Personality Tests for Team Building

Posted on by ASCENT: Administrator Support Community for ENT

There are lots of personality tests out there, but did you know that they can be used for team building in the workplace? When you are collaborating on a team with others, understanding your own personality type and those of your team members can be a great help. This environment creates increased productivity and efficiency.

Whatever personality test you choose for your staff, remember these tests are typically only indicators of an individual’s personality with regard to their interaction with others. Some workplaces like to have interviewees take personality tests to predict specific behaviors, but they work much better in evaluating personality traits.

Some popular personality tests are:

THE MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR
One of the most well-known personality tests, Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers developed the personality test from Carl Jung’s typological theory. This test gives a more in-depth look at an individual’s personality selected from 16 different types. An individual will receive four types in four different categories.

BIG FIVE
This test works within five broad dimensions of personality traits that most researchers use to evaluate personality and is also known as the five-factor model. This test will identify how an individual interacts with co-workers, manages work-related stress and deals with managerial decisions.

DISC ASSESSMENT
This test evaluates an individual’s behaviors within four behavioral traits: dominance, influence, support and control. The assessment was developed from the DISC theory by lawyer and psychologist William Moulton Marsten. Individuals rate either high or low in one of the four personality style types.

NOW WHAT?
To solidify the difference of personalities in your practice, a team building exercise can help. For example, you can pair different personality types into groups for a round of “Use What You Have.” Give the teams limited items with one specific goal such as moving a golf ball from point A to B. An exercise gives your staff room to demonstrate their personality traits and recognize the traits in others.