Self-Knowledge is a Business Tool
Self-knowledge is crucial for building a successful and sustainable business. Understanding your strengths, weaknesses, values, and boundaries is essential for making sound decisions, setting realistic goals, and effectively managing your time and energy.
Knowing yourself well helps you create a business that is aligned with who you are. This, I believe, is what makes a business not only successful but sustainable in the long run.
One of the best, and most fun, ways to get to know yourself is through personality typing tools. Here are five reasons why I love these tools:
You will get a deeper understanding of what makes you tick. From how you relate to others, make decisions, or find inspiration, these tools hold up a mirror that can be very enlightening.
They will help you own your strengths. It can be hard as a business owner to boldly claim what you’re good at, so there’s something validating about seeing your strengths spelled out in black and white!
They will inspire you to do what works for you. Our online world is full of “experts” who tell us how to use their blueprints or secrets. Personality tools can be a great reminder that it’s ok to run your business your way.
They’re a nifty way to connect. I’ve seen business owners add their “types” in their Insta bio or as a fun fact on their About page. Think of it as a micro-signal or a shortcut for people (or at least fellow “tool geeks”!) to get to know you and discern if you are their type! Plus, there are lots of online communities for certain types and they can also be a fun way to connect with others who are like you, and learn more about your type along the way.
They’re just plain fun! I mean, who doesn’t love a quiz? Especially when it reminds you of all the ways that you’re awesome!
Popular Personality Typing Tools
1. Human Design
Unlike the Enneagram or Myers-Briggs, where our type is determined through a series of questions, Human Design types are fixed, much like astrology. Wildly popular in recent years, Human Design provides a unique blueprint for understanding one's strengths, communication style, and decision-making process. It combines elements of astrology, the I Ching, Kabbalah, and quantum physics. It is no secret that I am a big fan of Human Design; see the example from my own life below. I’ve heard from many business owners that Human Design has helped them work more in alignment with their natural strengths and tendencies.
2. Enneagram
The Enneagram system sheds light on our core emotional motivations and fears. Each of the nine personality types has its own driving force, which is centered around a particular emotion. It’s a great tool to help you understand what emotions you embrace or avoid. Learning that I am an Enneagram Type Nine—the mediator or peacemaker—was a big eye-opener for me, especially in my personal life, where I dislike conflict and have been known to mediate friends’ relationships.
3. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
A true classic in the world of personality assessment tools, the MBTI was created by Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers and has origins in Jungian theory. MBTI types categorize us into 16 personality types based on our preferences in four key areas: Extraversion vs. Introversion, Sensing vs. Intuition, Thinking vs. Feeling, and Judging vs. Perceiving. It can be a useful tool to get insight into who you are and how you interact with the world. Personally, I never quite gelled with the MBTI, but I know many people who swear by it.
4. Edgar Schein’s 7 Career Anchors
I first came across Career Anchors in a career seminar after being made redundant from a job. Another life-changing experience thanks to a personality test! MIT professor Edgar Schein developed Career Anchors in the 1970s, so this has been around for a while. Career Anchors are all about what drives us professionally, from values, needs, and passions to personality preferences. Your anchor can change over time as you change, so this can be a great tool to explore if you’re in the early stages of business or perhaps contemplating a big pivot.
5. CliftonStrengths
This tool identifies your strengths across four themes: executing, influencing, relationship building, and strategic thinking. The idea is that if you know what you excel at, you can leverage it and delegate/outsource more effectively. CliftonStrengths costs $25 for your top 5 strengths or $60 for a deep-dive report covering 34 different strengths. I have not done this test, but my Business Manager, Shauna, says seeing “Strategy” emerge as her top CliftonStrength, alongside four relationship-building strengths, was “a wee validation boost” that helped her feel more confident to offer 1:1 strategy sessions. Sometimes, a third-party nudge is all we need!
Ask the Cards
Another way I love to get to know myself better, more intuitively and spiritually, is through daily or situational Tarot readings. I do not use tarot for divination but rather as a tool that helps me go deeper while providing guidance when I feel stuck or need clarity. I am always amazed at how much the cards “see” me and where I am with my head.
How Self-Knowledge changed my Life and Business
The three typing tools that had the most impact on my life and career:
1. “Lifestyle” Career Anchor
I first encountered Career Anchors at a career seminar after being made redundant from a job. Career anchors are all about what motivates us in our professional lives, as well as our values and passions. Learning that my anchor was “Lifestyle” resulted in me accepting a new job that I would have otherwise not considered, and this job led to many other wonderful opportunities. Even though Career Anchors were developed during the 1970s when our work lives looked very different, I still find it helpful today to know that I can basically do whatever I want professionally as long as it supports my desired lifestyle.
2. Enneagram “Type 9”
The Enneagram came to me via a therapist at a time in my life when I felt a little lost. Learning that I am a Type Nine (Mediator/Peacemaker) was such an eye-opener! It not only explained my lifelong dislike of conflict but also why I’ve always been a good facilitator and a passionate people person. The Nine’s basic fear is loss and separation, and the basic desire is to have inner stability and peace. Spot on! The Enneagram helped me be more assertive in my life, hone my mediation skills, and accept my role as a person who brings people together and settles conflicts.
3. Human Design “3/5 Projector”
Learning about my Human Design type was like receiving a map to my life that finally made sense. Not only did it explain my need for more rest compared to the majority of Generators out there, but it also helped me understand that I am “life’s experimenter” and that it is my purpose to trial and error everything and then teach what I learn to help others improve their own lives. The biggest business impact was on my marketing. Projectors have to “wait to be invited.” It's no wonder I am so uncomfortable with hustle culture, which is all about asking for the sale using manipulation. Projectors are basically Anne Lamotts’s lighthouses: “Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” So all I have to do is show up, share, teach… and shine ✨
Want to get to know yourself in your business?
My Calm Business Foundation course has a whole module on leveraging self-knowledge in your business to make it more stable, enjoyable, and profitable—with lessons from well-known Tarot, Enneagram, and Human Design experts. Plus, many other modules to help you create a solid foundation from which to manage and grow your business with more ease.
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