“Know thyself” is a powerful principle that effective leaders, managers, and people know intuitively.

When you understand your own strengths and preferences, you’re in a position to maximize those strengths and compensate for any weaknesses, whether that’s working differently or surrounding yourself with people with different strengths.

Most of us have a dominant birth order personality that matches our birth position. But that personality is influenced by variables such as temperament, gender and other family circumstances. So it’s not so much where you’re born in your family that counts as how you function. The way a person functions generally correlates with birth position.

Your birth order personality relates to both your work style (that is, how you work and what motivates you) and your relational style (that is, how you relate to people). For many people that means working along different birth order lines. For example, I am the youngest in my family by seven years, which means I am like a functional firstborn. So I work as the eldest (achievement oriented, ambitious and like to be in control) but relate as the youngest (very good at outsourcing and poor decision maker). It sounds complicated but it is not.

Birth order theory describes four types of personalities: firstborn, secondborn, single, and younger. If he were the third of six children, circumstances would have meant that he would function efficiently as one of the previous big four.

These are the four types of birth orders and some of their characteristics:

Firstborn – the leaders, drivers and responsible types. These people like to manage others, but they need to manage themselves first. They love to feel in control and can be uncomfortable with surprises or feel out of it. They are conservative in their outlook, which is both a strength and a weakness. Their ability to focus on one goal and their propensity to organize others means they can accomplish anything they set their mind to.

Their tendency towards perfectionism may mean they can take few risks, but they can be the rock around which organizations can be built. Authority approval is important to this group, so don’t expect them to rock the boat too much. Firstborns, above all else, want to move on.

The second born: the ‘townspeople’, the concession-makers and the flexible operators. They are likely to be motivated by a cause and will enjoy working alongside people. They will often choose tasks or even a job that gives them a sense of belonging. Friendships are important to this group, so they will learn to get along and help keep the peace in a group or organization. They often need others to push them, but they are the glue that holds groups together. Relationships are important to this group, so be sure to include them in all activities. Seconds, above all else, put people first.

Only’s: The silent achievers, the finishers, expect nothing less than the best. This group will raise the bar for everyone around them, as nothing but the best will do. Their great strength is their ability to work on their own for long periods of time, making them excellent project finishers and strategic thinkers, but they can be reserved and do not deal well with conflict. Recognition is important to this group. Only’s goal, above all else, is to please.

The youngest: the initiators, the people with ideas and the challengers. This group are the creative types, who live in the moment and can put some fun and enthusiasm into the activities. While the message for the firstborns is to relax, it seems that this group needs to take things more seriously sometimes. Great starters and very impatient doers, they persevere to get something started, but are often not the best finishers. This group will often do anything to get noticed, so be sure to pay attention to their efforts. The youngest, above all, will leave you speechless.

Which birth order personality are you most like? Does it match your birth order position? Actually, you probably nodded to some features in each position. But which one did you nod the loudest as you read? That will give you an indication of your dominant birth order personality.

So what is the point? Know yourself and know the circumstances in which you are working. There are times when your birth order personality needs to take over, but there are times when you may need to operate or work as someone in another position. This may make you uncomfortable, but you can do it.

I have a set of badges, one for each position, that I use for different occasions and different jobs. Sometimes I need to be more like a firstborn, especially when I need to take the lead. But there are also times when I have to act like a second born and learn to compromise and be more diplomatic than taking a shock and burn approach. When it’s time to take action and cast aside caution, I’ll wear my youngest son badge.

Knowledge of birth order is as simple as it is intuitive, but it’s also powerful because, as Kevin Leman, author of The New Birth Order Book, argues, affections… “can touch you in profound and sometimes unsettling ways years after you believe you’ve grown up.” beyond all that.”