Aaron Jay is a Passionate Penguin, according to a new online personality test he took recently.
The managing director of Blenheim-based firm Hortus, which supplies labour to the viticulture and horticulture industries, had never done an internet quiz before and would not usually be impressed by being compared to a small, waddling bird.
But this wasn't just any online quiz – and the results have in fact proved to be an eye-opener for him.
The quiz – developed by business growth centre The Icehouse to help their clients understand more about their strengths and weaknesses and how they affect their companies – places participants in one of four categories, depending on their answers to a handful of carefully-chosen questions.
When Jay read about the traits of a Passionate Penguin, the category he ended up in, he was blown away by how they accurately described him and his approach to business: "It was actually quite uncanny how correct it was. A few of us in the office did it and we all thought it was spooky how the categories we fell into summed us up so accurately."
Passionate Penguins are efficient, capable and often underestimated, most critically by themselves. They will ferociously defend their patch and their team, which perfectly sums up Jay. Their strengths include knowing their business through and through, usually because they've worked in it for a long time.
"That is absolutely one of the biggest strengths of Hortus – our thorough understanding of the industry we're in," says Jay, who has been in the business for 15 years.
The challenges Passionate Penguins face include feeling there's a huge responsibility resting on their shoulders because a lot of people rely on them.
"Again, that is spot on. We bring in hundreds of people from the Pacific Islands to work in horticulture and viticulture in New Zealand and, for every person who comes to work here, the money they earn affects 10 other people back in the islands. It can affect whole communities. It is definitely a big responsibility."
Another issue Passionate Penguins may have to deal with is being less likely to ask for assistance, because they have done so well for so long.
"Seeing that made me reflect on the fact that it is okay to get other people's help," says Jay. "Because of the survey I'm also now more conscious we should never assume that we know everything. Sometimes it is a good thing to bring in someone else who can give you a new perspective.
"Knowing what you are strong at gives you confidence; knowing what challenges you face helps you to do something about them before they become a problem."
Around 15 per cent of Kiwi business owners who have taken the quiz fall into the Passionate Penguin category. The largest group – around 40 per cent – are Tenacious Tui (strong leaders who place a lot of importance on networking but find being a business owner can be lonely), while 26 per cent are Capable Kiwi (hard working and financially savvy, but sometimes daunted by the prospect of high success or growth).
The final 19 per cent are Confident Kea – ambitious leaders who aren't afraid to take risks but don't always pay a lot of attention to details.
The Icehouse, which has been investing in and supporting start-ups and assisting established firms to grow for 16 years, came up with the survey to help clients run their companies better.
"We are in the business of personal transformation. We work to build strong business owners who can build strong businesses," says Juliette Simm, The Icehouse's marketing and communications lead. "So we wanted to find a way of identifying individual characteristics and to look at the way you function as a person – and how it affects the bottom line for your business."
The survey is based on extensive research The Icehouse completed last year into what makes New Zealand business owners tick. The findings identified different personality types, categorising them into four main groups – made instantly recognisable by the use of the four New Zealand birds.
There are five statements in the survey; participants respond with answers on a scale ranging from one to 10, according to how much they relate to each one.
"The idea is that we can show people areas in which they are really strong and let them know they can succeed by addressing certain things in areas that may be more of a challenge," says Simm. "We can follow up the quiz with advice on areas where they might be struggling or how to add value to strengths they already have.
Simm says they've had great feedback from the 1000-plus people who have done the quiz so far: "Most business owners aren't the kind of people who go online and do personality quizzes, so this is quite new for them. We've had people saying the survey and its results have really spoken to them, and made them reflect on their characteristics, and what a difference they make to their business."
Click here to take the Personality Quiz: https://www.theicehouse.co.nz/persona-quiz