Navigating the World of Personality Tests

Welcome back to the Dr. Don Connections Podcast, where host Dr. Don Gilbert explores the fascinating world of personalities. In this episode, Dr. Gilbert discusses the value of personality tests and their diverse applications in various life domains. With a wealth of experience in counseling and business, Dr. Gilbert sheds light on choosing the right personality test and shares insights into his own creation, a five-quadrant personality strength survey. Delving into the animal-themed profiles, he explains each type's characteristics, from the powerful Lion to the adaptable Chameleon. Through familiar analogies, Dr. Gilbert demystifies complex personality concepts, making them accessible to listeners of all backgrounds. Join us as we embark on a journey to understand ourselves and others better through the lens of personality profiling.

For more information check out our website at www.drdoncoaching.com or www.newlife-counseling.com

Transcript

Sarah:
Welcome back to Dr. Don Connections Podcast. I'm here with Dr. Don Gilbert.

Dr. Don:
Good morning.
 
Sarah:
And we're talking about personalities today. There are so many personality tests out there.
 
Dr. Don:
There is. There's all kinds of them.
 
Sarah:
What is the value of a personality test?

Dr. Don:
Well, that's a really good question. It really depends on what you're wanting to do with the personality test. If you can use it for marriage, you can use it for personal relationships. You can use it for business. You can use it in all kinds of different settings. It's helping you to understand your personality strengths and how do you use them? How does it motivate you? How can you communicate with somebody? So there's just lots of different ways in which you can use them.
 
Sarah:
So how do you go about choosing the right one for you?
 
Dr. Don:
Well, I think all of them are pretty much basically the same. Typically, there are four quadrant or five quadrant, although there's a new one called the enneagram that is actually nine quadrants. So it just depends on which one you are trying to use. Some are more beneficial for business. Some are more personal. Some are more effective for relationships. It's just depending on what the test in. What is it that's trying to test for? And that would depend upon which one I would probably use.
 
Sarah:
Let's dive into which one is your favorite to use in your counseling practice or in your own business?
 
Dr. Don:
Well, that's a really good one. I've actually created my own. I am a certified professional profiler in terms of personalities. I've been doing this for almost 35 years, and I got tired of using other people's inventions as it were. So I've done all kinds of them, from Myers-Briggs to 16 PF to DISK to strength finders. So I've used many different kinds. And so out of that, I decided that when I did my doctorate that I would create my own. So I have a fairly simple what I call a personality strength survey that I use that's based on a five quadrant personality profile.
 
Sarah:
Can you tell us a little bit about that?
 
Dr. Don:
Oh, sure. Five quadrants. I looked at the four quadrant one and I begin to look and study that. And I begin to see that there was one particular quadrant that typically when you gave it to people, was higher than the other three. And so as we did a little research into that. We decided that splitting those into two different ones would make more sense. And then through just research on that, we began to see that this new five quadrant was really more effective in really getting down to some nitty gritty. And so we have the fourth quadrant, plus the fifth quadrant sits right in the middle of all four.

And then we gave them animal names because from a psychological viewpoint, every child has learned all about the animals. And so it's a lot easier. You don't have to teach people new language, new information, because when I tell you what the profile names are, it's really easy for you to begin to understand. What is this particular personality type? And so that's what we did. And it's been really successful, and I've used it in many different ways to teach managers in hiring. We use it in terms of marriage and individuals. Just help them understand their own strengths.
 
Sarah:
Okay. So animals. What are those five animals? I'm so curious.
 
Dr. Don:
Well, you know, they're really simple animals. basically look at them and say, okay, everybody knows what a lion is, right? And then, of course, you know, there's a great popular movie out about lions. Every child knows about that.

Sarah:
The king of the jungle, right?
 
Dr. Don:
King of the jungle.

And then we look at this and say, okay, the next one is a beaver. Beaver is really one that works really, really hard, creates a pond and works all the time to make sure that that pond dam is is created very well because the pond actually protects them. And so that's another type. And everybody knows what a beaver is, right? Absolutely. Big tail, big teeth. Right.

Sarah:
The busy beaver.

Dr. Don:
The busy beaver. Always busy, busy, busy.

And then the third one that we use is called the golden retriever type. Now, the golden retriever, everybody knows. Everybody loves the golden retriever and golden retriever love everybody. You know, they're just really very friendly, lovable, loyal, happy. Go lucky. Love to be with people. And that's a golden retriever. The problem with the golden retriever, however, is they're really sensitive to your tone of voice. And so that's really what a golden retriever as is that pleaser, right?

So then we have the fourth one is called The Otter. Now, anybody ever watched an otter, they play all the time. They even float on their back while they're eating their food. They just know how to have fun. And that's what an otter is. They're very social and very fun loving, and that's really what the otter is.

And then the last one is the one that sits right in the middle of what we would call this four square box. And that is the chameleon. Now, the chameleon is unique in the sense that it has the benefits of all of the other four, but it has some very unique qualities of its own. Like it changes colors to match its environment. It is really adaptable and one of its defenses, if you pick it up by this tail, the tail drop off and they'll scuttle away and grow another one. And so that is the five different animal types. Everybody knows what they are. Everybody has seen them. I think every little kid is seeing them in the kindergarten books. So how do you learn about the animals?

Sarah:
Well, thank you for that. I look forward to hearing more about those and in next podcast. Thanks for coming in today.

Dr. Don:
Absolutely. Thanks for listening.