that meme about listing 10 things that other people may not know about me? i might do it, but for now at least i’m replacing my answers with this post about stuff i didn’t know about myself.

today i was scheduled to take this “learning to use your behavioral style” training at work. well, actually, i scheduled myself to take the class since other people on my team who had taken it before said it was really awesome and very informative. unfortunately it meant having to go to a different office an hour earlier than usual for this training, so i wasn’t enthusiastic about that.

anyway, so i get to the office and take the training and it was really a lot of fun! i’m very glad i went. it was using this psychological test based on research by the guy who invented wonder woman. no, i’m not kidding.

for this test, there were 24 questions, and each question was actually a list of 4 different traits; you’d pick which 1 of those 4 traits you were most like, and then which 1 of the remaining 3 you were least like. each had a letter associated with it (“D”, “I”, “S”, “C”, or a “-“), and you would find out how many times each letter appeared in your results for “most likely” and again for “least likely”, and chart the results. the “most likely” were how we mask and present ourselves at work, while the least likely ends up corresponding to our basic behavior — once the results were charted, you’d take the highest point (or points, if it was two that were the same) on the chart and that was your behavior. then you could look up to see how your chart matched similar charts to figure out your characteristics and how you act and communicate. it sounds dumb and hocus-pocus, but it was right on.

i ended up being a combination “S” and “C”, meaning i’m a combination of steadyness and compliance:

steadyness: amiable, friendly, good listener, patient, relaxed, sincere, stable, steady, team player, understanding

– dependable team player

– patient and empathetic

– logical step-wise thinker

under stress i’m non-demonstrative, unconcerned, hesitant and inflexible.

my ideal environment is a stable and predictable environment that allows time to change, little conflict between people and freedom from restrictive rules.

my limitations are that i may yield to avoid controversy, have difficulty in establishing priorities, have a dislike of unwarranted change and difficulty dealing with diverse situations.

appearance: casual / conforming

workspace: personal, relaxed, friendly, informal

pace: slow / easy

seeks: attention

likes you to be: pleasant

wants to be: liked

irritated by: insensitivity / impatience

measures personal worth by: compatibility with others / depth of relationships

when communciating with an “s”:

– start with personal comments to break the ice

– show sincere interest in them as people, don’t stick to business

– present your case logically, don’t threaten with positional power

– don’t mistake their willingness to go along for satisfaction

– allow time for them to think

compliance: accurate, analytical, conscientious, courteous, diplomatic, fact-finder, high standards, mature, patient, precise

– defines, clarifies, gets information and tests

– “the anchor of reality”

– comprehensive problem solver

under stress i’m pessimistic, picky, fussy, overly critical.

my ideal environment is one where critical thinking is needed, involving technical work or a specialized area, a close relationship with a small group, a familiar work environment, and a private office or work area.

my limitations are that i may get defensive if criticized, get bogged down in details, be overly intense for the situation and may appear somewhat aloof and cool.

appearance: formal / conservative

workspace: structured, organized, functional, formal

pace: slow / systemic

seeks: accuracy

likes you to be: precise

wants to be: correct

irritated by: surprises / unpredictability

measures personal worth by: precision / accuracy / activity

when communciating with an “c”:

– prepare your case in advance

– be straightforward and direct

– present specifics

– if you disagree, provide facts or testimonials from respected people

so yeah, that’s what i learned about myself today. because i’m a combination “S” and “C”, i’m a mixture of both of those. it’s weird because i’ve never had any sort of therapy or anything like that before, but it was pretty awesome today to spend 10 minutes picking 48 different characteristics that best and least described how i act at work, and then suddenly find out all these things about myself and see things just click together all of a sudden. it’s kind of like seeing a horoscope that speaks to you by name and then tells you exactly what’s going to happen to you for every minute of that day.

i don’t want to get all caught up in this result (40% of the US are “S”, while 14% are “C”, so it’s not like i’m the only one who acts like this), but i can see it definitely helping me out. i wonder how knowing this might help me out in my search for a new job? i suppose it’s good info to keep in mind if/when i’m checking out a new company and how they treat their employees and how the employees themselves act.