Based on the self-assessment test PrinciplesYou by Ray Dalio and Adam Grant, my main archetype is Growth Seeker. And I’d like to tell you a little bit about it.
What is an archetype, and where does this designation come from?
One thing I like to explore every now and then is personality tests. Although they are no exact science, I enjoy the insights they provide when it comes to defining certain aspects of one’s personality.
And they’re quite fun, to be honest.
I have experimented with several personality tests over the past couple of years, especially the ones based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). While the results of all those tests had some similar insights about my personality, the most recent one I tried was PrinciplesYou.
…and I was hooked.
PrinciplesYou is a self-assessment test created by psychology professor and author Adam Grant together with the renowned investor and entrepreneur Ray Dalio.
After Dalio became interested in self-assessment to find ways to improve his employees’ skills, he claimed to be dissatisfied with the existing tools. So, he set out to create a new all-inclusive assessment that was “going to be able to bring it together, and just give the total picture of the person.”
That’s when he approached Grant and two renowned psychologists, Brian Little and John Golden.
And PrinciplesYou was born.
PrinciplesYou recognises 28 different archetypes that represent particular personalities based on a wide range of traits identified via a person’s answers to a long list of questions. Those archetypes are then grouped into 10 categories for a higher level of thematic classification.
An archetype is a typical example of what a person is like, and it is defined based on descriptions of the person’s behaviour, psychology, and way of thinking.
Based on my answers, my main archetype turned out to be “Growth Seeker”, which lies under the thematic category “Seekers”.
So, what is a growth seeker and how accurate is this for me?
What is a Growth Seeker?
According to PrinciplesYou, a growth seeker is profoundly passionate about learning and personal growth. He/She has a propensity towards curiosity, adaptability, humility, and open-mindedness.
Well, isn’t that great? 🙂
As a growth seeker, you are heavily devoted to improving yourself and developing your skills and abilities. You crave knowledge and a better understanding of the world around you, especially if it feeds your self-development.
You are not only tolerant of criticism, even when it is difficult to digest, but you are also adaptive to circumstantial changes. In fact, you appreciate a piece of constructive criticism over a rather unhelpful, nice comment.
You possess a relatively good level of composure, balance, and mindfulness when you deal with stress. You can bring determination and humility together, and you just love a challenge.
You don’t dwell on or stress over your mistakes, but you do value reflecting on them so you can learn and grow. However, this may cause a delay in your response time to act. So, sometimes, you may need a nudge or push to get over the line with a decision or action.
You are quite inquisitive and like to entertain new perspectives and information to make sense of things on your own.
PrincipleYou also claims that some Growth Seekers are leaders by nature, but still many have no issue with following a leader. This depends on how much they understand their nature and position along the path they believe is right for them. This is where their introspection and adaptability skills stand out.
How accurate is this archetype in my case?
Well, me enjoying this test and even writing about it here may show a bit of confirmation bias. However, I have tried my best to approach this as objectively as I could.
So, I’ll be giving every aspect described in PrinciplesYou’s list of a growth seeker’s talents and needs a rating on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the least accurate and 5 being the most accurate.
This rating is not only based on my personal judgement of myself but also on the input of multiple people very well involved in my life both personally and professionally.
Growth Seeker Talents
- Deep curiosity into broad and varied subjects: 5/5
- Knowledge acquisition, understanding, and wisdom for self-growth: 5/5
- Composure and mindfulness under pressure: 4/5
- Independence and self-motivation in achieving goals: 4/5
- Adaptability to changing circumstances: 4/5
Growth Seeker Growth Needs
- Moving from reflection to decisive action: 5/5
- Sharing knowledge and taking on leadership roles: 3/5
- Pursuing more defined paths and objectives without letting go of the taste for open-ended discovery: 4/5
Average accuracy: 4.25/5
This accuracy rating definitely went up when PrinciplesYou told me that not only am I fitting to a Growth Seeker-type of person, but I do also have attributes of a Coach– and Explorer-type, albeit at a lesser overlap than that with Growth Seeker.
Moreover, my weak matches are said to be the Individualist and Implementer archetypes. This makes sense as I do see myself less likely to have their combination of attributes.
