Did you know that the average person is likely to spend over 1/4 of their lives at work? No matter what occupation you fall into, the one universal truth we all share is our colleagues; and wouldn’t it make it much simpler when dealing with work situations (whether good or bad!) if we were able to understand our peers a little better?
You will undoubtedly encounter many different types of personalities in the work place, each with their own unique blend of nuances. But there are four basic types of personalities from which they are based, which are commonly referred to as A, B, C, and D. Although volumes have been written on such personality traits, here is a synopsis:
Type “A” Personality – Is a highly independent and driven personality, typically representing the leaders in business. They are blunt, competitive, no-nonsense types who like to get to the point. They are also strong entrepreneurial spirits (risk takers). As such, they embrace change and are always looking for practical solutions for solving problems.
Type “B” Personality – Represents highly extroverted people who are confident and may love the spotlight. They are very entertaining and often charismatic (everyone likes to be around them). These people are often found in Business development, sales and/or marketing type roles. They thrive on entertaining people, are easily motivated and can wear their heart on their sleeve.
Type “C” Personality – The antithesis of Type “B”; they are introverted and all about details and are represented by such people as accountants, programmers, and engineers. They may have trouble communicating to other people, but are a whirlwind when it comes to crunching numbers or writing program code. They tend to be very cautious and reserved, and will not venture into something until after all the facts have been checked out.
Type “D” Personality – Is best characterized as those people who resist any form of change and prefer routine, such as in clerical assignments. They are not adventurous, resist responsibility and prefer to be told what to do.
It is not uncommon to find people with a blend of personalities, particularly A-B and C-D. But these basic personality types explain why some people work well together and others do not. For example Type-A clashes with Type-D simply because one is more adventurous than the other, and Type-B clashes with Type-C as one exhibits an extroverted personality and the other is introverted. Conversely Type-A works well with Type-B, and Type-C works well with Type-D.
