News flash. Your personality annoys others!
Have you ever met people that you just seem to have a personality clash with?
Many years ago when I was starting out in business, I was introduced to a book called ‘Personality Plus’ by a lady named Florence Littauer.
The person that introduced me to the book was leadership expert, Peter Cox from Leadership Dynamics, who recently co-hosted me on the ‘Leadership’ series on The Site Shed podcast in episodes 36, 37, 38 and 39.
Peter and I have a similar personality and he knew with his own experience that often, he would unintentionally rub people up the wrong way. Visualising that I was soon to be heading down a similar path, he suggested that I read the book and boy was I grateful that I did, because it became a turning point in my life.
The book relates specifically to the ancient Greco-Roman theory that we are all made up of a combination of the following four fundamental personality types. Read more here.
- Sanguine, who are fun going.
- Choleric, who can be short tempered and irritable.
- Melancholic, who are analytical.
- Phlegmatic, who are chilled.
You see we all respond differently to various things and what may appeal to us, may not necessarily appeal to others.
As I read on, I finally started understanding why I annoyed and offended so many people. It was because I didn’t understand how to relate to them.
Interestingly (but according to everyone else, not surprisingly) when I took the test, it showed that I was predominantly Choleric, which explained why I thought everyone was stupid and anything that wasn’t done my way was completely incorrect.
Believe it, or not, this used to piss people off.
The reason I’ve posted this blog and recorded this podcast is because I know the power of relationships and I know how much it can help you in life and in your business.
It’s the only book, I have consistently recommended to people and given away by the box load over the years and I encourage you to get hold of a copy and give it a read. It’s available online in many places, including eBay, Amazon, Booktopia, etc. (I have not posted the links as it will vary, depending on where you are located.)
It certainly changed my life and I’m sure it will also change yours, if you give it the chance.
Would you like to know what type of personality you are right now?
Go to this link and take the test.
Here are my recent results, which surprisingly haven’t changed much since I initially took the test 10 years ago.
