Who are you? Thinking Through Your Dimensional Perceptions

“Interpreting” Your Score

Combine the totals of “Yes” and “Sometimes” answers for each group of questions.

Yes and Sometimes answers for Self-Test 1 (Physical Reality)
Yes and Sometimes answers for Self-Test 2 (Past)
Yes and Sometimes answers for Self-Test 3 (Present)
Yes and Sometimes answers for Self-Test 4 (Future)

Look at the relationships between the numbers. Where are you higher? Where are you lower? The higher your score for a given dimension, the more influence your perception of that dimension has on your personality.

Think about the characteristics of each dimensional orientation. Does this begin to describe you? If not, where do you disagree with the assessment. Re-read the descriptions of the dimensions and their supported tasks earlier in this chapter. Think about which dimensions (and their supported activities) sound most inviting or intriguing. Think in terms of what you'd “like” to do, as opposed to what you “should” do.

By now, whether the test “pegged” you just right or not, you're probably getting a feeling of whether or not you could be a Contractor or Consultant, and what direction you might take your Contractor or Consultant career.

Self–Test 1: Personality Assessment

Use the following questions to give you an idea of your strengths. This is a strictly un-scientific inventory. If you disagree with its results based on the preceding theories, use your instinct and ignore the test! This is just a "pointer" to help you think about yourself. Answer the questions in each section Yes (Y), No (N), or Sometimes (S).

Question	Y	N	S
Over the last five years, have you found yourself driven to participate in outdoor or physical activities, more than just at vacation time or a camp-out once or twice a year. Activities might include working out, sports, gardening, biking, walking, running, camping, hiking, swimming, skiing (any kind), boating, piloting, needlepoint, cabinet making, model building, etc.?
Do you enjoy working with your hands?
When you're near a window, do you spend a lot of time looking outside?
Do windowless rooms "get to you" after an hour or two?
When you have to read something marginally interesting, do you have a lot of problems concentrating?
When learning, would you prefer to have someone show you how to do it, then allow you to "get your hands" on the task, repeating as needed?
Does it take longer for you to learn abstract concepts when they aren't explained in physical terms?
When you buy a physical item, such as a piece of furniture, clothing, camera, house, car, etc., would you rather pay more and receive quality than buy something that just "gets the job done"?
Do you take pride in creating something physical, such as a painting, a room layout, a building or a model?
Do you like to "fix things" in the physical realm, such as plumbing, furniture, cars, fences, garden tools, etc.?
Answer Totals:

Self–Test 2: What do you like to do?

Question	Y	N	S
Do you enjoy reading?
Do you enjoy writing?
Do you enjoy researching through reading?
When you argue, do you enumerate things that have occurred to prove your point?
Do you often want to learn why?
Do you enjoy learning historical facts in any particular subject area?
Do you like to prove or disprove theories and ideas?
Do you enjoy learning a foreign language?
Do you feel you have a better understanding of your language and its parts of speech than most people?
When you complete a non-fiction document (book, manual, etc.) do you see the final product as a source of pride?
Answer Totals:

Self–Test 3: Team Skills

Question	Y	N	S
When involved with a group of people trying to accomplish a task, do you prefer to have a plan?
Do you enjoy meetings with set agendas as opposed to meetings with free-form discussion?
Do you often organize meetings or events successfully?
Does it give you a sense of pride when an event that you organized comes off "without a hitch"?
When you produce a document, is the organization of the information, (table of contents, index, referenceability) important to you?
When sitting down to a meeting, formal dinner, etc., would you prefer to control where everyone sits?
Most of the time, would you rather have a schedule that tells you what's going to happen to you and when, as opposed to totally unstructured time.
Do you prefer to stay late and finish a project, rather than stopping in the middle and going home?
Does it bother you to be interrupted while working on something?
Does it bother you to perform tasks out of sequence?
Answer Totals:

Self–Test 4: Priorities Assessment