So you’ve taken our personality assessment, and the results are in. But what do the letters and type groups really mean? How can we claim that so much of you is made up of so few factors? We hope to clarify these questions, and to help you better discover the meaning behind the traits that guide your decisions and motivations. There may only be a few factors, but each of them has a tremendous impact on your personality.

First, let’s discuss the individual traits, those four letters that make up your personality type. Then we can move on to a broader discussion about the Type Groups, which share the first three of those traits with each other, and eventually to each individual personality type with our handy Type Table.

The Four Personality Aspects

This section will describe the four personality aspects that, when combined, define your personality type: Nature, Tactics, Energy, and Identity. The graphs you saw after completing the assessment are meant to show which categories you fall into, and how confident we are that you identify with a specific trait.

Let’s go through the personality aspects one by one:

Nature

The first one reveals what aspect of the world we’re drawn to:

Visionary individuals are imaginative and absorbed in ideas and metaphors. They envision many different possibilities, conceive future potential, and seek to grasp the bigger picture.

Realistic individuals are down-to-earth and absorbed in present matters. They rely on experience, value proven practices, and focus on the current state of the world.

Tactics

The second aspect shows the approach we prefer to use whenever we’re engaged with something:

Spontaneous individuals like to explore, improvise, gather information, and let decisions and solutions emerge in the process. They like to choose the steps toward their goals and destinations as they go.

Methodical individuals like having structure in their lives and methods to their approaches. They strive to plan ahead and maintain a steady course in pursuit of their desired outcomes.

Energy

The third aspect shows what kind of engagement we enjoy and are energized by:

Introverted individuals are energized by activities and environments they can immerse themselves in without a lot of social engagement. They may enjoy interacting with people but tend to get exhausted by such activities, especially in large groups. While they can have good social skills, Introverts typically retreat to restore their energy.

Extraverted individuals are energized by being part of shared experiences and social environments. They enjoy involvement with familiar and unfamiliar people alike. The social world is important to them and engaging with others drives both their personal and professional lives.

Identity

The fourth and final aspect reveals what shapes our actions and decisions, and how we use our Nature, Tactics, and Energy traits:

Motivating individuals are passionate in their convictions, speaking and acting from forthright yet considerate intent.

Supporting individuals are sensitive to the feelings of others, modest, and prefer cooperation to competition.

Challenging individuals value logic and reason and don’t hesitate to bluntly point out when something doesn’t make sense.

Delivering individuals strive to be effective at whatever they’re working toward and are open to hearing different opinions and views.

Type groups

Now you know how the aspects fit together, but what do they create? There are eight type groups with distinct sets of goals, interests and preferred activities. Your type group is determined by the first three aspects (Nature, Tactics and Energy), with the last aspect (Identity) defining a specific personality type.

Creators

Visionary, Methodical and Introverted [ VMI-* ] Types

Creators personality groupCreators’ inner world is filled with elaborate thoughts and ideas they methodically and systematically weave into a cohesive whole. They contrast different thoughts and even complete theories against one another, evaluating them and linking whatever survives their review to their existing models and systems. By doing this, they aim to advance their understanding and knowledge, improve practices, and thoroughly solve problems. In their engagements, they don’t place much value on – or always respect – traditional or conventional ideas and approaches. While not gregarious types prone to mingle, they do enjoy spending time with those they feel close to or with whom they have a deeper mental connection.

Read more about Creators.

Directors

Visionary, Methodical and Extraverted [ VME-* ] Types

Directors personality groupDirectors are sociable individuals with a big-picture mindset and a visionary approach to their endeavors – and to life in general. They form their views and ideas by thoroughly evaluating diverse thoughts and information they come across, weaving whatever passes their review into a tightly cohesive whole. This then serves as a framework for their own thoughts and efforts, and when they settle on a course of action, it’s not easy to change their minds. Directors dislike moving forward haphazardly, preferring to thoroughly think their plans through before making decisions. They’re prone to originate initiatives as well as pull people into their plans and often end up influencing or even steering the activities of the social groups to which they belong.

Read more about Directors.

Seekers

Visionary, Spontaneous and Introverted [ VSI-* ] Types

Seekers personality groupSeekers are free thinkers who explore different ideas and possibilities to gain insight not only about what interests them, but also their place in the world. They’re curious about the big picture and seek it not by adhering to set frameworks and approaches, but rather exploring and playing with different ideas. They let their exploration – as well as the fresh insights it generates – guide them forward. Inquisitive and open-minded to changes of view or direction, they aren’t prone to setting their beliefs in stone. They like having the freedom to let their minds wander unhindered and value restorative time alone – Seekers’ energy and inspiration often comes to them during solitude.

Read more about Seekers.

Catalysts

Visionary, Spontaneous and Extraverted [ VSE-* ] Types

Catalysts personality groupCatalysts are curious, open-minded types who tend to enthusiastically share interesting ideas, new experiences, adventures, and their initiatives with others. They approach the world with an explorative attitude, taking in their environment and letting their imagination loose upon it – effortlessly brainstorming. These types love seeing where the interesting connections that result from this process might lead. They tend to jump right in and act on their ideas, exploring them through practice and trusting this approach will lead them to the “right” answer in time. Because of their light touch and approachable nature, Catalysts’ enthusiasm can be infectious, and people usually have no trouble joining them, as long as they’re able to keep up.

Read more about Catalysts.

Protectors

Realistic, Methodical and Introverted [ RMI-* ] Types

Protectors personality groupProtectors are dedicated individuals who hold true to their values and respect what’s reliable and effective. They employ and guide themselves by ideas and approaches proven through experience. Disciplined in their execution and methodical in their approach, Protectors studiously attend to the smallest details no matter how tedious it might seem to other people. Guiding themselves by time-tested notions and practices provides them with the reliability and stability they enjoy since they aren’t prone to experimentation or improvisation in work or life in general. While not the most outgoing types, Protectors cherish time spent with those they’re close to, tending to be quite devoted to them.

Read more about Protectors.

Organizers

Realistic, Methodical and Extraverted [ RME-* ] Types

Organizers personality groupOrganizers are sociable types who place special value on building a sense of community and comradeship. They cherish the implicit fabric that holds people together and willingly become engaged in things that affect any groups to which they belong. Pragmatic and practical, Organizers like having structure in their lives, preferring to know where they stand, where they’re going, and how they’re going to get there. They value the reliability and predictability of proven approaches and the familiarity of the time-tested notions and ideas. In joint efforts, they dedicate their skills to help and can provide beneficial structure to any endeavor.

Read more about Organizers.

Explorers

Realistic, Spontaneous and Introverted [ RSI-* ] Types

Explorers personality groupExplorers are individuals who prefer to remain flexible and think on their feet rather than rely on detailed planning and strict methods. And they prefer to do things their own way – having to adhere to a particular course or way of doing things can feel too rigid and restrictive to these types. They adopt a more creative, crafty, and spontaneous approach to life, seeking experience and trying things out themselves instead of being guided by fixed theories or approaches. They’re very eclectic, going with whatever is shown to make sense through their experiential exploration. The fact that they’re very open, enjoy active pastimes, and tend to bond with others through activities can even make them seem like Extraverts.

Read more about Explorers.

Communicators

Realistic, Spontaneous and Extraverted [ RSE-* ] Types

Communicators personality groupCommunicators are gregarious individuals who find satisfaction in socially engaging people, whether mingling directly or just being around them. They enjoy exploring the social world, meeting new people and experiencing different vibes, characters, and temperaments – they’re open-minded and approachable. These types are also typically good at reading social cues, gauging the atmosphere of a room, and understanding social codes. But as open as they are, Communicators aren’t fond of making long-term plans, preferring to see what happens and react and adapt accordingly. Their in-the-moment mindset grants them little interest in the speculative or abstract; Communicators feel much more comfortable dealing with matters closer to their own life experiences.

Read more about Communicators.

Type table

This table shows all possible types along with their respective aspects:

Nature Tactics Energy Identity Personality Type
Visionary Methodical Introverted
[Creators]
Motivating Advocate (VMI-M)
Supporting Harmonizer (VMI-S)
Challenging Strategist (VMI-C)
Delivering Developer (VMI-D)
Extraverted
[Directors]
Motivating Leader (VME-M)
Supporting Coach (VME-S)
Challenging Commander (VME-C)
Delivering Captain (VME-D)
Spontaneous Introverted
[Seekers]
Motivating Mediator (VSI-M)
Supporting Peacemaker (VSI-S)
Challenging Innovator (VSI-C)
Delivering Researcher (VSI-D)
Extraverted
[Catalysts]
Motivating Campaigner (VSE-M)
Supporting Counselor (VSE-S)
Challenging Debater (VSE-C)
Delivering Designer (VSE-D)
Realistic Methodical Introverted
[Protectors]
Motivating Defender (RMI-M)
Supporting Keeper (RMI-S)
Challenging Inspector (RMI-C)
Delivering Administrator (RMI-D)
Extraverted
[Organizers]
Motivating Patron (RME-M)
Supporting Benefactor (RME-S)
Challenging Executive (RME-C)
Delivering Officer (RME-D)
Spontaneous Introverted
[Explorers]
Motivating Artisan (RSI-M)
Supporting Wayfarer (RSI-S)
Challenging Virtuoso (RSI-C)
Delivering Specialist (RSI-D)
Extraverted
[Communicators]
Motivating Entertainer (RSE-M)
Supporting Moderator (RSE-S)
Challenging Influencer (RSE-C)
Delivering Negotiator (RSE-D)