Discovering Styles through Personality Assessment Tools & Activities

• Understand different styles – Recognizing the diverse ways people think, communicate, and work.
• Appreciate differences – Encouraging respect for different strengths and approaches.
  • NOT pigeon-hole or label! – Avoiding rigid classifications and instead embracing flexibility.
  • Build relationships – Helping individuals collaborate more effectively.
  • Every style is equally valuable – Recognizing that all styles contribute uniquely to a team.
  • Different styles need different approaches – Understanding that successful collaboration requires adaptability.
• Remember which is which – Learning to identify and work with different styles effectively.
• Practice. Practice. – Applying these insights in real-world situations to improve teamwork.

POPULAR PERSONALITY STYLE TOOLS

Despite the vast number of personality profile tools available, they all share a common goal: categorizing individuals based on their strengths and preferences. Here are a handful used by the trainers in our community:

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) – A widely used tool that categorizes individuals into 16 personality types based on four key traits.
• DISC Personality Assessment – Focuses on four behavior styles: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness.
• Hogan Personality Inventory – Used in workplaces to assess leadership potential and workplace compatibility.
• 16 Personalities – A free, modern adaptation of MBTI with practical applications.
• HRDQ’s What’s My Style? – A self-assessment tool designed to help individuals understand their preferred communication and behavior styles.
• Enneagram – A personality system that categorizes individuals into nine core types based on motivations, fears, and behaviors.
• True Colors – A simple four-color system that identifies personality traits and communication styles for better teamwork and relationships.
• Clifton Strengths – A strengths-based assessment that identifies an individual’s top talents to maximize personal and professional potential.

• Creative, visionary, inventive – Ideal for brainstorming and innovation.
• Reliable, steady, cooperative – Great at maintaining consistency and fostering teamwork.
• Charismatic, persuasive, outgoing – Thrive in leadership and social roles.
• Analytical, data-driven, organized – Excel in structured and logical environments.
• Decisive, assertive, competitive – Natural problem solvers and leaders.

Each framework offers a unique lens for understanding how people think, interact, and make decisions. By recognizing colleagues’ unique preferences, we can approach conversations with greater empathy, tailor our messaging to resonate with others, and create more productive, harmonious environments in both personal and professional settings.

TOOLS AND ACTIVITIES FOR ASSESSMENT LEARNING EVENTS

The ATD Community delivered when I asked about their favorite activities to complement personality assessments. The exercises fell into two main categories: 1) using the assessment reports to draw understanding about the different styles; and 2) interactive exercises formulated around the personality types. For instance:

REVIEWING THE ASSESSMENT REPORT

Many facilitators structure activities around the assessment reports delivered following a test. Typically, the reports explain the test results and offer tips on how to work effectively with others. Activities based on these reports might include:

• Discuss what you learned about your own style
• Share whether you feel the results accurately reflect your preferences
• Identify qualities you wish were stronger (or less strong)

EXERCISES & ACTIVITIES

To make the experience more robust and memorable, facilitators draw on additional activities like these:

• Create a 5 x 7 reference card for each style
• Identify a pop-culture icon or individual with that trait
• Share video clips exemplifying various preferences
• Find a “Personality Twin”
• Discuss how you can work with or communicate more effectively with others
• Role-play – share usual response to a question, then edit your response to appeal to a different style

THE DISCOVERING STYLES THUMBALL: A FUN WAY TO EXPLORE PERSONALITY STYLES

While the above activities are all effective, facilitators are excited for the opportunity to use a 3-dimensional tool to make their assessment debrief more physical, full-body activities. Enter the Discovering Styles Thumball from Trainers Warehouse. This activity encourages discussion and self-reflection in a playful and engaging way. Moreover, it can be used to achieve each of the four goals that lead facilitators to conduct assessments in the first place: 1) understand different styles; 2) appreciate the importance of differences; 3) remember which style is which; and 4) practice communicating differently depending on your partner’s preferences.

How the Discovering Styles Thumball Works

This ball is slightly different from our other Silver Series Thumballs, in that the complete prompt is not written on the panel. Rather, the facilitator comes up with a QUESTION. Below are a few examples that might work well, depending on your goal:

• Self-understanding: How well do you identify (or not) with this quality?
• Self-understanding: How, in your role, could you exemplify this quality?
• Valuing Differences:  How does this trait contribute to success in the workplace?
• Valuing Differences: In what situations is this quality most valuable?
• Understanding the quality: How can this quality be used to resolve conflicts?
• Understanding the quality: Who is a famous person that embodies this quality?
• Putting it to practice: Of those you work with, who do you identify with this quality?
• Putting it to practice:  Given your own style, how would you work with someone who has this quality?

Then, the participant who catches the ball reads the personality quality under their thumb and answers the question specifically regarding that quality. In other words, the player might answer, “How does [CHARISMA] contribute to success in the workplace?”

Game Options for the Discovering Styles Thumball

1. Focus on One Question – Players respond to a single question related to their quality.
2. Round Robin – Participants take turns answering different questions in multiple rounds.
3. Team Play – Teams catch the ball and respond to personality-related questions collaboratively.
4. Style Pairs – Players compare two qualities under their thumbs and discuss how they interact.

A FEW MORE TIPS FOR FACILITATING PERSONALITY ASSESSMENTS

Consider the Language you use: Not “Type,” but rather…

• Communication Style
• Inventory of Preferences

Set the stage and set expectations

• Every style is equally valuable
• There is no one best style
• We possess all styles and have a preference for one more than the others
• Learning about ourselves helps us understand how we interact with others

Create a safe space

• Establish group agreements about how to create a safe space
• Identify a “parking lot” to store difficult topics for deeper dives at a later time

Final Thoughts

Personality assessments and interactive tools like the Discovering Styles Thumball make self-discovery an engaging process. By learning about different styles and practicing adaptability, individuals and teams can communicate more effectively, resolve conflicts constructively, and build stronger relationships.