What Personality Types are Best for Business?

Although it might seem like that are countless types of people in the world, using personality tests nearly everyone can be classified as one of 16 main personality types.

These personality assessments can help team members and business owners understand how everyone fits into the bigger picture of their work environments.

What Are Business Personality Types

Personality types are a description of some key traits of how a person acts in certain situations. For example, in a social situation at work like a meeting or office party, people will display either traits associated with extraversion or introversion.

It's important to know that personality types are more of an average than a rule. For example, even if a person is traditionally introverted, they might have extroverted tendencies around certain groups or team members. However, their larger personality type would still be introverted.

From a big-picture view, a person's workplace personality will help recruiters and managers see how well they would fit in various teams or job opportunities.

The Best Personality Types For Business

There is no perfect personality type for business. However, many different types of business degrees and career paths will be better suited for different personality types.

People who work in marketing often benefit from having intuitive, feeling, and perceiving traits due to the highly creative nature of their work and the need for brainstorming and discussion.

People who are sensing and thinking tend to be more detail-oriented and like being hands-on with practical work. Finance and accounting can make great degree programs.

For higher management roles, having a blend of personality types can allow managers to understand multiple business units and the personality types that fill them. Having the ability to set guidelines and work with hard data can benefit executives, but they also need to be adaptive enough to react to changing markets.

How Do People Determine Their Personality Type

One of the most commonly used personality tests is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which uses four pairs of opposite traits to assign people one of 16 personality types. These indicators can help people understand their work personality and how they will react to situations at their jobs.

Even though the MBTI is one of the most commonly used tests, it's not the only option that business owners or workers have to try to find their business personality type. Wilhelm Reich identified five personality types. These five personality types are:

• spirituality
• love
• sensitivity
• commitment
• perfection

All personality type indicator tests have some flaws and inaccuracies. It's important to use these business personality tests to inform decisions, but not as a hard rule of exactly how someone will fit into a work environment.

Components of Different Personality Types Under the MBTI

With its origin going back over 100 years, the Myers-Briggs test is one of the most widely known personality tests and is used by companies around the world to help employees understand themselves and how they fit into their workplace.

The MBTI relies on four opposites, also called dichotomies, that indicate how a person will react, in a given workplace situation.

Introvert (I) or Extrovert (E)

In social situations, people usually act as an introvert or extrovert. Introverts tend to be quieter and keep to themselves, while extroverts are often seen as being more talkative. Even though this dichotomy is associated with how people interact, there is no guarantee that one personality type will have better communication skills. Introverts can be very good at communicating, but they will be more reserved in the process.

From a business perspective, having both introverts and extroverts can provide a good balance among team members and help present unique perspectives to achieve goals.

Sensing (S) or Intuitive (N)

Sensing and intuition relate to how someone interprets data and comes to conclusions. Sensors are usually very detail-oriented and prefer working with what they can see and feel and prefer to avoid abstract situations. Sensors often prefer jobs with more hands-on practical work as opposed to more theoretical or conceptual work.

People who have the intuitive trait are usually more creative problem solvers who don't need concrete examples to draw connections or see similarities.

For a role like an accountant, a sensor would be a better fit in most cases due to the nature of the work, while an intuitive worker could thrive in a marketing role.

Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)

One of the most obvious dichotomies is thinking vs. feeling. Thinkers use facts and data to make decisions and often are ''black and white'' when it comes to things like workplace fairness and promotions.

People who have a feeling personality type favor using their emotions and beliefs to influence how they react to situations at work. These people tend to be more empathetic than thinkers, which often makes them well suited for roles like human resources professionals or even management roles.

Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)

The final dichotomy is judging and perceiving. People with the judging personality type live life by order and guidelines. These people tend to be good at setting guidelines and rules for others, which makes them qualified for leadership positions and other administrative roles.

People with the perceiving personality type are usually more adaptive to change and generally more commonly risk-takers than judges. Although sometimes the perceiving personality is good for a leader, as they are willing to try new things, workers with this personality type thrive in creative roles that lead to innovation.

The 16 MBTI Personality Types

Due to the four dichotomies of the Myers-Briggs test, there are 16 possible personalities. Each personality also has a nickname that is used to help explain what people with this personality type tend to be like.

• ENTJ - Commander
• INTJ - Architect
• ENTP - Debater
• INTP - Logician
• ENFJ - Protagonist
• INFJ - Advocate
• ENFP - Campaigner
• INFP - Mediator
• ESTJ - Executive
• ISTJ - Logistician
• ESFJ - Consul
• ISFJ - Defender
• ESTP - Entrepreneur
• ISTP - Virtuoso
• ESFP - Entertainer
• ISFP - Adventurer

The Relationship Between Personality Traits and Business Personalities

Although personality traits won't always translate to how some acts in a work environment, they are often a good indicator for business owners and recruiters when trying to assign responsibilities to employees or hiring new employees.