastinate to the very end?
- Do you plan every detail or get started and work as you go?
- Are you happy with “better done than perfect” or do you sit on things until they’re pristine?
- Do you worry about what others will think or not?
- Do you avoid confrontation, uncomfortable conversations, or asking for what you want?
- Do you tend to undercharge and overdeliver, or overcharge and underdeliver?
- Are you indecisive or afraid to make the wrong decision?
- Are you willing to delegate?
Personality traits in business are just one aspect that comes up over and over in my business program, THRIVE and in my mastermind group, STRIVE. While it isn’t easy to own up to procrastination or conflict avoidance, knowing this may be a tendency that gets in your way of growth can help you begin the work to transform it.
If you can identify your strengths and challenges, you can work with them and grow in your business endeavors.
What are the personality traits that show up in your work?
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