Freelance Coach: Personality profiling and freelancing

Do you know the critical personality and behavioural traits that you need to exhibit in order to be a successful freelancer?

You might spend a lot of time and energy working on your freelancing business but achieve little because you are not focusing on the key performance drivers.

I’ve decided to improve your chances of becoming a successful freelancer by outlining the personality traits and behaviours exhibited by the top performing freelancers that you need to be aware of.

The study of personality traits and individual differences is important when it comes to assessing an individual’s compatibility to a particular career. This is because each career has attached to it a grouping of competencies that underlie what is needed to be successful in that career. The personality profiles for say Michael Schumacher or Tiger Woods would be quite similar, but different from that of your local librarian or accountant. The interdependent relationships of each trait make us more able to perform in a way more suitable to a particular career.

There are many profiling assessments when it comes to studying one’s personality; Myers Briggs and 16PF are two that are well-known. Undertaking an assessment can provide you with some knowledge and insight on your personality traits and behaviours. The results do not provide black and white answers, but rather shades of grey. As such they are useful but do not expect a personalized result – rather use them to provide a framework for your behaviour.

So is there a preferred personality type for a freelancer?

I wouldn’t say so much preferred but there are personality traits that would be inclined to drive the performance of a freelancer better than others. This is simply due to the nature of the freelancing role. Looking at what a freelance career constitutes, I would suggest there are six critical components:

1. High degree of emotional intelligence
2. Self-motivator
3. Self-confident
4. Obsessive
5. Personable
6. Adaptable

These components have been derived from the fact that freelancers have to be self-starters who are confident enough to sell themselves and their skills to the wider market. From my own experiences these personality traits could potentially result in the following behaviours;

1. The ability to manage one’s self and handle pressure
2. Strong communicator and networker
3. Good with people
4. Flexible
5. Strong work ethic

When looking at the freelancers I have coached, the professional development objectives have centred on the need to improve their skills in each of these five areas. By focusing on these five behaviours I have witnessed some incredible improvements in performance in only a short period of time.

So whether you’re currently a freelancer or considering moving into freelancing consider your own personality traits and behaviour habits and spend some time getting to know yourself. I am in no way saying that these are the only behaviours required to succeed, but they would most definitely constitute a strong foundation from which to develop yourself and move forward with your career as a freelancer.

By Daryl Close, business performance consultant & coach

Image by the53rdcalypso

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