Personality Tests

I've never taken these personality tests, although I remember taking some kind of career aptitude test in high school. I really enjoy taking tests and surveys so I happily clicked away on these quizzes.

On the Myers-Briggs test I am a ISFJ. I was not too surprised as these results seem to fit me to a tee. However, while I know I'm practical and orderly, I hadn't thought about the fact that I am very experiential in the way I gather and process information. If I can't do it myself I don't understand things and if I haven't had the specific experience I can't relate to descriptions of it. I generally think I don't like something until I try it out. Realizing this is important because it helps me understand my reluctance to volunteer for things or try new approaches to various problems.

Being cognizant of my need to experience may help me overcome some of the difficulties associated with being a type 6 (loyalist or skeptic) on the Enneagram test. This test was particularly illuminating because it explained what I always felt was negative about my personality - overly critical, demanding, avid rule-follower, perfectionist. These are things that actually help me in my job but are not so great when it comes to interpersonal relationships. I liked the section on the website that listed "ways to get along with me" because it addressed some of the pitfalls I have in getting along with people. Knowing that I need people to be direct and clear with me, for example, may make it easier for me to ask for direction and clarity.

I made my husband take the Enneagram test also and both of us were surprised at how it nailed our parenting techniques and deficiencies. Knowing how the other person was inclined to parent really helped us to be able to get on the same page and understand our frustrations.

I also took a left brain/right brain test just because I'd always heard about it but never done it. I am 75% left brain oriented which means I take things very literal and am no-nonsense and to the point. At the same time, not surprisingly, I can be narrow-minded and have trouble grasping abstract concepts. This explains why I had so many problems applying theory in my history work, but why my research was clear and organized. Wish I would have figured that out sooner!

In a general sense, I do see how these tests can help you understand people better. But at the same time, just listening to and honestly trying to get to know someone can bring about the same results and is probably more rewarding - it just takes longer and you have to care.

The fact that I liked taking the tests and demanded that other people try it and like it just reinforces the fact that I'm a sensor and judger, that I like affirmation, that I enjoy structure and that I don't understand people who don't like following rules.

Conflict Resolution

In a job I worked at long ago, I had constant conflict with the people who sat around me. We were on a web customer service team, which meant that as a group we were responsible for email correspondence with customers and dealt mostly with questions coming from our website. I was responsible for prioritizing the emails and we all were responsible for clearing out the inbox every day. There were, however, no other job delineations. The conflict that erupted every day was over why no one would try to solve the hard and complicated problems that customers presented. It was always left to me. To make matters worse the were several little "cliques" involved and people always chose sides and defended the interests of their members. Moreover, because I had worked with the department manager in another capacity and because my supervisor was unreliable, I always reported the numbers at the end of the day. I thus felt personally responsible when the inbox was not cleared each day.

The department manager and lead supervisor could have cared less about this conflict and thus it was never resolved. (The reasons were varied and included a "hostile takeover" and, not surprisingly, some legal issues). I ended up quitting.

Looking back, if I was the supervisor I would have attempted to solve this conflict in several ways.

• First, I would have listened to the initial complaint and tried to observe the problem by checking to see who was actually completing the work each day and what kinds of emails each group member was dealing with.
• Secondly, I would have assigned each group member an email category to deal with on a rotating basis. That way no one person was dealing with the same email problem every single day.
• Third, I would have addressed the clique issue. This type of behavior is unhealthy in a work setting even if it is sometimes unavoidable. A more passive action would be to rearrange desk assignments to break up the cliques. This however would involve questions and blame would be placed on the person would initiated the complaint, making the problem worse. A better solution would be to talk to each member of the group individually to make sure they knew exactly what was expected of them in their position. They would also be made to understand that it is not their responsibility to choose a task or to help someone else get a task assignment. They should also be aware that verbal and written warnings would be given for this type of behavior in the future.
• Fourth, I would be more involved throughout the day to check on the progress and to report the numbers to the manager at the end of the day. It would also be a good idea to make it clear to the person initiating the complaint that I would take care of it and that they should continue to focus on their job, not on policing other people.
• Last, I would consider ways to modify the job to allow more creative input that would make the job more enjoyable. Raising morale and team building would be necessary for a positive outcome.
  

Elevator Speech

Speech:

I think there a direct relationship between academic librarians and publishers that is often overlooked in the publishing world. This might be the fault of librarians who often have little direct communication with individual publishers, but publishers also have a tendency to overlook the fact that academic librarians are making the purchasing decisions - not necessarily the scholars who are writing and reading the material. I know, for example, that our company spends a lot of time talking to school librarians and modifying our products based on their feedback. But when it comes to our more scholarly products, we seem to be spending more time at history conferences than we do at library conferences and few people on the editorial team have direct library experience, while many have had successful academic careers.  I think that having someone, like myself, with an MLS on your editorial team would be beneficial to the company in several ways. First I've worked in collection development and understand the considerations librarians must take into account when selecting materials. Secondly, I've worked with the students and faculty who use our material and have an understanding both of how they access it and how the library chooses to present it. I'd like to talk with you more about my ideas when you have some time. 

Process:

At first I started talking about the classes I've taken and why they would help me in publishing. Then I realized I needed to "set the scene" a bit to explain why my library experience should get me this promotion. When stating my opinions I realized I was being quite aggressive and I thought for this situation it might be better to "hedge" at least at the beginning - especially because I was accusing them of neglecting the people who buy their products (even if it was a just accusation). At the end I couldn't decide if I really should stop and say that I could continue the discussion when they had more time, but in the end I thought it was more courteous.