Supportive traits are like great personal assistants that help us navigate through life’s challenges more smoothly. From handling day-to-day responsibilities to tackling complex issues, we often and consciously rely on these trusted aides—our supportive traits—knowing that they are capable and reliable at what they do. Ultimately, living in the absence of our supportive traits is akin to losing both our arms; we would struggle tremendously to function without them.

Your habits shape your identity,
and your identity shapes your habits.

James Clear

As our supportive traits come naturally to us, we tend to employ them effortlessly, as if we are writing and drawing with our dominant hand. Therefore, we often take our supportive traits for granted, not realizing how valuable they are to someone of a different archetype. If left unchecked, we might even run the risk of overusing them, preventing other parts of ourselves from flourishing.

Like our dominant traits, our supportive traits are simply facets of our personalities. Whether they are strengths or weaknesses is entirely dependent on the way we utilize them. If we cultivate and develop our supportive traits well, they can become valuable additions to our toolbox of super strengths. However, if we use them in an unhealthy manner, the same traits will ultimately lead to our undoing.

Ever-ready, Executives can be trusted to get any job done, no matter how heavy the workload. To organize their tasks, they plan things from head to toe, mapping out every necessary step to reach success. With a team-oriented mindset, they work closely with others to ensure that everybody is on track to meet their assigned timelines and objectives. By overseeing projects with a systematic approach, Executives are able to steer everything towards the right direction.

While a sense of order is important, Executives can sometimes be too rigid in their approach, expecting everyone to follow their instructions precisely. They might believe that sticking to the plan is the best way to go, fearing that any slight deviation will lead to unforeseen difficulties. However, strict adherence to plans will only stifle creativity and inhibit innovative ideas from emerging, causing Executives to lose out on many more effective ways to achieve their goals.

When Executives want everything to go exactly as planned, they may end up micromanaging those around them. They might feel a strong need to control every little detail of a project, closely monitoring their team’s work to no end. As a result, people will feel a lack of trust from Executives, causing demotivation and reduced productivity. By denying their teams space and trust to work independently, Executives may unintentionally hinder progress, jeopardizing the entire project.

Executives are proud of the roles they play in society. They work tirelessly to excel at their jobs, consistently improving their knowledge and mastering their skills. They believe that every little feature is crucial in perfecting their projects, so they pay close attention to all the details to ensure no errors are made. Through their hard work and dedication, Executives are able to consistently surpass the expectations of others, never failing to deliver results that are second to none.

However, when Executives strive to be flawless, they will often be caught up with trivial matters that hardly make a difference. They may fuss over irrelevant details, making small adjustments everywhere just to improve their work ever so slightly. As such, they end up wasting their precious time perfecting for the sake of perfection, instead of spending their energy on more important matters.

Perfection is an unforgiving spiral. Despite great efforts, there are some Executives who may still think that nothing they do is ever good enough. Faced with the growing pressure of their own expectations, they may eventually be overwhelmed by tremendous amounts of stress, causing them to give up entirely. Therefore, such Executives need to understand that chasing perfection is not only impossible but also counterproductive in achieving their larger goals in life.

Like anchors in troubled waters, people often rely on Executives to provide stability during times of chaos. This is because their careful and meticulous nature instills a sense of security in others. Aware that even the smallest setbacks could potentially derail progress, they invest a considerable amount of time into managing risk. As such, Executives are excellent at making arrangements, systems, and plans—forming structured environments that will ensure maximum effectiveness.

However, the need for stability can be a double-edged sword for Executives, confining them to their comfort zones. Valuing structure and order, they may be reluctant to adopt new ideas because they view change as a disruption to their perfectly organized world. This fear of chaos can cause them to stick to what’s familiar, even though they are no longer effective. Moreover, they risk missing out on the benefits of newer methods, ultimately obstructing success.

The thing is, many Executives fail to realize that change is inevitable. If they are stuck to old ways, they may suffer immensely when unforeseen changes arise. To make matters worse, they tend to assume that things will unfold similarly to their past experiences. Therefore, they are often caught off guard when the unexpected happens. If Executives refuse to adapt, they may not be able to respond effectively to sudden changes, leaving them paralyzed by the ensuing chaos.

Thus far, we have explored both the Executive's dominant and supportive traits. In our jargon, these traits are known as one's heroic traits. Think about it, don't we all look like heroes when we put these traits to use? Not just wannabe heroes, but real ones—those who are truly powerful yet unimpressed with their own abilities.

Superhuman strength and the ability to fly are awesome superpowers that we all wished we had. But Superman doesn't pride himself in any of those abilities. To him, using those powers to save the world is just another day on the job. Similarly, even though we are great at our dominant and supportive traits, we do not find them the least bit amazing. From our perspective, there is nothing special about these mundane things that we do every day.

That said, as heroic as our traits may seem, no hero in the world is perfect. Even the most powerful heroes, such as Naruto, Thor, or Wonder Woman, have their own flaws and weaknesses. However, that does not invalidate them as heroes; it only makes them all the more admirable. The same goes for our own heroic traits. They may not be perfect, but our strive to improve them is what sets us apart.

I am not a hero. I just did what any
decent person would have done.

Miep Gies

When our heroic traits bask in the light, they will inevitably cast shadows—traits that we tend to neglect. Our shadows are foreign to us, as they are the complete opposite of our natural traits. Because we fear what we don't understand, most of us will subconsciously push away or suppress these parts of ourselves. Unfortunately, if we allow the fear of failure to overpower our minds, these suppressed shadows will eventually swallow us whole.

Nevertheless, shadows are not our weaknesses. They are simply parts of ourselves that we are unfamiliar with, and therefore, would rather avoid. But if we harness our shadows, they will eventually become our hidden strengths. It may be daunting at first to explore these dark and unknown parts of ourselves. However, with a curious mind and a compassionate heart, there's nothing to be afraid of. With that said, let us venture deep into the shadows within us.

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Shadows Within [Executive]