English | EN What is really wrong with people?
Jun 5, 2014
Why do managers seem so tactless? Why are software developers so negative and introverted? Why are business analysts and testers seemingly impossible to please?
These questions strike at the very core of our being. Why are people the way they are? Why can’t they be more like, well… more like me? One of the things that I have noticed in the past twenty years is how personality types tend to gravitate toward particular roles. It was around ten years ago I learned about the classic Greek temperaments. The goals of identifying personality types is to; know your strengths, know your weaknesses, but most importantly to be able to walk in the other person’s shoes.
Here is a brief explanation of the different personality temperaments. A person with a Sanguine temperament is the life of the party. People with a Choleric temperament are strong willed and like to get things done now. Phlegmatic persons are calm and like to weigh all the options. Melancholies are introverted thinkers. So how do these personality types apply to roles in information technology?
- Managers are usually a combination of Choleric and Phlegmatic. They are positive extroverts that are great organizers and planners. Their weakness is that they sometimes say things in an untactful way.
- Developers are half Melancholy and half Phlegmatic. They are genius introverts that like to weigh all the options. They tend to be negative and are vulnerable to fear and a negative self-image.
- Business Analysts and Testers are predominately Melancholy with a subdominant Choleric. They are driven perfectionists. Their weakness is that they are extremely difficult to please; rarely even satisfying themselves.
Put yourself in your manager’s shoes. When you hear them say something that seems disjointed; that is simply their weakness. Place yourself in a developer’s shoes. You will hear them talk negatively often. Take it with a grain of salt. Put on the shoes of a Business Analyst or Tester. Their perfectionism will bring about a quality product.
Take a personality test to see what your natural strengths and weaknesses are.
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