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MY PERSONALITY TYPE: TEXTBOOK PROJECT 1
My Personality Type: Textbook Project 1
Blake A. Campbell
Liberty University
Author Note
Blake A. Campbell
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Blake A. Campbell
Email: bacampbell8@liberty.edu
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MY PERSONALITY TYPE: TEXTBOOK PROJECT 1
Abstract
Leaders in any organization should know who they are, from both a personality standpoint and a
temperament standpoint. Using the Jung Typology test and Keirsey Four Temperaments, I will
find what my personality and temperament types are and begin to research them. My results will
allow me to make sense of what it is that drives me as a leader at work and as a father at home. I
will break down each letter of my personality type to gain a better understanding of how they
work individually but also together. The goal of my research and writing this paper is to allow
me to understand who I am based on what my personality and temperament are.
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MY PERSONALITY TYPE: TEXTBOOK PROJECT 1
What makes us who we are? Beyond the physical part, it is the nonphysical personalities
that makeup who we are. Each person has their own personality type and determining which type
you fall under is the first, easy step. Taking the Jung Typology Test allows us to see what our
personality type is as well as determine what our temperament type is.
After completing the Jung Typology Test, I found that my personality type is INTJ. To
break these down even further, I am 31% Introvert, 3% iNtutive, 25% Thinking, and 1% Judging
(INTJ: Leverage Your Personality Type, n.d.). Some of my scores did surprise me, but ultimately,
I have come to realize through the research and reading, that they perfectly describe who I am.
Step 1 – Jung Typology
I – Introvert
According to the Jung Typology, I have a moderate preference for introversion (31%)
over extraversion (INTJ: Leverage Your Personality Type, n.d.). Why am I not surprised by this
result? The first is because I am exactly as described in Type Talk At Work. I derive my energy
from within myself, much more preferring to sit at home with my thoughts and recharge after a
long day (Kroeger et al., 2002).
I am comfortable going into situations where I will not be required to be the center of
attention, at least if I have not planned on being one. To get comfortable in that setting, I need to
plan what I want to say or prepare myself for that situation. In my current job, this has been my
biggest weakness. I am an instructor and must communicate with people I do not know or am
comfortable being around. What I have found that makes it easier for me is that the class size is
usually only 3 to 6 students, so my fear of being the center of attention is easier to overcome.
Also, being confident in the material I teach makes it easier for me to overcome the shock
of being judged by the students. This confidence also allows me to tell them what I know and be
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completely honest and tell them what I do not know (INTJ Introverted iNtuitive Thinking
Judging, 2019). Being in the military and wanting to continue making rank, being an introvert
can be a weakness and I have seen that weakness come out. The last military education
opportunity I was given had me frightened because it required me to get up and talk in front of
strangers. Public speaking is not something I am comfortable with because it causes me to put
myself out there. Being an instructor has made it a little easier, but it is still something I do not
enjoy doing.
N – iNtuitive
I was more surprised by this result; in that, I was expecting the percentage to be higher
than it was. Having such a low percentage shows me that I am not one to make quick decisions
or planned ones. For me, I suppose this just shows me that it all depends on the situation I am
involved in that will lead me to make a decision.
As an instructor, having a low percentage here does give me the confidence that I do not
quickly throw out information. I gather the facts, drawing on my experience to build lessons and
pass information to the students. I have to make sure the information I give them is the
information they will be able to use to complete their jobs. I do not see my students as just
students, they are future leaders in the Air Force, and I am molding them to get there.
As a leader though, I do see the iNtuitive side of this in me. I do go with how I am feeling about
getting other parts of my work done. It is always on the task that does not require such a strict
thought process or if it only affects me. My current job gives me the flexibility to work at my
own pace and certain aspects allow me to put my own twist on it. Not very many opportunities in
the Air Force allow us to complete our job our own way. Having a low percentage here does
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make sense but at the same time, I do see how I can adapt to become either more iNtuitive or
more sensing.
T – Thinking
My score in thinking shows I have a moderate preference (25%) over feeling (INTJ:
Leverage Your Personality Type, n.d.). I do see that in myself as I often make my decisions based
on what is required versus what I am feeling. To me, this is where I see the importance of having
rules in place, having a system to guide us to make decisions.
I find that because I have more of a thinking personality, that my relationship at home
tends to struggle. I am not one who shows my emotions and at times, does not recognize my
wife's emotions. I am not comfortable with emotions because they often puzzle me in what the
true meaning behind them is (NERIS Analytics Limited, 2015). I hear from my wife all the time
that I do not understand why she is upset or sad about some of the decisions I have made and
now I know why. 74% of people with the thinking trait say it's easy for them to make important
decisions without consulting with someone first (NERIS Analytics Limited, 2015). I do that all
the time and have even been told by my leadership that they appreciate that I am not scared to
make a decision without asking for permission. At my rank, they trust that I will make the right,
logical decision for the situation and my personality type leads to me being able to meet that
trust.
J – Judging
My last "type" is the most confusing to me. According to my Jung Typology results, I
have a marginal or no preference for judging over perceiving (1%) (INTJ: Leverage Your
Personality Type, n.d.). I do not know how I am neither a judger nor perceiver with how I orient
my life. Yes, I do prefer an environment that is structured, scheduled, and planned but at the
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MY PERSONALITY TYPE: TEXTBOOK PROJECT 1
same time, I do see how it is so low being I also like to be flexible, spontaneous, and adaptive to
situations (Kroeger et al., 2002).
At home, I see my personality type come out when it comes to raising my son. I have to
have structure for him, and I hate when something comes into that structure and ruins it. I have
rules for him, but of course, I tend to use his age to guide the rules I have for him. At 3, I will not
just let him go run the street with the older kids in the neighborhood. If I cannot see him, I will
not let him go and play. I prefer to look for ways for him to foster his independence.
My Type – INTJ
According to the Keirsey Temperaments, my temperament falls under the NT's or the
Rationalists (Cobb, 2015). Having an NT temperament, I value knowledge and approach my
work in a logical, yet objective manner. My work has to have a purpose, the lessons I build have
to have a reason behind them and follow the set guidelines the Air Force has set for the career
field I teach.
I do see how I am more comfortable being a maintenance teacher versus in any other
career field because I do not have to worry about how others are feeling. This world does not
care about how someone feels, we have to follow what is laid out in front of us. Having an NT
temperament though can hamper me on some career goals I have set for myself.
Last year, I told myself that I wanted to be a First Sergeant. If I was to become one, my
temperament and personality type would be in a constant conflict within because I would be
stepping into an environment that requires me to be able to read emotions. I would have to work
with people, being very hands-on in helping them through their issues while being sympathetic
and warm (The Myers & Briggs Foundation - Function Pairs, n.d.).
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Knowing and understand both my personality type and temperament though can help me
change how I think about it. I can use my strength in thinking to guide the decisions I make
towards changing, or better, towards growing into a better professional and leader. I cannot allow
myself to fail this challenge as failing it would lead to me failing to meet both my personal and
professional goals of mine. My temperament allows me to see the bigger picture of what I need
to do. I need to set new short-term goals to meet the changes I want out of discovering who I am
and what drives my personality and temperament.
Step 2 – What have I learned?
Completing these personality tests has shown me that my personality makes up a small
portion of what makes a successful workforce. Yes, I know that no two people will be exactly the
same but now I can use what I have learned to look at their personalities and see what their type
is. Being fluid in how to handle situations comes with knowing the different personality types
and temperaments. You cannot be a successful employee, coworker, or manager if you fail to
understand that not everyone will react to a situation the same way I do.
To be effective, we have to understand the situation and do what is appropriate rather
than adhering to the rules or a default preference or norm (Kinicki, 2020). Now I take away the
knowledge knowing that there is no set right way to handle a situation. Before taking this course
and reading the material up to this point, I assumed that the way leaders run an organization
should be on what the organization wants. Now, I understand the truth that organizational
behaviors and what motivates individual behavior are what keeps organizations healthy and
running.
Going forward, I will take what I have learned about myself from these to be a better
employee, coworker, and eventual manager. My goals dictate that I have to understand how a
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person operates and knowing how to look at different aspects of their personality to put them in a
type will help me. I have also learned that my weaknesses are not just that, they are areas that I
can improve on.
The area I plan on improving the most is getting out of my shell to start working better as
a team. Having an introverted personality is great and all but being in the military and wanting to
lead in the military, I have to be more willing to be part of a team. Military leadership cannot be
one-sided, we have to be a team. Independence is the force that motivates an introvert (Kroeger
et al., 2002) but I cannot allow that to be my motivation.
Also, I need to look at myself from an iNtuitive or Sensing personality. Knowing that I
am borderline between each personality type leaves me room to grow, one way or another. The
trick I need to accomplish though is which one will be the stronger one for me. Yes, they both
have their own strengths but what are the weaknesses of each? Which will allow me to meet my
goals? These are the things I want to look at now so I can improve myself.
Conclusion
From the readings in Organizational Behavior: A Practical, Problem-Solving Approach
to reading Type Talk at Work, I now have a better understanding of what makes me me. I
understand my personality and my temperament and how it relates to how I am at work. I see
how I need to work at improving some areas of my personality to make it stronger. Making these
changes will allow me to meet the goals I have, both professional and personal.
From this point on, I will take the skills I have learned to help my organization. Finding
the different personalities to work with and strengthen me through that engagement. I will see
what works for me and what does not work. The first step in solving any problem is recognizing
there is one (America's Not the Greatest Country in the World Anymore, n.d.).
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References
America’s Not the Greatest Country in the World Anymore. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved
May 30, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEumay-kcM8
Cobb, D. (2015, August 10). Keirsey Temperaments. Personality Club.
https://www.personalityclub.com/blog/keirsey-temperaments/
INTJ Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging. (2019). Humanmetrics.com.
http://www.humanmetrics.com/personality/intj
INTJ: Leverage Your Personality Type. (n.d.). Www.humanmetrics.com. Retrieved May 30,
2021, from http://www.humanmetrics.com/personality/intj-type?EI=-31&SN=-
3&TF=25&JP=1
Kinicki, A. (2020). Organizational Behavior: A Practical, Problem-Solving Approach (3rd ed.).
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Kroeger, O., Thuesen, J. M., & Rutledge, H. (2002). Type talk at work: how the 16 personality
types determine your success on the job. Dell Pub.
NERIS Analytics Limited. (2015, November 28). Nature: Thinking vs. Feeling.
16personalities.com; NERIS Analytics Limited.
https://www.16personalities.com/articles/nature-thinking-vs-feeling
The Myers & Briggs Foundation - Function Pairs. (n.d.). Www.myersbriggs.org. Retrieved May
30, 2021, from https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/understanding-
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