4 Personality Types That Can Decide Your Company’s Future

Imagine your team as a symphony orchestra. You are the conductor, and each team member plays a different instrument. What would happen if you put the wrong people in the wrong seats and handed them instruments they couldn’t play? You’d have discord, uncertainty, and obstacles that seem impossible to overcome. But with the right people in the right seats, you can create harmony. 

Your team is a key factor in how well your company performs. As a founder, you are the conductor of your company, and your role is to ensure the music is compelling and everyone is in sync.

Becoming a Stage Five company or beyond is not just about your company’s Vision or organizational structure — it's also about your people. One of Ninety’s 9 Core Competencies is People for a reason: The unique personalities you bring into your company influence every decision, every interaction, and every outcome. Those personalities, with their strengths and weaknesses, can be your greatest asset or your biggest hurdle.

If you’ve been leading for a while, you know it’s not easy to attract and retain great talent. And while having a clear Vision is vital for attracting and retaining your Ideal Team Members, understanding the different personalities on your team makes it so much easier to drive innovation, foster stability, and build a company you’ll love forever. Once you understand your team and, just as importantly, they understand themselves and the others around the table, the easier it will be to collectively leverage their diverse strengths — which, by the way, is crucial to filling your company with people who will be passionate about working together to turn your Vision into reality.

What Are Personality Types?

There are lots of models that break down the naturally occurring differences among people. The two we have found most useful are the Jung/Myers model and David Keirsey’s four temperaments framework. These two models provide a powerful way of looking at individuals and how they interact with one another.

The Jung/Myers Model

Carl Jung was the first researcher to introduce the notion of introversion, and his model was later modified and popularized by questionnaires such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) followed by a mass of free “copycat” quizzes. While we don’t believe the questionnaire format of the MBTI is the best approach to take, the underlying Jung/Myers model delivers key insights into people’s strengths and challenges and, most importantly, how they prefer to communicate.

Here are the four parts of the model in quick summary:

• Extraverts are energized by being around people and have a higher tolerance for and enjoyment of “people-rich” environments.
• Introverts are energized by time away from people where they can reflect quietly. They find that stimulating environments drain their batteries.

• Sensors often notice what they can pick up from their five senses in the moment. They tend to be more grounded, practical, and focused on the now. 
• Intuitives look for patterns, associations, and hidden meanings. They tend to be more focused on ideas, possibilities, and the long-term future.

• Thinkers first consider how decisions will work out logically based on an objective pros and cons analysis.
• Feelers first consider how decisions will impact the people involved and tend to focus on how the decision feels to them in terms of values and emotions.

4. Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P): How we structure our lives

• Judgers tend to seek closure early on, prefer to have and stick with a plan, and have a natural bend toward staying organized and structured.
• Perceivers typically want to keep their options open, generally go with the flow, and seek variety over structure.

People have one natural preference in each of these four categories, with 16 possible combinations. You’ve likely seen these terms before and may even know your type (INTJ here). However, we find that roughly 30–50% of people figure out they have mistyped themselves using the more common questionnaires that oversimplify the nature of the tool.

The 4 Temperaments

Psychologist David Keirsey was the first to connect the Jung/Myers model with the “four temperaments” model. This model originated with Hippocrates in the fifth century BCE and has popped up throughout human history across different cultures. The basic idea is that there are four fundamental personality types, or temperaments, and each temperament has a set of values-based traits that are the driving force behind much of an individual’s choices and actions.

When Keirsey reviewed the descriptions of the four temperaments against the descriptions in the Jung/Myers model, he found the following overlaps:

• Traditionalists prefer both Sensing and Judging (SJ). They value being reliable and responsible, take their commitments very seriously, and go to work to prove you can count on them. I call this group Guardians.
• Experiencers prefer Sensing and Perceiving (SP). They value taking action to get impressive results quickly. While everyone else is forming a committee, they’ve already jumped in and fixed the issue. I call this group Doers. 
• Conceptualizers prefer Intuition and Thinking (NT). They value innovation, improvement, and leaving a lasting legacy. They want people to remember how things were before they arrived and how much better things were after they’re done. I call this group Thinkers.
• Idealists prefer Intuition and Feeling (NF). They value helping others achieve their fullest potential in life. They seek to inspire and to be inspired to make positive change happen for the people around them. I call this group Feelers. 

As ambitious founders, recognizing and harnessing the diverse personalities that make up our teams can help us build great companies.

There are three primary things to keep in mind about the mix of personality types within our teams:

1. Focus on strengths: When each person is positioned in roles that play to their strengths, they will deliver the greatest value to their team and the entire organization.
2. Work, not work: When we work in alignment with our core temperament traits (for example, a Traditionalist who feels their daily activities allow them to flex their responsibility), then work isn’t a chore — instead, it’s Work (with a capital W).
3. Higher emotional intelligence: If we know how to communicate with the different personalities within our teams (those with strong emotional intelligence do), we dramatically reduce the friction and minor disagreements or conflicts that emerge when there is a diverse mix of perspectives and strengths. 

Here is information and best practices to help you get the most out of each of the four temperaments you likely already have within your organization:

Traditionalists (SJs): Pillars of Stability

• Strengths: Reliable, diligent, strong organizational skills
• Challenges: May resist rapid changes and innovations
• Common Roles: COO, CFO, HR Manager
• Engaged when: They feel they have clarity and transparency about what is expected of them and can stay focused on execution
• Rewarded when: They receive feedback that they have been reliable and responsible
• Communication requirements: They want a lot of data, ideally presented in a step-by-step manner. When they ask questions, they’re looking for a direct and transparent response with maximum clarity on next steps.

Traditionalists, who I often refer to as Critics or Guardians, make up about 40% of the broader population. As the backbone of our organizations, Traditionalists are detail-oriented and excel in roles that require consistency and structure, where they can ensure everything runs smoothly. They excel at making sure things of value are protected (see Chesterton’s Fence). This is why I also sometimes call them Protectors. Mother Teresa, Colin Powell, Warren Buffett, George Washington, Queen Elizabeth II, and George H.W. Bush are examples of Traditionalists.

Experiencers (SPs): Mavericks of Action

• Strengths: Quick-thinking, adaptable, pragmatic, keeping things simple
• Challenges: May struggle with long-term planning and administrative tasks
• Common Roles: Sales Leader, Crisis Leader, Marketing, Creative, Operations
• Engaged when: They have freedom to take action; things are loose, light, fun, and focused on short-term execution and getting things done
• Rewarded when: They receive feedback that they produced results faster than expected
• Communication requirements: They prefer communication that is casual, to the point, playful, and practical. They avoid being too formal or serious.

Experiencers, who I like to call Doers, make up about 30% of the population. They are action-oriented and thrive in dynamic environments where the action is. SPs excel in roles that require adaptability and immediate action, making them invaluable in fast-paced environments that require quick and practical decision-making. Richard Branson, who is recognized for his bold ventures and adaptability, is a classic Experiencer.

Conceptualizers (NTs): Architects of Innovation

• Strengths: Analytical, strategic, forward-thinking
• Challenges: May overlook immediate/practical needs and the emotional dynamics of their team
• Common Roles: CEO, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Research and Development (R&D), Strategy Director, Head of Sales
• Engaged when: They feel they have an opportunity to creatively shape the long-term outcome of a project or enterprise and leave their mark of improvement/advancement
• Rewarded when: Their competency is recognized and they are given more opportunities to participate in ideation and strategy
• Communication requirements: They have a strong need to understand context and long-term outcomes. Once they understand the goal or objective, they crave the autonomy to figure out how to get there on their own.

Conceptualizers, or Thinkers as I refer to them, make up about 15% of the population. They have the capacity to be visionaries and love being known for their analytical minds and strategic thinking. They often excel in roles that require deep problem-solving and long-term planning. They have a need to innovate and drive the company’s long-term Vision and goals. Steve Jobs, known for his visionary approach and innovative thinking, is a prime example of a Conceptualizer.

Idealists (NFs): Inspirational Visionaries

• Strengths: Empathetic, value-driven, collaborating with others
• Challenges: Avoiding necessary conflict, maintaining objectivity
• Common Roles: CEO, Head of Marketing, Human Resources (HR) Leader, Community Leader, Customer Relations, Head of Sales
• Engaged when: They feel connected to the mission and purpose of the organization and have a strong, trusted relationship with their colleagues
• Rewarded when: They feel their work has a long-term, positive impact on others, including their team, the clients/customers, and the world at large
• Communication requirements: They value validation and support before solutions or critiques. They like to be provided with the context of how an assignment links to broader, long-term goals.

Idealists, or those I call Feelers, make up about 15% of the population. They are driven by values and empathy, excelling in roles that require strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. Idealists help build a positive company culture and ensure everyone feels valued and included. A great example of an Idealist is Oprah Winfrey, who has inspired millions of her viewers and readers with messages of self-improvement, discovery, and unlocking their potential.

How to Assemble Your Team

As your company scales, your team needs to transition from a close-knit group of individuals to a structured organization where each team member is not only placed in the right seat but also valued for their innate approach to working with others. Once they are in the right seats, you want to help your team members work efficiently and effectively together. 

Navigating personality types successfully requires increasing our emotional quotient (EQ) and upskilling our collective ability to adapt how we Work with one another. This way, we’re communicating and collaborating with our colleagues rather than past them, getting us more output with less conflict.

Here are some examples of how you can use personality types to organize your team for success:  

• Traditionalists thrive in roles focused on maintaining systems and processes. Complement Traditionalists with Conceptualizers to help balance innovation with stability (but be sure to note that these two represent a high-friction pairing).
• Experiencers seek immediate action and risk-taking. To balance their impulses, ensure you also have Traditionalists to act as guardrails and Conceptualizers or Idealists to handle long-term planning.
• Conceptualizers do well in positions where long-term planning and innovation are key. If you’re looking to add support for them, pair them with Traditionalists or Experiencers who can help with the practical and short-term elements.
• Idealists thrive best in positions where they can creatively foster community and culture. Pair them with Traditionalists or Experiencers to bring their long-term perspective into short-term focus. 

At Ninety, we’re huge fans of the company TypeCoach for personality type tools and training. We’ve been a partner of TypeCoach since before we generated our first dollar of revenue, and I’m 100% confident we wouldn’t be where we are today without TypeCoach and the support of its founders, Carly and Rob Toomey. (In fact, Rob is a close friend of mine and reviewed sections of this article for accuracy.) In my opinion, they have the best of the best platform for working on your team’s EQ by helping you learn how to inspire, lead, coach, influence, and collaborate with any personality type. 

The Balancing Act

As ambitious founders, our role is to balance personalities and align them with our company’s Stage of Development. This involves understanding the tensions between innovation and stability, empathy and pragmatism, and quick action and detailed planning.

So how can we use all this information to make our companies great? Here are a few ideas:

• Build diverse Senior Leadership Teams (SLTs): Ensure your SLT includes a mix of personality types. This diversity brings different perspectives and strengths to the table.
• Consider personality strengths as part of “right person, right seat”: Determining if the right person is in the right seat means truly identifying strengths. Remember, nothing is absolute.
• Create cross-functional support: Craft strong support structures where different personality types can complement each other. This will be reflected in your organizational structure and concepts like Tiger Teams.
• Encourage continuous development: Personality types are a starting point, not an ending point. Offer team members opportunities to learn how to use tools like these to work better together and build continuous personal and professional development into your culture.   

Leveraging Diverse Perspectives to Be Truly Great

As your business grows, the need for innovative thinking, operational stability, empathetic leadership, and dynamic action becomes more critical. As I like to remind my colleagues, building something of enduring value requires Thinkers, Feelers, Doers, and Guardians. We are all creators.

In the early Stages of Development, your focus is on finding product-market fit and proving your basic business model. Combining the short-term perspectives of the Traditionalists and Experiencers with the long-term views of the Conceptualizers and Idealists increases the odds of success.

As you move to the Sustain and Scale stages, Traditionalists are crucial for establishing and improving systems and processes, but that trend needs to be balanced with the flexibility and long-term adaptability the other temperaments bring. Later, in the Succeed and Steward stages, the empathetic leadership of the Idealists helps maintain a strong company culture, ensuring your organization not only thrives but also attracts and retains top talent.

By embracing the diversity of all four temperaments and helping them work together effectively, you can build a truly great company. This approach will help you achieve your long-term goals and create an environment where your entire team can focus, align, and thrive.