Understanding your strengths and weaknesses can help you in many areas of life, from your relationships to the way you approach learning. Entrepreneurs who take an interest in personal psychology can reap serious benefits.
A study into the psychology of entrepreneurship by Barclays Bank made clear that entrepreneurs are not a homogenous group. They are a pool of talented individuals with different personality types, experiences, skills and motivations. Thus some will be more self-actualized than others.
Whether you choose to explore your personal psychology with the help of a qualified professional or on your own, doing so can have a big impact on your entrepreneurial endeavours. Consider the championship winning poker player – he doesn’t just play cards but also dedicates time to self-reflection to understand his own personal poker psychology. This allows him to become a better player, anticipating how he will react in certain situations and respond to pressure.
In the entrepreneurial world, understanding how and why you respond to pressure in a certain way can be very important. If you make snap judgements when under pressure, recognising that can help you to pause for thought and ensure that you are making the right choice. If you tend to lose sight of the overall goal and focus on too many small details when the stakes are high, realising that you are doing so can help you to take a step back and refocus.
Understanding your own personal psychology can also have a positive impact on how you deal with others, as well as how you deal with yourself. According to MIT ombudsman Mary P. Rowe, negotiation includes “all interactions between two or more points of view; it’s possible to negotiate with yourself.”
Your principles and personality play a big part in how you negotiate. Understanding what might trigger certain responses in the way you think and behave means you have the chance to change those responses and alter them. This puts you in a much more powerful position, as the person you are negotiating with will find it harder to predict your approach.
Ultimately, understanding your personal psychology can make you a better entrepreneur. Do certain tasks always make you procrastinate? Find out what’s causing that procrastination and you can make changes that will lead to you completing the tasks faster and you using your time more efficiently. Do you dread meeting with the bank manager or your investors? Recognise what it is that’s making you nervous and you’ll have the key to conquering your nerves and presenting a more confident image of yourself.
It can be tempting to put off such self-reflection in favour of achieving operational goals. After all, entrepreneurs tend to have plenty of tasks to occupy their time. However, appreciating the nuances of your personal psychological makeup can mean that those goals can be achieved more efficiently and productively.
A personality type test is a great place to start, but it’s far from the only personal psychology test available. Resources exist to test how conscientious you are, how agreeable, neurotic, open, angry, stressed and plenty more. Use these resources to unlock the secrets of your personal psychology and discover how you can become a better entrepreneur.