Dalvir Narula
S620002
MORS S30: Leadership in Organizations
Freemind Assignment
July 20th 2019
After carrying out several personality tests and exercises I discovered based on Myers -
Briggs my personality type is ISTJ- Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, Judging also known as the
Investigator. Those with this personality type tend to be realistic, more reserved,
independent and work hard to meet their commitments. Another exercise revealed I was a
“high S” or golden retriever, while the Free Mind exercises allowed me to self-reflect better
on my daily thoughts and how they affected my personality.
I took the test at a variety of times throughout the day based on my available time. Through
the word exercises on Free Mind I realized that the words reflected what I was facing in
daily life, for example, if I was travelling my words of choice imitated that with words such
as ‘travel’, ‘air’, ‘passport’, on another day I was thinking of my son and my choice of words
showed that ‘son’, ‘life’ and ‘happiness’.
I was quite surprised to see that although I am a very coherent person my word choice was
somewhat governed by emotion. Looking back at the entries I observed that there are many
words that are based on rationality, which wasn’t surprising, such as ‘nails’, ‘grow’, ‘cut’
whereas another person may have thought of a different word such as ‘pink’ or ‘healthy’.
My word choices clearly propose logical thinking although unconscious. Another example is
‘crawl’, ‘walk’, ‘run’ again the logical thinking is apparent in these words.
Moreover, another theme that emerged in my choice of words was related to knowledge
with words such as ‘read’, ‘book’, ‘learn’ or ‘study’, ‘reading’, ‘words’ this makes me self-
reflect and come to the conclusion that these words were based on the fact that studying
and expanding knowledge was on my mind as well and the need to constantly learn as well
grow. Overall, there are three apparent themes - daily life, logical thinking and studying or
learning.
Introverted ISTJ personality types tend to process the world internally, whilst focusing more
on the minute details. we make decisions based on what we are able to see rather than
what they know. I make all of my decision both big and small based on facts and not what I
believe. If I don’t see, I won’t believe, simply put.
Also, this personality type tends to believe that the truth is more important than people’s
feelings. This particular trait rings very true for me personally, I am a firm believer in the
facts, if something is right it is right regardless of what the consequences are of pointing
that out. In all my relationships be it at work or home those who deal with me on a daily
basis are well aware of this fact and turn to me for advice when placed in tough situations
on the best course forward. A downside is that I sometimes forget to be sensitive to the
emotions of those involved and focus only on the facts at hand. Now that I am more aware
of this, I will make the effort to make decisions based on logic but also allow for emotion
and whilst showing empathy to others sentiments.
The personality test by Gary Smalley revealed that I was a Golden Retriever which suggests I
am keen to be part of a team, have a daily routine, prefer to be in familiar environment, and
have clear goals with the steps outlined. This is clearly reflected at my work place, I have
weekly goals set for my team that we work together to achieve through weekly meetings
and open-door conversation.
The ISTJ personality is a logistician in other words a person who is driven by logic, reality
and facts, we are known for our reliability. We are known for our strong work ethic and
dedication, devotion to all our obligations, attention to minor details and our knowledge.
When communicating with an ISTJ personality it is best to avoid using too much emotions
and stick to the logic required to understand the message being relayed. This is a factor my
staff members have had to adapt to when reporting information across to myself, I am
interested to know only the facts and numbers that support it.
Being a Hotel General Manager, I am required to make multiple important decisions on a
daily basis and this is a skill I quite enjoy using. I feel happy when I see my staff
communicating clearly with their subordinates and with me, seeing they are able to work
hard and be focused. I don’t believe is a hierarchy top down approach but more of a matrix.
Our personality type is organized by nature and like to plan ahead following all the rules and
processes, possessing strong work ethic. At work, I encourage all staff to work as a team and
do their best to support one another in any means possible. With discipline, all heads of
departments and Managers work closely with their staff members to support them as best
they can so in turn, they are able to provide the hotel guests with a good experience. Each
team member will have a different way of working that I sometimes find difficult to handle, I
am better off working in a structured environment and sometimes have to remind myself
that not everybody works most effectively in the same manner and we are all different.
My personality types tend to be more intrinsic motivation when I complete a goal or task
that I had set for myself, by abiding by a routine, taking out some time to energize my mind
such as a quick lunch with friends or coffee with like-minded individuals.
In conclusion, I was able to learn that my personality type tends to only stick to facts rather
than emotions, this can sometimes cause short comings in leading. I have learned that we
can’t only lead with logic some emotion is required too. For this reason, I am glad that this
has come to my attention and I can now work on reflecting on my past decisions before
going forward and making any new decisions especially when related to staff members.
These word exercises have also made me realize my willingness to learn in order to become
a better leader to my team.
Free Mind Association Word Entries
Date Word 1 Word 2 Word 3 Remarks
June 24th Food Full Dinner Dinner Time
June 25th Work Study Knowledge Education Means Power
June 26th You Me Us Family First
June 27th Books Read Words Keep Growing
June 28th Sports Sweat Gym Post training workout
June 29th Home Family Love Home
June 30th Bed Rest Sleep Good Night
July 1st Phone Dial Communicate Endless Conversations
July 2nd Study Reading Words Love to read
July 3rd Read Book Learn Learning Mode
July 4th Time Management Skills Organization is key
July 5th Leisure Games Cricket Cricket Fever
July 6th Crawl Walk Run Baby Steps
July 7th Nails Grow Cut Self-grooming
July 8th Camera Angle Record Essentials for Live Streaming
July 9th Fly Airplane Countries Travelling Home
July 10th Baby Son Life Son coming home from trip
abroad.
