Whether you’re introverted or extroverted there are other personality traits that you should take the time to develop in order to become a successful communications professional. These are areas which any professional can cultivate to become a successful leader and performer. This list was composed by my own professional experience and observations.
- Curious – a person who is inquisitive and wants to try new things.
- Passionate – someone who goes out of their way to strive for continuous improvement just because they are in love with what they do.
- Resilient – the ability to bounce back and ability to mentally or emotionally cope with a crisis or to return to pre-crisis status quickly.
- Perseverance – people who do not give up, they are persistent despite the difficulty of the task at hand.
- Conscientious – a person who wants to do what is right because it is part of their individual moral code.
- Collaborator – a person who likes to collaborate and is able to get the job done.
- Coachable – being open to listening to constructive feedback without taking it personally.
- Responsible – understanding the value of their word and can own up to their actions.
- Analytical – the ability to analyze with sound logical reasoning.
- Communicative – able to convey and exchange information with peers, customers, and leadership.
This all might seem like it is obvious and like everyone can have these traits, but the truth is that not everyone does. From your perspective, be honest and pick which of these traits you believe to have. In addition, it’s important to know how you are perceived professionally, select 5 different people and ask them to describe you. These 5 people should preferably have professionally collaborated with you at one point. They should have an understanding of what it is like to work with you and should hold some of these traits themselves. They should be able to answer sincerely in order for you to gain some useful insight into what areas you might need to work on. However, these are all personality traits which are part of who you are as a person. Although you may be able to better your personality traits it is often difficult to change them since it is typically wired into your operating procedures.
Once you have received the descriptions go through this list again and compare it to the two new lists of your own perspective and your colleagues. This should give you a fair understanding of what personality traits you have.
