Identify and develop your Personality-Profile with the exercise Self-Perception vs. External Perception
- Jakob Hysek
- 14 hours ago
- 3 min read
If you take your personal development seriously, you have to begin somewhere. A great starting point is your personality profile, get to know your characteristics, who you are and how others see you!
That is exactly what the exercise "My Personality Profile with Self- vs. External Perception" is for.
In this exercise, you’ll start by evaluating yourself. You’ll gain insight into your own perceptions of your personality and traits. Next, you’ll explore how others perceive you through their perspectives. Finally, you’ll have the opportunity to compare and discover where your own perceptions align with or differ from those of others.
The exercise works in 3 easy steps:
Self Perception - Identify your own profile
External View - Get at least 2 people to evaluate your characteristics for you
Reflect - Identify and work through significant differences
After that, you can start working on where the differences might come from and start planning on which areas you'd like to focus your development efforts!
You can download the entire exercise here:
You can use the following table as a starting point to evaluate your characteristics. Fill in how you see yourself first and then get an external view from at least two others:
Characteristic | 👎👎 | 👎 | 👎👍 | 👍 | 👍👍 |
confident | |||||
decisive | |||||
spirited | |||||
adaptable | |||||
reliable | |||||
creative | |||||
versatile | |||||
ambitious | |||||
open, tolerant | |||||
willing to compromise | |||||
friendly | |||||
uncertain | |||||
calm | |||||
patient | |||||
detail-oriented | |||||
happy | |||||
sensitive | |||||
responsible | |||||
reserved | |||||
helpful |
Reflection of the exercise: self-perception vs. external perception
Step 3 is where it counts. Compare the tables, identify where there are significant differences between your self-perception and the others' external view of you. Ask yourself the following questions:
Where are there significant differences between self-perception and external image?
(more than 2 boxes apart)
What could be the cause of that?
In which area(s) do you want to develop?
What steps can you take to start your journey in this direction?
Summary of identifying and developing your personality profile with the exercise self-perception vs. external perception
This exercise is meant as a starting point. The characteristics in the table are not all-encompassing, but they provide a great inventory to start with.
The most important part is the comparison of your own self perception with the external ones.
Find out the differences and figure out why they are there! Taking the step to ask different people to help you here and give their honest opinion of you is already highly valuable. It takes guts, shows your intent and I am sure it will be surprising from time to time, but super eye-opening and helpful!
Try it and let me know how it went!
About Me
After more than ten years in the international software and start-up world, I know the pressure to perform in modern careers.
As a systemic coach and reserve soldier, I know how important clear communication, accountability, and trust are for teams to function effectively.
That's why I support teams in skilled trades, construction, and industry to improve their collaboration, resolve conflicts, and rekindle motivation—in a pragmatic, human way and with a passion for development.
Are you ready for the next step?
Whether it is a conflict in your team, a lack of motivation, or communication issues. The first step for change is always a conversation. So let's have one:
We will address your questions in a 15-minute conversation and determine whether and how we can work together.
I look forward to getting to know you!
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