Let’s be honest: working in a team environment can be one of the most difficult things about a workplace. Everyone’s been in a group that doesn’t work to its highest potential, whether it is because someone doesn’t pull their weight or others are unwilling to compromise. Teamwork is essential to a company’s success, and having people unwilling or unable to work together is detrimental to that purpose.

Enter personality tests. These assessments can help employees identify their own strengths and understand others’. Being upfront about your strengths and weaknesses can help increase productivity and camaraderie. There are several tests available (both free and paid), but here are three you can use today.

CliftonStrengths

CliftonStrengths (formerly known as Clifton StrengthsFinder) is the only test on this list that doesn’t have a free option but is one of the most thorough options available. This test is very well-suited for professional use but can also be used for personal self-reflection.

One of the things that sets CliftonStrengths apart from other strength and personality quizzes on this list is the sheer number of choices. If you choose this test, you’ll take an assessment (approximately 1-2 hours long) that asks how certain statements apply to you. Once done, you’ll receive a list of either your top five strengths or all 34 strengths in order (depending on which assessment is purchased). At a minimum, you can read more about your top five strengths, what “power” each strength brings to a team, a signature themes report and an insight guide to help you engage in self-reflection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, for the strengths themselves. There are 34 strengths divided into four main domains: executing, influencing, relationship building, and strategic thinking. Whether you purchase the top five or full 34 strength reports, knowing what types of strengths are in your top five can help you understand why certain things seem to come naturally, while others require a bit more work.

To put this into context, here is a sample of someone’s top five strengths and what domains they fall into.

1. Input – Strategic Thinking
2. Significance – Influencing
3. Restorative – Executing
4. Ideation – Strategic Thinking
5. Responsibility – Executing

If you look closely, you’ll notice that none of these strengths fall into the “relationship building” domain. This means that for this person, building relationships doesn’t come as naturally as analyzing data or fixing problems. In the workplace, this person may lend themself better to fixing a client’s problems behind the scenes instead of facilitating a meeting with them.

Ultimately, it is important to remember that every company has roles for people with different skills. A successful business can’t just have people who focus on any one domain. Having a variety of strengths will improve the company and allow for long-term success.

For more information about CliftonStrengths, click here.

Cost: $19.99 for top 5 strengths; $49.99 for 34 strengths

16Personalities (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)

16Personalities is based on the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, arguably one of the most well-known personality tests out there, and is free with the option to purchase a premium profile to receive more information (even though plenty is included without payment). After completing the test, it analyzes how your personality type would fare in several situations, such as parenthood, making it a good choice for both personal and professional use.

Your test result will be a combination of five letters based on the following aspects: interaction with surroundings (introvert vs. extrovert); information processing (observant vs. intuitive); decision-making (thinking vs. feeling); approach to work and planning (judging vs. prospecting); and self-confidence (assertive vs. turbulent). This results in a five-letter combination, such as ENFP-A. This specific personality type includes the extroverted, intuitive, feeling, prospecting and assertive personality traits.

When these traits are combined, you’ll receive a title for your personality, such as architect, mediator, entertainer or executive. There are 16 of these combinations in total (turbulent and assertive personality traits are not considered in your personality typing).

What really makes the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator truly unique is how it goes in-depth about how each personality reacts in both personal and professional situations. For example, strengths of an INFJ-T (the advocate), include being creative, insightful and deeply principled, while weaknesses included being perfectionistic, prone to burnout and sensitive to criticism. Throughout the report, these strengths and weaknesses continue to appear in the report’s sections, such as romantic relationships, career paths and workplace habits. However, because this test does work using an either-or method, pairing this with another personality test will help you get more information.

For more information about the Meyer-Briggs Type Indicator or to take the free test, click here.

Cost: Free for test and report; $29 for 242-pg. profile; $49 for 242-pg profile and specialized tools and assessments; $169 for profiles of all 16 personality types and specialized tools and assessments

Enneagram Personality Test

Another popular personality test on the market is the Enneagram Personality Test. Like the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, you can take the test for free and view an abbreviated report. Additionally, there is also a specific Enneagram Personality Test to be used for businesses, which allows companies to easily analyze their employees’ strengths and weaknesses in relation to the company.

This test divides questions into nine different types. Each number is associated with a trait, such as enthusiast, peacemaker or skeptic, which are listed and described in the graphic below. Unlike the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, you can match multiple types and draw main traits from several of them.

One thing that this test does differently, though, is identify “superpowers.” These are strengths that fuel each individual but can also be a weakness if not identified and kept in check. One example of this is futurism, which means that individuals enjoy looking ahead at what the future may hold and, because of it, are hardly surprised at a situation’s outcome. However, people with this strength also struggle to stay in the present and live in the current moment.

However – the free report gives you very little information apart from which types you match. Because of this, investing in the full report is essential for this assessment.

To learn more about the Enneagram Personality Test, click here.

Cost: Free for test and abbreviated report; $19 for full report

Here at Impact Marketing, our team has a wide variety of strengths to best serve you. Give us a call at 319-232-4332 or visit us online at impactmt.com to learn more.