Something About Me

A friend sent me a link to one of those online personality tests that's really a shill site for some self-improvement book. This one sticks you into one of four colour-coded 'work personality' categories. As usual, they're broadly based enough that everyone can find a bit of themselves in each category.

Interestingly, however, my results were almost dead on as far as my work personality goes. I'm Green, about which it says:

"You are an exceptionally creative problem solver who brings your ability to think outside the box to the workplace. You are a conceptual, analytical, and logical thinker. To you knowledge is power and your insatiable thirst for understanding and information is what drives you. You are an incredible problem solver but once the goal is accomplished you lose interest and need to move on. The challenge is in the ideas and not the details or implementation of your creations. Leave those things to another type that enjoys doing these things.

You are an independent worker who detests routine and prefers to work alone on projects and you often gravitate toward leadership roles. You could be a good computer programmer, scientist or researcher. You usually find entrepreneur and independent contract work appealing."

The first paragraph has me down cold. The second is a little off - I haven't really sought leadership roles, and I don't have any entrepreneurial tendencies (although I am, coincidentally enough, working as an independent contractor right now).

And it provided me with the following profile:

I am conceptual. I have an investigative mind, intrigued by questions like, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" I am an independent thinker, a natural nonconformist, and live life by my own standards.

I like to do things that require vision, problem solving, strategy, ingenuity, design, and change. Once I have perfected an idea, I prefer to move on to a new challenge.

I value knowledge, intelligence, insight, and justice. I enjoy relationships with shared interests. I prefer to let my head rule my heart. I am cool, calm, and collected. I do not express my emotions easily.

In private, I'm more emotional - and getting better at figuring out, and communicating, my emotions. But at work I'm pretty locked down.

Based on my simple not-so-random sample of one, the test passes with flying colours. So, in the name of research, take the test and let me know, on a scale of one to 11.673, how well it describes you.