Not too long ago, in a moment of exasperation, someone I know informed me that I am an owl. He had recently learned about animal personality profiles, and his assessment of me was that I fit that profile to an O. This evening, as I was mulling something over, I thought of that comment and it prompted me to look up that personality test to see what the owl traits actually were.
The Owl Personality: A quiet thinker with analytical traits; wants to know things, wants accuracy, likes lists, numbers and statistics. Loves detail, research, data and information. Dislikes change, taking risks, people who are sloppy in their work and who have poor time-keeping habits. Owls also dislike people who are showy and loud. When change is happening, they want to know HOW to do what they are being asked to do. Can get quite stressed during change processes, particularly if a lot of change happens over a sustained period. Under pressure Owls will avoid conflict. Owls are attracted to careers in banking, insurance, office management and even credit control.
I hadn't bothered to look at the profile before, because I knew it wasn't exactly meant as a compliment. I have to admit, though, he probably got it exactly right, although I think most of the traits are qualities, of course, whereas I believe my identifier was feeling otherwise, at least at the time.
I haven't taken the test, but I probably don't need to, either. Anyone who knows me at all should be able to easily identify me, in fact. I laughed out loud when I got to the end. I wish I'd had this back when I was in my 20's and trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up....
Of course, this is just a profile, and I'm sure everyone has elements of all four profiles in their personalities. I am certainly the owl, but I also have some dove traits, too. Which probably explains why it takes me two weeks to choose a pencil. (That observation came courtesy of my ex, Mr. Peacock, when he was irritated with my indecision one day. Sadly, I couldn't deny it. If you're right, you're right. Annoying, but right.)
As I reviewed the other profiles, I quickly identified my closest relatives, some of whom are my exact opposites. That might explain a few things. Anyway, I offer here for your reading enjoyment the remaining profiles. See if you can find yourself, or your spouse, parents or children, in any of them.
The Dove Personality: Amiable, caring, sensitive. Great helpers, very personal, indirect communicators (tend to ask permission before they will do something). Also don’t like too much change, but if change has to happen, they want to know WHO needs to do what. Can become personally involved with other people’s problems, sometimes to the detriment of their workload. Their whole reason for being is to build personal relationships. Very supportive people; great in customer service. Under great pressure can tend to do a ‘Poor me, it’s not fair’ type of reaction. Can be martyrs if they are not careful. Love careers to do with people. Nursing, counseling, teaching and being nannies. Great in customer service and love dealing with customer complaints. They will love your customers to bits.
The Peacock Personality: Peacocks are the very loud, life-and-soul of the party types that Owls dislike so much. They are intuitive, impulsive, swift moving (often hard to find because they move about so much and so often). Love being the front person, love social situations, parties are their life-blood. Need appreciation, recognition and regular pats on the back. Like to inspire others – can be very charismatic. Not good with deadlines, detail or time-frames. Dislike meetings, particularly meetings that drill down into too much detail. Great at coming up with off-the-wall ideas, but don’t ask them to implement the ideas, they are not great implementers. Want to know WHY. Great salespeople.
The Eagle Personality: Direct, action-orientated, can be quite forceful and dominant. Often in positions of power. Wants to know WHEN. Needs to be in Control, needs deadlines and expects people to stick to them. A direct communicator – can tend to tell rather than ask. Not good with time-wasters or woolly thinkers. Particularly dislikes long-winded explanations and hates excuses.
Turns out I am closely related to a peacock, a dove, and an eagle, although I'm guessing the eagle wouldn't recognize himself. The peacock would not only embrace the situation, but would, in fact, want to throw a party to celebrate.
The profiles that are most likely to come into conflict? Peacocks and owls; doves and eagles.
Of course, you need all kinds of personalities, or you would never get anything done. So I think we should embrace our own particular qualities, whatever they may be. Of course, owl that I am, I enjoyed seeing myself quantified and nailed down. Odd? Perhaps. But at least it's in character.
The only thing missing was how much of the population falls into each category. Given the current celebrity cultural obsession, I'm guessing peacocks make up the majority of the population, followed by the eagles, who all want to be in charge of everyone. [As an owl, I spend a lot of time avoiding those in charge types, because it's people like me that they most want to rule.] I suspect doves are in short supply, and all the owls are in hiding, trying to figure out where they will blend best with the foliage so no one notices them. [They just need to accumulate a few more facts before they have to make a decision about something.]
While I don't take these personality profiles too seriously, I think there is some value in looking at the different ways we all approach the world, and how we cope and manage our lives. If we spend a little time recognizing our own traits, it may help us to identify those areas where we need to give a little extra effort. And it may help us to work better with others if we understand where they are coming from, as well.
Birds of a feather flock together, they say. But I wish you a bouquet of feathers of every bird, because that will make your life richer, if a little more confusing. And probably more fun, if the peacocks have anything to say about it.
