Goal Setting and Personality

How does your personality affect your capacity to set and meet goals? Discover more by reading this fantastic essay by Joy Healey.

It is now well accepted that individuals who set goals will succeed more than those who do not. However, did you know that the types of goals you are most likely to achieve depend on your personality? 

Continue reading to discover how to choose the right goals for your personality type. But first, a brief explanation of the profiling process is necessary before examining the importance of profiling in goal setting.

People vary, yet their differences can be expected. Knowing how someone will respond in a specific circumstance can increase their success, wellbeing, and consequently worth in any setting. Dr. Stephen Covey advised readers of his book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" to "seek first to understand, then to be understood."

The polygraph (lie-detector) and behavioral understanding specialist Dr. William Marston created a technique in 1926 to identify people's personality types. According to their active or passive tendencies, depending on how they saw the world, he categorized people in his book "The Emotions of Normal People."

The main styles identified are:

D - Drive - "My Way" (3% of the population)

I - Influence - "The Fun Way" (12% of the population)

C - Compliance - "The Right Way" (16% of the population)

S - Steadiness - "The Safe Way" (69% of the population)

Of course, there are more than simply four main styles because each person demonstrates each style to varying degrees, giving rise to an almost endless variety of possible combinations. In fact, it would be exceedingly suspicious if someone's profile displayed only one style. 

For instance, your style might be a blend of "High D," "Medium I," "Fairly C," and "Low S." No fashion is automatically "Good" or "Bad." Utilizing self-awareness of potential flaws, profiling seeks to uncover and capitalize on people's strengths.

As a result of combining the various levels of each style, a personality profile that is very accurate in the following areas is produced:

• What people believe about themselves
• How other people view them
• Their behavior under pressure
• They prefer to communicate
• Greatest phobias
• Greatest inducers

Knowing your own and others' preferred styles will help you foster an environment where Dr. Covey's advice to "Think Win/Win" can flourish.

Relevance to Goal Setting

Goal-setting often depends on the subject's prevailing style. Each type will establish distinct goals, which can have benefits and drawbacks.

For instance, a person who has a "High D," or extremely driven and determined, will be aware of what they want to do and is likely to set lofty objectives with great fervor and high expectations. This is fantastic because they are frequently highly productive and devoted. 

Even if they "shoot for the moon, and merely clear the trees," it won't be the end of the world if they don't accomplish what they set out to do. If they are disappointed, they will quickly recover.

This strategy could backfire if the High D takes on too much or fails to make proper planning because they have no sense of failure. They could also be preoccupied with their own worldview to the point that they fail to take other people's ideas and ambitions into account.

Interacting with people comes naturally to those with a High I style; they will love life and be very upbeat while focusing on "the big picture." As a result, they may set a lot of objectives, some of which may change frequently, but they will all be ones they like working toward and, because to the law of averages, they are likely to attain.

However, because they are often distracted by having a good time, many High I students struggle with lack of attention. For these outgoing and gregarious individuals, goal-setting that includes networking and rewards will have the best chance of success.

People with a High S style, on the other hand, are more reserved, steady, supportive, and proponents of the status quo. They'll function best when given safe, manageable, incremental goals and are more likely to succeed. Setting safe goals has the risk of preventing people from embracing new opportunities. The fact that 69% of people fall within this category is intriguing.

The High C style is also characterized by caution, intelligence, and competence.

They favor specific, well-thought-out goals that can be supported by a ton of data and research.

Because of their detailed plans they're highly likely to achieve their aims - so long as they don't spend so long planning and preparing that they never quite get round to the 'doing' part. Avoiding "paralysis by analysis" is a good idea.

To achieve success or to help someone in their goals, it can be crucial to adjust the goal-setting process to their personality type. 

Have you figured out what style you have? Prior to completing the quiz, I made a wild guess about mine, and I was utterly off. However, I must admit that as I read the report, it became clear to me that I was deluding myself and that the analysis actually knew me better than I did. I desperately wanted to be a High D, which is direct, forceful, and demanding, but I was a High C, which is obedient, reflective, and cautious.

I was first upset, but personality profile is meant to reveal advantages. The more of the report I read, the more I came to realize that qualities about myself that I had been ambivalent about are actually assets I can use to move forward in a way that won't make me feel threatened. I also realized the pitfalls I need to avoid, which I now know (and have learned from the past).

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