Personality and Leadership Philosophy

I used to really despise personality tests because I had much more of a fixed mindset whereas over the past decade I have really shifted to more of a growth mindset (Dweck, 2006).  I believe this is the reason I am now  much more accepting of personality tests. I completed the Big Five Personality Test (Open Source Psychometrics Project, 2019), the VIA Character Test (VIA Institute on Character, n.d.), the Leadership Style Quiz (Coached, n.d.), and the Clifton Strengths Assessment (Personality.co, n.d.). I think the Big Five seems to be the most valid because it picked up on my strength of conscientiousness and emotional stability. I also scored low on extraversion, which aligns with the fact that I am an introvert. The conscientiousness finding was reinforced by the Clifton Strengths Assessment, which identified responsibility as one of my top strengths.

The assessments also highlighted an interesting tension. I’ve always been introverted and never really liked to draw attention to myself, yet I have always found myself leading groups and communicating with passion and energy. Because of that, many people in my workplace mistakenly assume I am extroverted.  Furthermore, the area that surprised me the most was my low agreeableness score.  Initially it sounded so negative because I would like to think of myself as warm and considerate.  However, after reading more about the trait, I could see why the assessment produced that result.  I tend to be skeptical and willing to express strong opinions when I believe something is important.  I have been told that I can come off as a bit intimidating at times, so this may be a blind spot that I need to explore further.  Another thing that surprised me was my high score on fairness. I never really realized how much I value it, but while taking the quizzes I realized how deeply it impacts my leadership style, and my decision making.

In terms of leadership style, I scored very high as a transformational leader.  According to the assessment, transformational leaders inspire and develop others, communicate vision, encourage innovation, and invest in individual team members (Coached, n.d.).  I found this description highly accurate because I think one of my most important responsibilities is communicating vision and purpose.  I have found that teachers are far more likely to embrace best practice when they understand the “why” behind it (Sinek, 2009).  My leadership style boosts morale by cultivating purpose and empowering teachers to do what is best for students. However, my lower agreeableness can sometimes create challenges. If I do not intentionally build strong relationships, particularly with newer teachers, they may perceive me as intimidating or overly critical.  This awareness has helped me become more intentional about relationship-building and communication.  Furthermore, a blindspot that I need to work on is that some teachers may need more specific guidance and task oriented mentoring since I tend to think big picture.

One reason transformational leadership resonates with me is that meaningful technology integration requires more than simply introducing new tools and adopting technology for its own sake.  Teachers need a compelling vision for why technology matters.  My philosophy is that technology should support great teaching.  In early childhood education, I believe technology is most effective when it makes learning visible, strengthens communication with families, and helps teachers gather authentic evidence of student growth without disrupting instruction.  This belief influences many of my decisions as a leader.

Coached. (n.d.). Leadership style quiz. https://coached.com/tools/leadership-style-quiz

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House

OpenAI. (2026). Constructivism in upper grades and Pre-K [AI-generated infographic]. ChatGPT. https://chatgpt.com/

Open Source Psychometrics Project. (2019, August 2). Big five personality test. Open Psychometrics. https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/IPIP-BFFM/

Personality.co. (n.d.). Free personality test. https://personality.co/

Sinek, S. (2009). Start With Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Penguin.

VIA Institute on Character. (n.d.). VIA survey of character strengths. https://www.viacharacter.org/surveys/takesurvey