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Part 2 - Most Important Product of a Man’s effort - - His Own Personality 
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How do you define a powerful personality?
By Shah Nawaz Khan

First step in understanding what is a powerful personality is full realization of weaknesses inherent in human nature and how we can overcome them. We easily succumb to our needs, wants, ambitions, dislikes, motivations, as well as the crucial ability to understand one’s position in the universe as a direct result of decisions made in the past. Merely by accumulating wealth or knowledge and having power or authority or acquiring some skill or distinction or talking gullibly, we do not achieve powerful personality. 

Any one can achieve Powerful Personality by learning to live well and to face the challenges of life with courage, zeal and enthusiasm. We achieve a powerful personality:. 

Bill Gate's Personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures.
  • If our work is liked by others and we enjoy the trust and goodwill of people around us. 
  • If we because of our character and work enjoy the respect of intelligent men.
  • If we are kind, considerate and if we believe in justice, freedom and honesty. 
  • If we know how to strive for our personal rights and the rights of our family and community and if we fulfill our obligations to ourselves, our family, our community and humanity. 
  • If we foster good relations with the fellow human beings.
  • If we believe that learning is a life long process and continues from cradle to grave. 
  • If we take timely decision.
  • If we can express our thoughts with confidence and is at ease in writing or by delivering a public speech. 
  • If we have a burning desire to help people in need. 
  • If we have developed urge and desire wants to leave the world better than we found it.
Personality Types
A person can be strong or weak, coward or brave, learned or ignorant, good or bad or somewhere in between the two extremes of hundreds of different qualities or traits. A gang leader is an example of a strong person with a bad character. Strong persons with good character, abilities and habits seize opportunities to emerge as political or community leaders. In business organization entrepreneurs, managers and supervisors lead their work force to do things the right way but community leaders or politician lead people to do the right things or at least what they consider to be the right things. As Jim Rohn says, “Managers help people to see themselves as they are. Leaders help people to see themselves better than they are." 

 

  

The most important quality in a leader is that of being acknowledged as such. Egypt's Abdel Nasser Hussein Gamal (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) who was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. failed in his mission but is remembered for his vision and efforts for Arab Unity..
 

Different models of personality have been developed for different trades for use in vocational training. Different traits such as given below or those pertaining to a particular trade or position are evaluated for recruitment of personnel besides education and training. 
. There are persons who are dexterous and master of their craft but do not make good leaders or managers because of their temperament. Most top executives and senior managers are not necessarily experts but they know how to get the job done by different experts working for them and often they posses basic knowledge sufficient to make sound strategic decisions. 

While generally people label each other on the basis of not only their own personal likes and dislikes, prejudices and predigested thoughts but also because of some marked personality trait observed. For instance a good-humored person may be labeled as cheerful or amiable by some while others may regard him as a joker or wisecracker. And a clever person may be called witty, intelligent, smart or sly or cunning depending upon our likes and dislikes or our relations and experience with him.
Many people prejudge and label others according to their own thinking with such types as sporting, moody, hot tempered, fickle minded, timid, courageous etc. People are called shy, a shrinking violet, or a wallflower; and their friends tease them because they are just not a "people" person.  In professional life people are regarded as expert, senior, experienced, newbie, novice etc. depending upon qualifications, expertise or talent and past achievements.

There are different theories about personality types in psychology, sociology, management and other disciplines. However generally "prominent aspects of personality that are exhibited in a wide range of important social and personal contexts” are regarded as personality traits. While any personality theory does not explain everything about an individual it is a powerful indicator of his or her values, needs, abilities and strengths. Gaining an understanding of our own temperament and/or personality type increases self-esteem and confidence. Gaining an understanding of those around you improves communication and relationships and improves chances of our success.  . 

Raymond Cattell's research propagated a two-tiered personality structure with sixteen "primary factors" and five "secondary factors". Building on the work of Cattell and others, Lewis Goldberg proposed a five-dimension personality model, nicknamed the "Big Five":

Extroversion 
Agreeableness 
Conscientiousness 
Emotional Stability 
Intellect or openness to experience

Each dimension encompasses numerous personality traits that establish whether or not a person posses the dimension suitable for a particular profession or leadership. 

1. Extroversion
The dimension of extroversion includes traits like dominance, assertiveness, self confidence and the characteristics that influence behavior according to the interest in environment or some setting besides traits like talkativeness, ease and comfort in meeting new people or dealing with unfamiliar environments. 

In her book “How to Thrive in an Extrovert World”; Dr. Marti Olsen Laney identifies some high-profile introverts, including television journalist Diane Sawyer, first lady Laura Bush, and a number of famous writers and actors. The impressive achievements the people on her list have made should dispel any idea that introverts are unable to gain
(or stand) the limelight. To help the introverts in developing coping skills, the book offers a number of checklists and quizzes to gauge where one falls on the introvert/extrovert scale, and where the significant others in your life fall, too. 

2. Agreeableness
Agreeableness, the second dimension in the big five, refers to the ability to get along with others and includes the characteristics like cooperative, compassionate, understanding, and trusting 

Benjamin Franklin emphasized the importance of ‘listening’ in the following words: ”The great secret of succeeding in conversation is to admire little, to hear much; always to distrust our own reason, and sometimes that of our friends; never to pretend to wit, but to make that of others appear as much as possibly we can; to hearken to what is said and to answer to the purpose.”

Dean Rusk, U.S. Democratic politician used to say,” One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears—by listening to them.”

Trust is regarded as “person’s confidence in another individual’s intentions and motives, and in the sincerity of that individual’s word. 
However, it is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust nobody. Trust and confidence is built and reliability is gained slowly and gradually. A person who is seen as saying one thing, but doing another will not gain much trust, confidence and from others.

3. Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness includes a person’s sincerity and the ability to be responsible, persistent, committed and his determination to achieve the goals. 

Conscientiousness is a term denoting thoroughness and assiduity in conforming to the sense of duty. The recognition and acceptance of a binding rule of conduct is called conscience. 

4. Emotional stability
Emotional stability refers to the qualities like equanimity, resilience, patience and perseverance and the extent to which a one can be calm, resolute, committed and is able to handle stress and criticism  and manage a diverse set of feelings like anger, fear, sorrow, bravery, joy, jealousy, love and affection, for example. The best way to manage emotions and keep equanimity and our cool is to release the emotion as George Santayana, U.S. philosopher said: ”The young man who has not wept is a savage, and the old man who will not laugh is a fool.”

Intellect - Open to experience
Intellect: Scientists continue to argue over whether intelligence is best conceived as a generalized ability or as the capacity to excel in particular areas of mental, social or emotional functioning. The debate encompasses a variety of incendiary issues, including whether I.Q. tests have any value. However experience indicate that imagination, creativity and adopting ideas of others are important not only in personal development but also economic growth individually as well as collectively. A person open to experience with a broad range of interests who is imaginative, creative, and willing to consider new ideas tend to acquire powerful personality. Such people pursue new ideas, believe in research and discovery and often seek out new experiences through travel and self-improvement programs.

Ideal Personality
It is generally agreed that no individual can have all the traits that make an ideal personality. But talented persons show a great range of skills and vary them to match changing situations to achieve their goals. Different models of personality have been developed for different trades for use in vocational training. Different traits such as given below or those pertaining to a particular trade or position are evaluated for recruitment of personnel besides education and training. 

Attributes of successful individual include Initiative, Grasping ability, Judgment, Honesty and Dependability, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Composure, Loyalty and Endurance 

For induction in supervisory position qualities like Maturity, Improvement, Will, Assertiveness, Candor, Sense of humor, Competence, Commitment, Creativity, Self-discipline, Humility, Flexibility, Decisiveness, Justice, Endurance Empathy/Compassion are given special consideration.
 

Shah Nawaz Khan, A.C.I.I. (Associate of Chartered Insurance Institute< London retired as General Manager and Executive Director of State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan after 30 years service and now publishes electronic newsletter and writes for them. Subscribe free to his eZine that contains motivational and inspiration articles, quotes and quiz for personal development.