In 2011, I undertook a Myers Briggs assessment. My results showed that I was an ESTJ which is one of Myers Briggs personality types. According to the report, I am practical and a realistic person who can make and implement decisions quickly. I may sometimes leap to conclusions on occasion or act without waiting for new information to become available. I’m highly motivated and organised in all aspects of my life and dislike wasting time, energy, resources, or unproductive activities. I work with speed and efficiency and take pride in maximizing results with the resources at my disposal. As such, routine and organisation are key in my workflow. As an ESTJ I generally have a clear set of procedures and standards that I systematically follow in order to ensure their success. As an ESTJ personality type, I also tend to use established processes to work with others since they have been proven and can sometimes be assertive in their implementation.
I have a strong sense of duty and often serve as a stabilizing force in my community and in any organisation I work within. I have a natural tendency to lead and am comfortable taking the lead to make sure things run smoothly. Myers Briggs assessment suggests good roles for me would be CEO, project manager, consultant, service delivery lead and other types such as chef, judge, business manager and military officer. They even suggest data analyst but they are wrong on that count.
So it seems I am a born leader, who knew? Well, that was 13 years ago, what has changed? Not much actually, I still recognise those traits in myself now. I would suspect they are much stronger than they were in 2011. The company that I worked for at the time did not take advantage of the results of the assessments, had they done so, I would have been a key leader in their organisation.
Myers Briggs assessment is a general assessment in that it cannot pick up neurodiverse traits so I would like to add to the mix a recent assessment I undertook recently, Genius Finder created by Genius Within is an assessment that looks to identify the strengths of a neurodiverse individual. I completed the assessment on 14th April this year, and it outlined that I am a creative individual who can regulate emotions, I am very organised, focused and reflective which helps me to learn from any past challenges and develop on previous wins.
This article is not about recommendations, it is about my experience of assessments. I have had bad assessments particularly those that have not been inclusive and have been poorly implemented. Not all assessments are accurate, and not all assessments are inclusive making it difficult for someone like me who is neurodivergent. Organisations need to be careful about the assessments they choose and think about the objective of including them in their process. They also need to ask themselves, if it is inclusive, and how much is weighted to determine the success of the candidate.
Everyone, should have an equal chance to be hired for a job, don’t put obstacles in the way, and make sure you have done your due diligence before selecting an assessment tool.
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