INTJ/DISC...what?

If you spend any time in leadership you will soon be confronted with personality profiles. There are at least 5 or more that dot the leadership landscape---Myers-Brigg, DISC among many others.

I've often been a skeptic of these profiles simply because I don't like to pigeonhole anybody into any certain category nor do I enjoy being "tagged" and labeled.. Yet, recently, I've been reviewing some of the information particularly in Myers-Brigg profile. I have taken it many times and each time it is the same -- INTJ is what I "am".

While it is helpful to understand this what I'm really interested in getting to is what I am "not". In other words, I work with such a variety of people that I often have to adjust my style to better suit theirs. This is far from easy and an exercise that I find challenging. The tempation is to discover one's strength and say, "there ya go...that's what I am and that's that" but the real purpose of such profiles is to better understand where I might improve and become more flexible.

I've been really working on this lately, particularly with some of the styles that I often find challenging. It's kind of like a new math problem, getting my brain around new ways to communicate with people. But it's also very rewarding when I find that I am growing in new ways, too.

I can see how if I had takent his task more seriously in my earlier days of leading that I might have done a much better job at relating and responding to others.

For those of you that don't know, the INTJ's mantra is "things can always be better" and this style tends to drive others crazy because we're always trying to improve something, someone. It has it strengths, but it also has its weaknesses. I'm working on building new flexibility in my style and finding it challenging, but fun.