This article is part of our Leadership Series — reflections on inspiration, influence, and the choices that shape meaningful achievement.
It’s also part of our Life at Work Series — where we explore the practices, challenges, and lessons that shape our professional lives.
In short: a personality test is only useful if it changes the way you work with people.
A question I got in coaching training
A Customer Service Manager asked me this during a training program on coaching.
We all took a personality test. I’m like this, my colleague is like that. So how do we use those results in a quality coaching conversation?
That was a fair question.
So I asked this question
I usually advise people not to answer a question with a question. But my intention was to help us go one level deeper before we answered.
I asked this:
Before we get into the coaching conversation, how are you already using what you learned from the personality test in all the day-to-day conversations you’re having with your people?
Because that’s the real test of whether the personality work was meaningful.
The room got quiet
Because the honest answer was: they weren’t using it.
What they had learned about each other wasn’t being put into practice — in any conversation.
And if it isn’t showing up in everyday interactions, it won’t suddenly appear in a coaching conversation.
Get to know people as individuals
As you learn about each other, make clear working agreements — how you both communicate, how you both give and receive feedback, and how you both handle pressure.
Those decisions apply to the entire relationship. And all the conversations that you have.
Thank you for reading
I regularly share stories, strategies, and insights from our work across Contact Centers, Customer Service, and Customer Experience. If this resonates, I’d love to stay connected.
You can drop me a line anytime, or subscribe on our site.
Daniel Ord
[email protected]
www.omnitouchinternational.com
