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The Four Temperaments

I’ve been reviewing the four personality temperaments (or “classes” as I like to call them) to understand how they interact as a cohesive team or group and it’s quite intriguing. To understand them more easily, I imagined them as the four separate corps of an imaginary army.

Artisans are the tactical corps. These are the front line soldiers who are “concerned with the conduct of an engagement” (i.e. a battle within a war).

Rationalists are the strategic corps. These are the high command soldiers who are “concerned with how different engagements are linked” together (i.e. the overall war).

Guardians are the logistical corps. These are the support soldiers who ensure the front line troops have the resources and security they need.

Idealists are the diplomatic corps. These are the cultural soldiers who are responsible for the training, counseling and morale of the entire army. In effect, they are the spirit corps or heart of the army.

As a Healer under the Idealist “diplomatic” corps of this army, I find it interesting how it compares quite closely to my past experiences. For example, when I played Counter-Strike, I was one of the leaders of our clan but not in the regular sense. Instead of being the figurehead leader, I was the leader behind the scenes who served to maintain the integrity of the unit. So I focused on the growth and development of people, ensuring they got the right training in the game, and more importantly I ensured a positive collaborative environment that fostered a high sense of moral and appreciation for everyone, no matter their status with the clan. In other words, I was like the chief cultural officer of the clan (if you visualized it as a corporate business).

And this is even more interesting because this is exactly how I acted when I was a Senior Web Developer at a firm in the past as well. In effect, I was a hub for people, assisting them in a variety of ways, primarily in a personal growth and development process (i.e. mentoring, training, guiding, etc) but also with regards to operational efficiency (i.e making the whole better and more stable). Most important of all, I was a strong “advocate” for our staff, ensuring they got the appreciation and recognition they deserved. For example, whenever we’d go out for lunch, I’d try to cover the bill if I could and if it was someone’s birthday, I’d always try to run out and get them a birthday cake at lunch time as well. Again looking back, I felt like I was naturally responsible for the spirit, heart, or culture of the company as a whole, ensuring that everyone was feeling valued and everything was progressing in a positive direction.