Unlocking the Power of Personality in Design & Grow

Start with Understanding You

One of the best things you can do when you're feeling stuck, uncertain, or ready for a change is to pause and ask: Who am I, really—and what kind of life or work actually fits me?

If you've ever tried to coach yourself through a life decision or career crossroads, you’ll know it’s not always easy. That’s where personality and career assessments come in. Think of them as mirrors—each one offering a different reflection of how you think, feel, communicate, and thrive. They're not about putting you in a box, but about helping you explore the shape of your unique self—so you can design a life that actually fits.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the most helpful tools for self-coaching:

• RIASEC helps you explore careers that match your interests (Are you hands-on, people-focused, creative, or analytical?).

• The Big Five (OCEAN) gives you a science-backed look at your traits—like openness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability.

• DISC shows how you behave and communicate, especially under stress or in teams.

• Clifton Strengths helps you identify and build on what you naturally do best.

• The Enneagram dives deep into your core motivations and fears.

• Values assessments help you discover what really matters to you at work and in life.

• EQ (Emotional Intelligence) tools help you grow in self-awareness and relationship skills.

• And finally, there’s the MBTI—one of the most widely used personality tools—which we’ll now explore in more depth.

MBTI + Life Design

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a great starting point if you want to coach yourself. It helps you understand four key areas of your personality:

1. How you get your energy – Are you more Extraverted (E) or Introverted (I)?

2. How you take in information – Do you prefer Sensing (S) (facts and details) or Intuition (N) (patterns and possibilities)?

3. How you make decisions – Do you lean toward Thinking (T) (logic and fairness) or Feeling (F) (values and empathy)?

4. How you deal with the world – Are you more Judging (J) (structured and planned) or Perceiving (P) (flexible and open-ended)?

These combinations result in 16 personality types (like INFP, ESTJ, ENTP, etc.), each with its own set of preferences, blind spots, and strengths. Knowing your type helps you become more aware of how you naturally work, relate to others, and handle stress or change.

🔗 Check out the Personality Profiling Tool: MBTI Profiler

How MBTI Fits into Designing Your Life

The Designing Your Life (DYL) framework—developed at Stanford—encourages you to build your life like a designer would: through curiosity, creativity, and iteration. MBTI fits beautifully into this approach.

Knowing your MBTI type helps you understand what kind of environments, roles, or working styles you’re likely to enjoy—or struggle with. For example:

• A Perceiving type might feel stifled in overly rigid work environments, and thrive when given freedom to explore.

• An Introvert might need quiet time to recharge before making big decisions or doing deep work.

DYL invites you to prototype different life paths—by trying things, talking to people, and reflecting on what energizes or drains you. MBTI gives you clues on what to try in the first place.

How MBTI Supports the GROW Model

If you’re using the GROW Model to coach yourself (Goal, Reality, Options, Will / Way Forward), MBTI is especially useful in the Reality and Options stages:

• Reality: Helps you understand how you currently operate, make choices, and interact with others.

• Options: Gives you ideas about the kinds of roles, environments, and approaches that would suit you best.

This kind of self-insight empowers you to set realistic goals, explore aligned options, and take confident steps forward—all rooted in your authentic self.

Final Thoughts: Use It, Don’t Worship It

MBTI isn’t perfect—and no assessment tells the whole story of who you are. But when used with curiosity and honesty, it can be a fantastic tool to jumpstart reflection, spark ideas, and guide next steps.

Pair it with the Designing Your Life mindset (curious, experimental, action-based) and the GROW model’s structure (clarify, reflect, explore, act), and you have a powerful way to coach yourself through change with clarity and confidence.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to keep learning, designing, and growing—one step at a time.

References

• Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.

• John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big-Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 102–138). Guilford Press.

• Marston, W. M. (1928). Emotions of normal people. Harcourt, Brace and Company.

• Rath, T. (2007). StrengthsFinder 2.0. Gallup Press.

• Riso, D. R., & Hudson, R. (1996). Personality types: Using the Enneagram for self-discovery (Rev. ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

• Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60281-6

• Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam Books.

• Myers, I. B., McCaulley, M. H., Quenk, N. L., & Hammer, A. L. (1998). MBTI manual: A guide to the development and use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (3rd ed.). Consulting Psychologists Press.

• Burnett, B., & Evans, D. (2016). Designing your life: How to build a well-lived, joyful life. Knopf.

• Whitmore, J. (2009). Coaching for performance: Growing human potential and purpose (4th ed.). Nicholas Brealey Publishing.