Librarians and The Birkman Method® Personality & Vocational Assesment…03.15.09

After having posted about several other personality profiles/tests/surveys and their potential with librarians (see links to older posts below), I wonder how “The Birkman Method®” relates to determining one’s compatibility with the library profession. I have not had any experience with it but here is their official explanation of the ”The Birkman Method®”: 

“The Birkman Method® consists of a 298-question personality assessment and a series of related report sets that facilitate team building, executive coaching leadership development, career counseling and interpersonal conflict resolution. The Birkman Method® combines motivational, behavioral and interest evaluation into one single assessment, which provides a multi-dimensional and comprehensive analysis, thus reducing the need for multiple assessments. The questionnaire is delivered on-line and should take about 45 minutes to complete. It has been translated into 11 languages in addition to English.

Through a combination of regression and factor analysis, The Birkman Method® identifies the respondent’s everyday interpersonal style (usual behavior), and unlike most other popular assessments, gives unique insights into underlying motivations and needs. Stress behaviors are identified when these needs are not met. Knowing the underlying motivations and the consequences of unmet needs give the coach, consultant, counselor and organizational development professional an effective way to improve workplace performance and reduce conflict.

In brief, The Birkman Method® includes the five following major perspectives:

• 1. Usual Behavior - an individual’s effective behavioral style of dealing with relationships and tasks. 
• 2. Underlying Needs - an individual’s expectations of how relationships and social situations should be governed in context of the relationship or situation. 
• 3. Stress Behaviors - an individual’s ineffective style of dealing with relationships or tasks; behavior observed when underlying needs are not met. 
• 4. Interests - an individual’s expressed preference for job titles based on the assumption of equal economic rewards. 
• 5. Organizational Focus - the perspective in which an individual views problems and solutions relating to organizational goals.

As the premier non-clinical instrument for measuring human behavior and occupational strengths, the Birkman provides a wide range of applications including:

		Pre-Employment		Conflict Management
		Individual Development		Stress Management
		Team Building		Culture Management
		Team Development		Mergers and Acquisitions
		Career Guidance		Workplace Diversity
		Career Management		Succession Planning
		Career Transition		Crisis Management
		Coaching		Retirement Planning
		Executive Coaching		Marital Counseling
		Leadership Development		Counseling

 RELATED POSTS:

Librarian Signal Personality “Patterns” Survey And DiSC® Profile Results

Lone Wolf Librarian and “PersonalDNA” Personality Test Results Report

Lone Wolf Librarian and “PersonalDNA” Personality Test Results Report…03.10.09

(See Also: Lone Wolf Librarian and the Briggs-Myers Personality Profile Test Results)

The following results are from the personality test available at the PersonalDNA website.

About you: You are a leader Your solid grounding in the practicalities of life, along with your self-assuredness and your willingness to appreciate new things make you a LEADER.

You’re in touch with what is going on around you and adept at remaining down-to-earth and logical.

Although you’re detail-oriented, this doesn’t mean that you lose the big picture.

You tend to find beauty in form and efficiency, as opposed to finding it in broad-based, abstract concepts.

Never one to pass on an adventure, you’re consistently seeking and finding new things, even in your immediate surroundings.

Because of this eagerness to pursue new experiences, you’ve learned a lot; your attention to detail means that you gain a great deal from your adventures.

The intellectual curiosity that drives you leads you to seek out causes of and reasons behind things.

Your confidence gives you the potential to take your general awareness and channel it into leadership.

You’re not set on one way of doing things, and you often have the skills and persistence to find innovative ways of facing challenges.

You are well-attuned to your talents, and can deal with most problems that you face.

You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute.

You do your own thing when it comes to clothing, guided more by practical concerns than by other people’s notions of style.

The control you feel over your life is empowering to you– you believe in your abilities and acknowledge your shortcomings. Explanations of the world that focus on destiny or fate don’t really interest you. You take responsibility for what goes wrong in your life, and also for what goes well.   Relating to Others: You are Generous Your awareness of those around you, along with your nuanced perceptions of the world at large, makes you the GENEROUS person that you are. You value time to yourself and understand how rich your private world can be—you know that you don’t have to go wild to have a good time. You are excited and energized by ideas and often enjoy things more through observation than through experience. This tendency gives you an appreciation for different perspectives and opinions about the world. Being as aware of others as you are doesn’t mean you find it easy to trust them immediately—this is something that happens more slowly for you. Despite this, you are aware of the complexities of many situations and are reluctant to pass judgments on others. Although you have fewer friendships than some people, those that you have are meaningful and are important to you. You value spending time alone—it is while reflecting on the world around you that you often learn something new about yourself or begin to understand something that’s been bothering you.

YOUR PERSONALITY CHART

“This chart shows thirteen personality traits. Each bar indicates the percentage of test takers who entered a lower value for that trait than you did. For example, if Confidence is at 80, that means that 80% of people entered lower values for confidence questions than you did. Based on a sample of 30,000 users.”

Confidence	LowHigh	84
Openness	LowHigh	52
Extroversion	LowHigh	32
Empathy	LowHigh	82
Trust in others	LowHigh	44
Agency	LowHigh	98
Masculinity	LowHigh	38
Femininity	LowHigh	42
Spontaneity	LowHigh	18
Attention to style	LowHigh	12
Authoritarianism	LowHigh	16
Earthy/Imaginative	ImaginativeEarthy	96
Aesthetic/Functional	FunctionalAesthetic	14

© 2007 ATTAP Technologies Inc™

Lone Wolf Librarian and the Briggs-Myers Personality Profile Test Results…03.08.09

As a follow-up to previous posts about librarians and personality profiles, i.e. the DisC profile, Signal Pattern, Briggs-Myers, Holland’s Vocational Inventory, etc., I thought it would be a more complete review by taking the Briggs-Myers test and posting the results, which I have done below.  

Of the jobs which are listed at the end of this post which fit my test results, the bolded ones are jobs I have performed.

“This test is based on Carl Jung‘s theory of psychological types and the personality research of Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs…”

 

ISTJ - The “Examiner” Temperament: SJ (Protector)

Primary Function: Introverted Sensing Population: 12% (15.5% male, 8.5% female)

 

ISTJ – The “Examiner”

ISTJs are responsible, loyal and hard working. They have an acute sense of right and wrong and work hard at preserving established norms and traditions. Because of their deep sense of duty they are dedicated to everything they do and are very dependable. ISTJs care deeply for those closest to them.

ISTJs are often happy with the following jobs which tend to match well with the Examiner/Protector personality. 

Accountant Administrator Auditor Computer Programmer Computer Specialist Dentist Detective Doctor Electrician

Executive Financial Officer Judge Lawyer/Attorney Librarian Manager Marketer Math Teacher Mechanical Engineer

Military Leader Police Scientist Steelworker Systems Analyst Technical Specialist Technician

 

SEE ALSO:

Personality Signal Patterns Results

Librarian Signal Personality “Patterns” Survey and DiSC® Profile Results

Lone Wolf Librarian and PersonalDNA Personality Test Results

Holland’s Vocational Preference Inventory Profile of Librarians and Information Professionals…03.02.09

(Image credit: Theresa knott )

Since there has been a great deal of interest in the personalities of librarians and information professionals, I thought I would highlight today John L. Holland’s Vocational Preference Inventory:

“…Holland mapped these types into a hexagon which he then broke down into the RIASEC job environments :

• Realistic – practical, physical, hands-on, tool-oriented
• Investigative – analytical, intellectual, scientific, explorative
• Artistic – creative, original, independent, chaotic
• Social – cooperative, supporting, helping, healing/nurturing
• Enterprising – competitive environments, leadership, persuading
• Conventional – detail-oriented, organizing, clerical

Holland argues that 2-3 types dominate in each person…”

Source: Holland Codes

Librarians and Information Professionals are labeled in the following job environment group:

Creator (Artistic)

Non-conforming, original, independent, chaotic, creative:

• Actor/Performance
• Animation
• Art therapy
• Artist
• Author/ Poet
• Dance therapy
• Expressive therapy
• Graphic designer
• Library and information science^[1]
• Music therapy
• Musician
• Painter“

Mmmmmmmmm…interesting.

SEE ALSO:

Librarian Signal Personality “Patterns” Survey and DisC Profile Results

Librarian Signal Personality “Patterns” Survey And DiSC® Profile Results…02.20.09

After taking the  Signal Pattern personality survey, these are my results (DiSC® results at the end of the post):

“Understanding

You are willing to take the time to find out what’s going on with other people, especially if they’re in distress. You’re a good listener, you don’t criticize, and you offer unbiased, respectful, honest advice when it’s requested.

You don’t feel the need to impose your standards on others or say things that, even though true, cause pain.

With a high score on the “understanding” trait, it is likely that you are enthusiastic about charitable work, helping others, and making the world a better place.

Scrupulous

You are an honest, fair person. You don’t lie or cheat to get ahead.

You treat others with respect and hope for the same in return.

You do not feel that you are above the rules that everyone else follows; you are definitely not willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead.

Responsible

You fulfill your obligations and responsibilities, are true to your word, and generally obey the rules.

You’re opposed to making hasty decisions, you don’t insist that you’re above the rules, nor do you feel compelled to color outside the lines. 
While the majority of those who have a high score on the “responsible” trait enjoy traveling, they are usually very happy to return home — and don’t mind staying put for a while.

Conscientious

You feel it’s important to work according to a plan and finish every task, to do things correctly and thoroughly.

You are not the kind of person who abandons a project before finishing it, or slacks off when you’ve lost interest.

Focused

You know how to lock in on what’s important. You quickly prepare yourself for a task, you don’t procrastinate, and you don’t let up until the job is done to your satisfaction.

You are the opposite of scattered. You don’t procrastinate before starting a task, and you almost never lose track of what you’re doing.

Organized

You like to think a task through before you embark on it. If it’s the slightest bit complicated, you make a list (even if it’s only in your mind) and methodically work your way through it. When you have a goal in mind, you’re not satisfied until you reach it.

You are not one of those people who ignore the details, and you don’t understand how anyone can get anything accomplished without thoughtful planning ahead of time.

Optimistic

You are a “glass half-full” kind of person, always on the lookout for the silver lining. Your happiness is contagious, which is why others like to be around you.

You do not feel that the world is an intrinsically depressing place; you are not the kind of “realist” who thinks that only fools find joy in life.

Calm

You rarely become irritated, generally accept people as they are, take things as they come, and feel relaxed in most situations.

You do not let a minor annoyance escalate to a confrontation. You don’t regularly snap at those around you or fly off the handle with little provocation.

Centered

You often feel balanced and on top of things, even when those around you are freaking out. You’re in a pretty good state all the time, and not subject to drastic mood swings.

You don’t usually react before you think; you’re not ruled by your emotions.

Aesthetic

You appreciate art, beauty, and design; you know that they are not superficial but absolutely crucial to living the good life. You have good taste, and you’re proud of it.

You don’t think it’s pretentious to be moved by art and beauty. You’re not one of those who believe it doesn’t matter what something looks like as long as it does its job.

Those with a high score on the “aesthetic” trait are often employed in literary or artistic professions, enjoy domestic activities — doing things around the house — and are enthusiastic about the arts, reading, and travel.”

 

I wonder how other librarians compare.  

For what it’s worth, below are the general results of my 2004 employment personality testing from DiSC^® 

Personal DiSC® Profile  - See general DiSC® Classical Profile Patterns

Highest DiSC Dimension: Dominance (D) – Steadiness (S)

Classical “Achiever Pattern”

I also wonder how survey/test results change over time and how significantly the frame of mind and life circumstances of the participant/subject at the time the data is collected affects them. 

RELATED POSTS:

Librarians and Personality “Patterns”

Lone Wolf Librarian and the Briggs-Myers Personality Profile Test Results

Lone Wolf Librarian and PersonalDNA Personality Test Results

Librarians and Personality “Patterns”…02.19.09

There was and remains significant interest in past posts regarding personality testing and librarians so I think the following is interesting from the Signal Patterns website (Note: the image above is not from my personal survey results):

“…On what research is this based:

Personality psychology has gone through a revolution over the past two decades, shifting from the use of simple types into much more specific and detailed trait theory. The leading industry personality model, The Big Five has been shown to be consistent and robust across different languages, countries and cultures, providing a core depiction of human personality. This model is now used by psychologists, human resources experts, counselors and behavioral researchers. In the Big Five model, the emotional, cognitive and behavioral attributes of a person are described by their level of exhibiting the five following traits (or factors): Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability and Openness/Intellect. Signal Patterns’ algorithm uses this model and extends it to 45 specific ‘facets’ of human personality, each facet being a mixture of two of the big five traits.

What’s special about Personality Patterns?

The Personality Patterns application is based on a novel algorithm that scores unique personality traits rather than rough ‘buckets’ of personality types. To describe each person, the algorithm uses 45 different personality traits, each scored on a separate scale, resulting in extremely unique depictions of one’s personality…”

You can take the Signal Patterns survey here. The visual representation of the results is nicer than the image above and also interactive.

© 2008 Signal Patterns. All Rights Reserved.

UPDATE 02.20.09:

Librarian Signal Personality “Patterns” Survey And DiSC® Profile Results…02.20.09

Librarians and Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicators…12.02.08

Looking back at traffic to various postings, there is considerable interest still in personalilty types/traits and testing of librarians.  It would be interesting today to redo “The Scherdin Study“ which used the Myers Briggs Type Indicator to determine if the results have significantly changed.  The results of the original study were summarized by Anne K. Beaubien in Library Journal in 1995 and posted on the “Image of Libraries in Popular Culture” website [http://besser.tsoa.nyu.edu/impact/f01/Focus/Image/DarLynn/dntopic1.htm]:  

“The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) confirmed some of the most deeply ingrained stereotypes in the 1970s and 1980s: that librarians are process-driven and shortsighted, and tend to shy away from any type of confrontation. The MBTI was used to determine an individual’s personality based on four dichotomous scales: Introversion/Extroversion (I/E), Sensing/Intuition (S/N), Thinking/Feeling (T/F), and Judging/Perceiving (J/P). The Scherdin Study determined the following percentages for librarians’ personality traits: 63 percent Introverted, 60 percent Intuitive, 61 percent Thinking, and 66 percent Judging. Traditionally, ISFJ was the personality type assigned to librarians, but Scherdin determined that the ISTJ and INTJ personality types were most prominent in librarians and were also found in the following occupations: Computer professionals, chemists, electrical engineers, high-level corporate executives, auditors, life and physical scientists, school principles, dentists, lawyers, and judges, according to CAPT’s Atlas of Type Tables. Scherdin asserts that an array of dynamic qualities are needed to meet the challenges of the Information Age and staff MBTI profiles can help create strong project teams that work well together.”

According to The Personality Test Center [http://www.personalitytest.net/types/descriptions/infj.htm], “INFJ”s typically do well at the following occupations:

“career counselor
psychologist
educational consultant
special education teacher
librarian
artist
playwright
novelist/poet
editor/art director
information-graphics…designer
HRM manager
merchandise planner
environmental lawyer
marketer
job analyst
mental health counselor
dietitian/nutritionist
research
educational consultant
architects
interpreter/translator”

I particularly like it that they point out the following truth: “…And it is very important to remember that people can, and frequently do, fill jobs that are dissimilar to their personality… this happens all the time…and sometimes works out quite well…”

SEE ALSO

Librarians Signal Personality “Patterns” Survey and DiSC Profile Results

Lone Wolf Librarian and the Briggs-Myers Personality Profile Test Results