high freedom score
So if anyone has done a personality analysis for their job, they can appreciate what a useful tool they can be in working with other people, and what a pile of wank they are when it’s stuff you already knew.
For example:
The Birkman test told me that I like the outdoors, which anyone with a pair of eyes can see about me, as exhibited by my slow-roasted tan, the zen rock garden on my desk, or the picture of the beach as the background on my phone.
The Birkman also told me that I have a high need for freedom in my daily life. Again, a no-brainer for anyone who has worked with me or been friends with me. I love people, but I need to be able to do my own thing.
If you don’t know me, and you see my Birkman results, I imagine you’d learn quite a lot - stuff I already knew about myself (coming out really helps that, btw). Two days later, you can chuckle with me and say “gee, how did I not notice?” as you begin to spot my interests in the day-to-day. Two months later, you’ve chosen which of my interests you’re going to care about, and which ones piss you off, leaving you more knowledgeable than you started, but where have we ended up?
The trick is to focus on working with the traits in the other person that you don’t like. If you don’t like how independent I am, we need to figure out how you can get used to it, because it’s who I am.
My dream is to be the idea man. It used to mean to me that less work is involved, but that is changing. When you work with groups of people, or rely on others to get the ideas on their way, there’s a lot of convincing and research and accountability involved.
The reward I see is the fire that results from the spark. I want to be that critical, timely, powerful and reliable spark.