Personality Assessment

I genuinely enjoyed the class activity on assessing our leadership/management traits. I had no idea that companies go through the trouble of executing personality tests such as these prior to hiring an employee. Subsequent to some research I found out that, surprisingly, 85% of fortune 500 companies actually require future employee’s to undergo similar tests to make sure they have the skills and traits the company is looking for.
Although I think I was properly assessed through the test, I don’t believe that it is an accurate evaluation of people’s actual leadership characteristics. I think that it is difficult to establish a character profile on someone by simply judging their answers to 28 vague questions. The test assessed me as a “D” for dominance profile. I believe that this is an accurate judgment of my management personality as I am constantly looking for a new challenge and I act assertively when confronted with one. I thrive off of achieving difficult results and always look to make people around me more productive. I don’t wish I were another type as I enjoy taking charge and leading my team to success, however, I believe that you can fit another profile if desired. I think one of the ways someone’s management personality can change is by being affected by someone else with a strong personality. Personally, I don’t believe I was always a “D” type. I think that my personality grew stronger and more “dominant” after being influenced by my boss. He constantly urged me to be stronger with people and be more assertive in getting what I need from others. I saw how well that personality worked for him so I strive to change myself in the same way, as it would ultimately help me achieve goals that I would not have been able to with a pacific attitude. I think in today’s competitive business world this aggressiveness will definitely give me a much needed competitive advantage.