Two Tests Every Small Business Owner Should Take

Life has a way of changing your values, viewpoints, and sometimes your agenda but what I have come to learn is that there is always a one true you and a typical default mode used to process, interpret, and respond to what life throws your way. I believe in the phrase, “Know thyself before you wreck thyself,” and to me, that means understanding myself as much as I understand others. As an avid learner, I believe there are two tests every small business owner should take: CliftonStrengths (formerly Gallup StrengthsFinder) and The Enneagram.

My Story

We ask kids what they want to be when they grow up but do we really know what we want for our grown-up selves? If you’re like me, you ask kids because you’re looking for ideas!

Since I was 25 years old, I have been searching for what I want to be when I grow up and as such, I’ve become what I like to call, The Queen of Self-Assessments. From

Myers Briggs and Strong Interest Inventory to BHI Performance Plus and What color is Your Parachute to How to Fascinate to What Corner of the Party are You Drawn To Test and What Animal are You. It was the CliftonStrengths and the Enneagram Test (to be specific the RHETI v2.5 test) that were the most impactful for me.

Maybe it’s because now I am in my thirties and finally reached the age of learning who I really am or maybe these assessments were just what I needed in my life at that time.  Either way, I think if taken seriously these two tests can be impactful in helping to achieve fulfillment both personally and professionally.

Two Tests Every Small Business Owner Should Take

If I only had to choose one self-assessment test the CliftonStrengths would be it. This test assesses 34 strengths and where you fall in them. Typically your top five are going to be the ones you want to focus on. Examples of strengths are Analytical, Activator, Consistency, Maximizer, and many more. When we are able to utilize and balance our strengths we are operating at our most fulfilled capacity. 

For example, one of my strengths is Deliberative this means I plan for the unexpected, have good judgment, and make solid decisions. When I am unable to utilize these strengths or over-utilize them I can start to look almost like the complete opposite and become aloof, standoffish, slow, and afraid to act. What I love most about the Strengths finder is that it is it reveals not only your strengths but as well as your behaviors and what that looks like when you are running on full or running on empty in the usage of your strengths. This not only helps you identify your strengths and what you bring to the table in both working and personal relationships but also can alert you when you start to act in certain ways it may reveal that you are not able to or utilizing your strengths correctly.

Knowing your strengths is great, knowing your work partner or spouse’s strengths is a game changer. 

When you know someone’s strengths suddenly you know why they act the way they do and the respect level changes, drastically. For example, I work with an Activator an activator is best described as a self-starter, fearless, fire-starter, starting something new all the time! An unassuming Deliberative, the complete opposite of an Activator such as myself, would go crazy over this behavior. I would lose it and never understand why this person can’t think before acting and why they have to constantly start something. You might think we can’t work together but it’s actually a great match and here’s why.

Because we’ve taken this assessment, we respect each other’s strengths. 

My Activator talks through all of his ideas and I, the Deliberator, sorts through the ideas and reigns in what’s most important. Without the Activator, I could get lost in Analysis Paralysis and he’d be off executing a crazy plan. Instead, we meet in the middle where I ask him questions and he pushes me to action. If we were both Activators, there would be chaos and if we were both Deliberators, we’d never accomplish anything. The lesson? Opposites attract and in the right combination, can be quite a successful team whether in business or personal lives.

The second assessment is the Enneagram which dives into how you interpret and view the world and explains more of your behaviors. This test has nine possible results. The challenger, peacemaker, perfectionist, helper, performer, romantic, investigator, loyalist, and enthusiast.  Out of the 9 results, they are divided into 3 sections, the 3 traits within each section are driven by either Anger, Shame, or Fear.

To be honest, when I took this test it wasn’t really any new information to me. Based on my results is pretty much lined up with a lot of my other results.  However, what my partner found was different. He thought he was driven by his own thoughts, feelings, and desires but after he discovered that he was a Peacemaker, he is actually driven by others’ thoughts, feelings, and desires.

Peacemakers are the world’s best chameleon meaning they are attuned with others’ thoughts and desires they blend in so well with them, they forget about their own needs and desires. If peacemakers are not aware of this, it can lead to stuffed anger and resentment. Have you ever seen the most chill person you know just absolutely lose it out of nowhere? Yeah ironically, they are probably a  peacemaker. Peacemakers and those that are close to them need to be aware that they need a push to get their thoughts and desires out there.  They need to stand firm in what they want, not what others want, and those that work with them need to push to get a direct answer from them not a “whatever you want” responses (which can lead to two hangry people driving around aimlessly for dinner and 2 hours later they still haven’t eaten.)

Whether you’re looking to be a better business partner, friend, or spouse, the two tests every small business owner should take are the CliftonStrengths and Enneagram. Not only do you learn about yourself, you learn how to recognize traits in others and can better work together.