Personality types

In leadership we learned about 4 personality types: sanguine, choleric, melancholy, and phlegmatic.

Sanguine – emotional and demonstrative, the Sanguine is the life of the party and is all about having fun. They make work into fun, and they love to be with people. They see excitement in each experience and are outgoing and optimistic. They love colors, are dramatic and prone to exaggeration, and are great on stage, thriving with an audience. They love touching and hugging people. You will laugh and laugh with a Sanguine. They breathe life into you. The Sanguine is like Tigger in the Winnie the Pooh stories – happy, bouncy, often loud, talkative, great storyteller, lots of fun.

Choleric – dynamic born leader, dreamer of the impossible dream, always aiming, reaching, succeeding. The Choleric is over achieving and everything will be fine as long as you obey her rule: “Do it my way NOW!” She is outgoing and optimistic, but has little need for friends (socializing wastes time and doesn’t get things done). She believes everything will be fine as long as you do it with her in charge. She gets more done than the other temperaments and you know where you stand with her. She rises to the top, is goal-oriented, and has innate leadership abilities.The Choleric is like Rabbit in the Winnie the Pooh stories.

Melancholy – deep, sensitive, organized, detailed, lover of lists. The Melancholy is quiet, undemanding, and likes to be alone. He follows schedules right from the beginning and will not adapt well to having his routine upset. They are neat, tidy, and perfectionistic. They are frugal and have deep compassion for others. The Melancholy is creative, introspective, and analytical. Without Melancholies we’d have few artists, writers, philosophers, and composers of music. The Melancholy is like Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh stories.

Phlegmatic – buffers for all the other personalities to bring stability and balance. The Phlegmatic is peaceful and the great leveler in life. He says, “It really doesn’t matter that much” – and it usually doesn’t matter! The Phlegmatic is content, easy-going, not pushy, balanced, on an even keel, doesn’t easily offend, and quietly does what is expected of him. “Whatever” seems to be the Phlegmatic’s life motto. He is a “learned” leader and with proper motivation, he will rise to the top, because of his outstanding ability to get with everyone and avoid conflict. Pooh is an example of the Phlegmatic in the Winnie the Pooh stories.