There are a variety of self assessment tools available that measure various characteristics of preferences and tendencies. Listed here are the tools that I have encountered that appear to be effective in providing meaningful insight.

• Myers-Briggs

This is the classic tool used for many years to describe preferred behaviors of individuals. It is well researched and there are a variety of websites that provide free access to the Myers-Briggs assessment tests. The results consist of a four character sequence that will describe a personality. It distinguishes between:

• Introvert vs. Extrovert
• Intuitive vs. Sensing
• Thinking vs. Feeling
• Judging vs. Perceiving

Individuals fall into one of the two categories for each of these dimensions. The first letter of the result from the descriptors above is combined to form a four letter acronym that quickly summarizes the score. In my case, for example, I score as an INTJ: Introvert, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging.

There is no “good” or “bad” scoring – these are merely descriptors, and one should not become fixated on possible nuances and connotations of the descriptors here. For a full description seek out one of the many, many websites with a detailed explanation of the methodology and what is meant by these terms.

Click here to access one of the websites offering the test and providing instant feedback. For grins, I took the test to determine if I might have “morphed” over time into a different set of classifications. I happened to score the same as when I took the test almost 20 years ago – I appear to be a solid INTJ through and through!