Quick question, are you an? Adventurer: Always jumping into risky ideas Optimist: Finding the bright side of any situation Problem Solver: Cracking the code on the toughest problems Caregiver: Lending a hand when others need help Regulator: Staying effortlessly cool…
Quick question, are you an?
Your meQ personality determines not just how you respond to stress, but also what you need to thrive. When you understand the upsides and downsides of your type, you can harness your strengths—and gain valuable insight into those around you, too.
Here’s a guide to each:
Strength: You’re not afraid of a little risk, which makes you more open to growth and learning.
Maximize it: Ask others for input before making a change. Feedback gives you a fresh perspective so you can ultimately achieve better results.
Challenge: You step on the gas, sometimes before you know where you’re going—which means you occasionally miss important details.
Manage it: Hit the brakes and take a moment to assess where you’re at. Make sure you haven’t moved on to something new without solving an existing problem. This mindfulness practice helps you make smarter decisions and move in the right direction.
Strength: Envisioning the best outcome allows you to persevere, even when others have given up.
Maximize it: When anxiety runs rampant at work, positivity is not only helpful, it’s necessary. Spread joy by acknowledging others for a job well done, openly expressing thanks, and reminding people of what’s going well.
Challenge: Overly optimistic people tend to make riskier decisions, which keeps them from devising a plan B.
Manage it: Practice realistic optimism: Hope for the best, but prepare for anything. If a deadline is looking tight, for example, keep working towards your target date—but let your team know so no one is caught off guard if things don’t work out the way you’d planned.
Strength: You’re enticed, rather than intimidated, by problems without obvious solutions—and you won’t stop until you have an answer.
Maximize it: Spend your time wisely. Ask yourself: If you choose to focus on issue A over B, what’s the cost? This will help you decide where your resources are best spent.
Challenge: When you’re laser-focused on the “fix,” you may dive in to solution-mode too quickly without thoroughly thinking through the situation or before the problem has fully formed.
Manage it: Zoom out and assess the big picture. Have you taken a step back and thought through several possible solutions? What step of the process is your team at? Are they still brainstorming or are they ready to act? Your efforts will be more valued if you start problem solving at the right time.
Strength: You have a keen sense of what others need and use that to help however you can.
Maximize it: Personality clashes are the primary cause of workplace conflict, but you notice perspectives that are often overlooked. Flex your empathy muscle to prevent conflict before it starts: A coworker’s point was missed? Call it out. A new employee seems stressed? Grab a coffee together and ask how they’re doing.
Challenge: You’re everyone’s go-to person, but your productivity (and well-being) pay the price when you can’t keep up with growing demands.
Manage it: The next time someone asks for something, take a moment to check in with your stress level and schedule before responding. You don’t have to say no, but answer with honesty: “I’ll do what I can, but realistically I won’t get to it until…” or, “I don’t have time, but I can refer you to someone else who can help.”
Strength: You’re cool, calm, and collected—even when life gets hectic.
Maximize it: You bring much-needed objectivity to crisis management. Keep tensions from escalating by staying focused on objective evidence when others use their emotions as evidence that something is real.
Challenge: Over-regulating disconnects you from the present moment.
Manage it: Suppressing your emotions is not the same as regulating them. Give yourself permission to acknowledge how you really feel, and embrace uncertainty with a mantra for when things don’t go as you’d like, such as, “I can’t always control the outcome, but I can handle whatever comes my way.”
