In terms of my abilities and potential as a leader, I have opted to take the Myers-Briggs, Big Five, and external/internal locus of control assessment tests in order to determine how well I would respond to a leadership role.
My Big Five personality test indicates a relatively moderate individual, who perhaps needs to become more extroverted and organized. The Big Five examines one's openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. I scored a 47 on Openness; this means that I am neither absolutely original and creative or too conventional and bogged down in the existing. This falls in with my scores for Agreeableness and Neuroticism; I seem to be on the even hand of the spectrum on those aspects as well. I am neither forgiving, nor am I irritable; I feel as though I tend to take each situation as it comes, adapting to whatever I need to do. I am not overly calm in the face of danger, nor do I upset myself with nervousness. These things, I feel, are strengths.
However, what I really need to work on is my Conscientiousness; according to this test, I am extremely disorganized and undisciplined, not good attributes for a leader. This aspect of myself I really have to work on, as I do often find myself flying by the seat of my pants, which is sometimes terrible when you have to relay instructions and plans to others. Furthermore, I am extremely introverted; this does not inspire employees or those I am supposed to be leading. Since I tend to have more of a follower mentality, and I am overly concerned with what people might want or think, I need to make myself more extroverted and available to others.
As for the Myers-Briggs test, my score was an INFJ (Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging) personality type. With this score, I find myself as a very intelligent and creative person, though I often have trouble relating these feelings and aspects of my thinking to others. Essentially, I am very open to unconventional thinking, allowing myself to think outside the box and come up with solutions that may not be as evident to others. However, I tend to have a quiet exterior which may make it difficult to articulate these ideas in full - with this in mind, I need to make sure to be more extroverted and assert myself more.
That being said, I also need to be understanding and be willing to explain my ideas to others - an INFJ personality is very judgmental of others who are not on the same wavelength as them. I also have a great deal of trouble bringing these wild ideas into fruition, as ideas seem like more work to implement than they are worth. Given the results of my Myers-Briggs test, I need to relish in my ability to perform original thinking, but I must work harder on asserting myself and making these ideas comprehensible to others.
As for my locus of control, I have a moderate internal locus of control: my score was a 33, which is as external a locus of control can be without falling into that category. For the most part, it is said that those with an internal locus of control are very assertive and hardworking, always working to achieve as much as they can. While my internal locus is not very strong, there is a lot I could do to strengthen it. By making myself more open to others and sharing my ideas more readily, I can strengthen my position as a leader and my ability to be inquisitive. While there are benefits to having an external locus or a low internal locus - namely, being more easy going and considerate - being that way constantly does not make for a good leader. With that in mind, I have to focus more on improving my internal locus. I have just enough to qualify as having one, but it is the weakest internal locus possible on the scale.
Given the results of these tests, there are several basic things about my personality I need to improve in order to be a better leader. For one, I need to be more extroverted - I must make my presence known, becoming more confident in what I have to say and do. Far too often, I just think my own thoughts, which are often innovative, but keep them to myself since I think someone else will think of that too. If I am able to increase my confidence and become stronger as a person, greater leadership abilities will follow.
APPENDIX:
Big Five:
Openness: 47
Conscientiousness: 8
Extraversion: 18
Agreeableness: 57
Neuroticism: 43
Myers-Briggs:
INFJ (Introverted Intuition Feeling Judging)
Locus:
33 (moderate) Internal Locus of Control
