Every person is unique with a different set of experiences, skills and ambitions.
Research shows there are four core personality types each with four sub-types. While a person’s experiences, skills and ambitions change over time, personality is remarkably stable.
Learning about your personality will help you understand your needs and preferences.
This will enable you to make choices which enhance your level of career satisfaction.
Traditionals make up about 45% – 50% of the global population. There are four types of Traditionals: Shielders, Enforcers, Regulators, and Nurturers. Traditionals place a high value on preserving stability, tradition and values.
Traditional types share a number of characteristics. They are helpful, collaborative, and diligent. They love to work hard and serve others. They also possess a deep sense of personal humility. Traditionals prize security and operating in accordance with defined rules and protocol.
In their professional lives, Traditionals excel at maintaining and improving the performance of systems, processes, and relationships. The ultimate executors, Traditionals thrive on getting things done, no matter how difficult the task. Their bias for action and sense of stability makes them highly effective managers and process leaders.
Traditional Enforcers make up about 11% of the population. Enforcers are sensible, reasonable and logical. They are the protectors of tradition, sociable and generous with their time and energy. Enforcers are happy to speak up when something needs to be said and relish the opportunity to take charge. Enforcers enjoy bringing people together to achieve tasks whether at work or in the community.
People turn to Enforcers for clear advice and guidance. They are loyal and are able to maintain long term relationships and build strong social and work-based networks.
Enforcers have a strong sense of right and wrong and believe that the best way for people to get along is to follow convention. They look for a sense of belonging and enjoy being part of a team, group or organization. Enforcers willingly accept and comply with established hierarchy and authority.
Enforcers are highly responsible and can be relied on to deliver results. They excel at creating plans, schedules, lists and agendas to make sure that they meet all their commitments in every area of their life. Enforcers can be relied on to lead by example and are honest, dignified and dedicated citizens.
Enforcers commit to seeing projects through to completion. They will work hard to overcome all obstacles. Enforcers are not deterred by opposition, driven by their conviction that the projects they are working on are the right thing to do. They will not give up unless their view of the task or project changes.
Enforcers will always give honest and clear opinions and advice, even when they have to deliver difficult messages. They base their judgments on observable and concrete facts. People usually have no doubt about where Enforcers stand on an issue.
Enforcers take their commitments very seriously. They can be relied on to follow through, whether at work, at home or in the community. Enforcers place a high value on stability and security and expect the same level of reliability from others.
Enforcers are masters at creating lists, plans and agendas to ensure that they meet their commitments. They don’t like chaos. Enforcers readily identify how to regain control by defining rules, policies and processes.
Enforcers honesty, reliability and organization skills make them good leaders. They find it easy to take charge, delegate and provide feedback to develop productive teams focused on achieving a common goal.
Enforcers are confident in their beliefs and dedicated to seeing projects through to completion. This can lead them to be reluctant to deviate from tried and tested approaches. It often takes a great deal of effort to persuade an Enforcer to adopt new ideas or technologies which might improve what already works.
Enforcers become uncomfortable when they asked to change traditional approaches. They can experience discomfort in times of change when their ways of doing things become outdated. An Enforcer’s sense of loss of control is likely to lead to higher levels of personal stress.
Enforcers have a strong sense of right and wrong and value conformity. This can make it difficult for them to see that there is more than one “right” answer. Enforcers can be harsh and judgmental of those who dissent or who are unconventional.
Enforcers want to be admired and respected and work hard to earn it. They may become overly focused on living up to people’s expectations and can engage in power struggles.
Enforcers are practical and results based. Their approach can mean that they reject others’ opinions or ideas without considering their feelings. This can result in resistance which negatively impacts their effectiveness.
Traditional Enforcers are dedicated, organized and reliable. They work well within established rules and guidelines. Enforcers have a respect for authority and hierarchy and are diligent in following the rules. As a result, Enforcers take orders readily and will work tirelessly to deliver results for their manager and the organization they work for.
Enforcers are adept at creating order and like to use detailed agendas, timetables and plans to make sure that they meet their commitments. An Enforcer will work hard to ensure that their work and the work of those around them is completed to the standards required. This, combined with their respect for authority, in many ways makes them model employees.
Enforcers tend to prefer to work as part of a team, rather than on their own. They are likely to honest and confident in their views and speak up in a group setting. However, an Enforcer can be dismissive of those who they feel are lazy, dishonest or fail to deliver on their commitments.
Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.
Although they are sociable, Enforcers don’t get distracted by personal issues and will tend to put work first. They expect their colleagues to do the same. Some Enforcers can benefit by using techniques to connect with people on an emotional level to build relationships and enhance their approachability.
Enforcers are unlikely to spend much time brainstorming or trying to innovate. However, they are open to new concepts and methods if they are demonstrably better than what they are already doing. Once a course of action is clear, an Enforcer will play a significant role in creating the plans which translate ideas into reality. Some Enforcers can increase their ability to innovate by practicing facilitation tools to elicit ideas from diverse perspectives.
Enforcers are loyal to those they trust and respect. Yet, they will challenge those whose decisions or actions are illogical or deviate from accepted standards. An Enforcer will judge any explanation based on logic and continue to voice their dissent if they are not satisfied. Additionally, and Enforcer will be honest in their views without regard for politics or the feelings of others. Some Enforcers can benefit by understanding how to disagree without becoming disagreeable. Others can be more effective by learning how and when to address key issues.
Traditional Enforcers tend to lack pretense. They are friendly and easy to get along with. Enforcers are active networkers and enjoy collaborating to get things done. They communicate widely and build relationships to help achieve their goals, rather than for any political ends. As a result, Enforcers tend to mistrust those who seek the spotlight or build relationships to advance their own careers.
Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.
Enforcers prefer feeling that they belong to a broader organization and work well as part of a team. They give good advice and are honest and direct in their opinions. Additionally, an Enforcer will readily accept constructive criticism and feedback if it helps them to achieve better results.
Enforcers maintain relationships best with people who share their attitude and values. Outside work, they make friendships based on shared interests. However, Enforcers can be dismissive of people who hold opposing views and tend not to handle dissent well. For example, they can be impatient with those focus on generating ideas or who value relationships above getting things done.
Traditional Enforcers relish the opportunity to take charge. They are natural organizers who set clear goals and expectations. Enforcers communicate directly and assertively. Enforcers work to build collaborative networks to accomplish goals. Additionally, Enforcers are driven by firmly held principles and values and aim to lead by example.
Enforcers feel more comfortable than most in taking and issuing orders and expect members of the team to work out the detail for themselves. However, they will jump in and take over if they feel that a member of the team is failing. This approach doesn’t work for everyone. Learning to moderate their tendency to control how people do things can improve the motivation of members of an Enforcer’s team.
Enforcers find duty and commitment intrinsically rewarding. They may not fully appreciate that others have different motivators. For instance, an Enforcer may fail to provide thanks and recognition to members of the team. Additionally, Enforcer leaders tend not to celebrate successes. They can improve their effectiveness how to flex their approach to motivating others. This will also boost the satisfaction and productivity of their team.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
Enforcers are clear communicators who provide honest and direct corrective feedback. However, they can be too rigid in how they view a situation. When a member of a team disagrees with their perspective, the Enforcer leader may become irritated and frustrated by their team member’s apparent lack of understanding. Some Enforcer practice techniques to listen with greater empathy to improve the level of trust and openness in their team.
Enforcers can sometimes be resistant to changing priorities. They have a natural tendency to stick to plans until they are completed. Enforcers can sometime experience conflict with those who initiate changes to their plans. They may also need to hold their natural tendency to stick to established goals or processes in check. One way to do this is to create a way for team members to challenge how things are done and explore new ways of operating. This can also help them identify the best ideas for improvement.
Enforcers are naturally confident and competent leaders. They are most effective in structured environments where they can drive results and lead by example. Their team will appreciate their loyalty and enjoy the stability, clarity and direction they provide.
Traditional Enforcers are suited to careers in many fields. Their hard work and results focus combined with their honesty and respect for the rules will be rewarded in a wide range of organizations.
Many Enforcers dedicate themselves to a single organization for a long period of time. This allows them to progress their career and assume greater levels of responsibility. They are often most comfortable in fields with structured career paths which reward experience. Careers in law, accounting, public service, or the military are a great fit for Enforcers.
Enforcers also have many leadership attributes. This is likely to be recognized in whatever field they choose. Enforcers are highly skilled at bringing order to chaos. As gifted organizers they are able to delegate and communicate their expectations clearly. Even outside work Enforcers bring people together through organization and structured activity.
I attribute my success to this - I never gave or took any excuse.
An Enforcer will likely be happiest in a stable, conventional environment. They work best in organizations which reward loyalty and compliant behavior. Consequently, Enforcers are well suited to work in large companies or public sector organizations with well-defined roles and hierarchies. Established ways of doing things are of great importance, whether at home, school, or at work. Indicators of accomplishment such as degrees, certifications, and titles are important markers of success for Enforcers.
Enforcers tend to have a low tolerance for ambiguity. Because of their strong desire for stability and security, work environments that are constantly changing or highly cyclical are also likely to be stressful for Enforcers. Similarly, workplaces that are highly competitive or unconventional will drain their energy. Working in environments that continually sap their energy could lead them to feel stressed and may even result in ill health.
Enforcers crave respect a sense of accomplishment. Their dedication, hard work and commitment to enforcing established processes and procedures makes Enforcers essential to the smooth running of any operation. An Enforcer’s willingness to take charge and be accountable means that they are likely to be successful in almost any setting.
Too often, we leave our growth to random chance. That can be frustrating because we can’t always grow as fast as we want (or need) to! While experience can be a great teacher, there is no substitute for learning proven strategies to maximize our potential.
Traditional Enforcers have tremendous capabilities. They also share some common challenges. Possible areas for growth for Enforcers include:
Build stronger relationships with the people who matter most
Guide people with diverse points of view to desired outcomes
Increase effectivess by embracing and involving others with diverse perspectives
Think and act outside the box
Understand people accurately, appreciate alternate viewpoints and encourage honest, two-way communication
Respond openly and positively to suggestions, requests, and ideas
Enhance productivity and relationships through respect and appreciation
Build your confidence to address difficult topics assertively
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