intuition | Usman Sheikh

5 steps to find out who you are

“You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don’t think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully.” Anthony Robbins

“Who are you?” was the question which was tackled this week. By no means is this an easy question to answer and in most cases not too many ask themselves this question till it is too late. For you to be able to succeed at anything in life you need to realize what it is that you are good at and, not good at. Simply plugging along and hoping for the best isn’t an optimal strategy. Being an entrepreneur, identifying your strengths and weaknesses and those of your team mates are essential in creating winning teams.

1. How do you energize yourself?: Some people draw their energy from the outside world with constant interaction with friends, co-workers or teammates. This constant interaction energizes them to be more productive and efficient. Some people draw their energy from the inner world. They need time-out to gather their thoughts and feelings to energize themselves. How do you energize yourself? To read more please click here.

2. How do you process information?: Do you work best with facts and figures or do you rely a lot on your gut feelings? Some individuals find it a lot easier to process information when they can use their 5 senses to verify information. They prefer information to be provided in a step by step manner. Others look a lot deeper than the senses, they are able to perceive and infer a lot of things which may not be clearly apparent. They are constantly moving from one thought to the next. How do you process information? To read more click here.

3. How do you make decisions?: Are you the type who requires all the facts and then likes to make logical decisions, or do you take into account the implication of your decision on those it may affect and then make a decision? People who prefer to go with the facts and reach practical decisions may appear to be cold, however their reasoning has sound fundamentals and may be the correct decisions. Others who take into account the implication of their decision before taking it may appear to be weak, however their reasoning is based on maintaining harmony in the group or team. How do you usually decide? To read more click here.

4. How do you structure your life?: Is your routine strict and regimented or do you have more of a carefree attitude and prefer to keep your options open? People who prefer structure in their daily routines tend to follow a day to day task list to help them prioritize. Making decisions as soon as possible to remove ambiguity is something they prefer. On the other hand people who prefer a more autonomous structure in life like to keep their options open all the time. They work best in situations where there are no strict deadlines to meet. How do you prefer to structure your life? To read more click here.

5. Put it all together: Once you have decided on all your preferences you you should click here and follow the instructions. You will arrive at a 4 character personality type which will highlight some common characteristics of that type. See if it sounds like you and how you prefer to operate.

What type are you?

I hope this process will help you see your preferences with greater clarity. This is by no means a definitive guide to identifying your personality. It is just an indicator of your stated preferences. It helps you to understand yourself better and also how your team mates prefer to operate. If this is done as a team exercise it boosts internal communication and increases productivity as team members now realize how a certain person processes information and ultimately reaches a decision. For an indepth analysis please email enquire@innovogs.com to schedule a JTi test.

I can hardly believe 4 weeks have already gone by. Thank you again for your support and continued readership. Major changes to the blog are underway so if there is anything that you want to see on this blog and don’t see yet please email me or leave a comment and I will do my best to incorporate it into the blog.

What do you see?

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” Robert McCloskey

How do you process all the information around you? Before going further think of what your answer to that question is. If you are not too sure about what the question is referring to, think about what you see in this picture ….

Originally uploaded by artissoft

This picture appeals to me . The most striking thing I think of when I look at this picture is, this cannot be a very safe neighborhood primarily because of the graffiti on the shop fronts. The atmosphere is also very eerie, I can imagine pin drop silence with the wind blowing. All these thoughts originate from past experiences or feelings. This is a more intuitive approach at looking at the picture. People with intuitive personality types usually infer and perceive a lot of things which may not be clearly apparent or deduced. On the other hand another person could look at the picture and say that the shop has German writing on its front or that there is a plastic bag which appears to be totally out of place. Or that there is not enough lighting in the adjacent street and other minor details which I may have been completely oblivious to as I was not paying attention to them. These are personality traits of people who rely heavily on their sensing capabilities.

Todays personality scale will explain how we process information. On one hand we have the sensing people who focus on details. They use their 5 senses to gather information. They prefer to trust concrete facts which are based on conclusive studies. Having a preference for realism they will accept new concepts which have some actual practical application. Information is processed the most naturally when it is provided step by step. This preference relates very much with the present.

On the other hand we have the intuitive people who focus on their sixth sense which is “gut feeling”. They are constantly reading between the lines and doing their best to decipher what is happening in the background. Being very imaginative individuals, new ideas are constantly floating in their heads. When explaining these ideas they tend to use a lot of figurative gestures and their thought processes are constantly jumping from one area to the next. They associate very must with the future.

Given this information you now have have a relative gauge as to which side of the scale you have a preference towards. Knowing this will be extremely helpful for you as it will allow you to use your preferred processing mode when you are involved in critical tasks. If you are an intuitive team member you can capitalize on your strength by providing the team with creative solutions on how to solve traditional problems. Your key insight into situations will allow you to look into the future and provide valuable feedback in the idea developmental stage. If you are a sensing team member you can capitalize on your strength by bringing some discipline into the idea generation process by creating a structure to process information in a more clearer manner. You will be able to provide practical advice when evaluating ideas and can back it up with some detailed data.

By identifying your preferred mode you will see your own and the teams productivity increase. Either/or is not the only option, however you should make sure you understand which is your preferred and most commonly used mode of processing information.