What you Don’t see – but What you Get.

How many times have you had your personality tested? Or completed some kind of questionnaire that promised to give you more insight into who you really are and how you best interact with the general populace?

I’ve lost count. There have been many tests, and many results over the years. Of the ones that I remember Myers Briggs calls me ISTJ, Personality Plus calls me Choleric, I have an ID (Instinctive Drive) of 7453 and my highest scoring traits on Strengths Finder are… Intellection, Learner, Relator, Achiever and Maximiser.

So what does that mean?

It means that as someone who is Choleric, I am at my most satisfied when life, the universe is everything is in control (recipe for a stress free existence, no?), and it means that when someone uses manipulation to exert control over me I do.not react well (even if my reactions occur out of the earshot of the person pulling the strings).

As an ISTJ I have a strong sense of duty leaving me seriously motivated to finish what I start, and to do it well, without letting anything get in my way. It also means when something I start gets finished by someone else it’s a really tough gig to shake it off and move on.

The ID (High Verify for those in the know) calls me a thinker, and troubleshooter, with a natural talent for problem solving who needs to be clearly understood and listened to (and who has no problem going around things again, and asking the tough questions so that we’re clear, are we clear?)

The Strengths finder ‘strengths’ are all like they sound… Intellection… a thinker, spending significant time inside my own head… couple that with Learner and you have a thinker who’s relentlessly curious, add Achiever, and I will work at a problem until I see a result – extending that further with Maximiser means the result is nothing short of excellent – and as a Relator I prefer to be well known and to know well a select few, a trusted circle…

Handful much?

In all, these traits, for their good and ill mean that when I’m given a job to do, particularly one that captures my imagination, I will slog it out and the results will be good. Really good. It may take time but the deliverables will be worth it.

I have been working on one such piece of work, and on Monday it will be shown to the world. Frankly, this is a signature project for me, it will feature in a showcase next to work done by people I admire and I have been relentless about everything in it being as neat, clean and GOOD as possible so it will withstand scrutiny by my peers and by those above me. And frankly, when two of my code headed colleagues saw it and responded let’s say, appreciatively, about how good it was, it felt awesome to be the chick who turned the boys heads… with her code.

I can’t wait to show it you…

It will be worth the wait.