Florence Littauer

Florence Littauer is a Christian self-help author and public speaker. Littauer is best known for her series of books based upon the Personality Plus personality system.^[1] She was listed as one of Helen K. Hosier's "100 Christian Women Who Changed the Twentieth Century" and has received the National Speakers Association's Council of Peers Award for Excellence and has been designated by them as a Certified Speaking Professional.^[2][3]

Background

Littauer grew up in her father's store in Haverhill, Massachusetts, with her sharing three rooms with her family. Her parents were Walter and Katie F. Chapman. She attended the University of Massachusetts on a scholarship,^[4] where she received a Bachelor's degree in English with a minor in psychiatry.^[5]

Littauer met her husband Fred Littauer met at a Jewish day camp for girls, with the two becoming engaged about a year later.^[6] The wedding was covered by Life Goes to a Wedding and the two have had four children together. Their third child, Fred Jr "Freddie", died from issues related to seizures he suffered during his infancy and their fourth child, Larry (deceased), suffered from a brain disorder and was institutionalized.^[6][7] During this time Littauer suffered depression, which continued until she met Roy Gustafson, a member of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team.^[5] From this meeting Littauer and her husband began a ministry, a public speaking business, and a series of religious themed books.^[8] The Littauers would have another child following Freddie's death. In October 2002, Fred died of a heart attack at their home while Littauer was away on a speaking engagement. Behind the Personality: The Story of My Life was in its final editing stages at that time and Littauer inserted a tribute to her late husband in the final chapter of the book.^[9]

Personality Plus

Littauer, along with her husband, developed the personality profile system Personality Plus. She first began looking into personality groups as a way of trying to explain the differences in personality between herself and her husband.^[2] The Littauers based the system off of Hippocrates's theory of the Four Temperaments. The system classifies the four personality groups of "Choleric", "Melancholy", "Sanguine", and "Phlegmatic". Unlike Hippocrates's system, Littauer stated that individuals could be made up of several personality types rather than to just be classified into one.^[10]

Personality groups

• Cholerics are considered to be leader and commander types, being dominant, strong, decisive, and occasionally arrogant. They tend to be good leaders because they are driven to get things done, however they might offend some people along the way. Cholerics are also known as the "POWERFUL" type. Some famous examples are Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil, Phil Donahue, Donald Trump, Bill Gates and Bill O'Reilly.
• Melancholy personality types are described by Littauer to be the mental types, with their personality displaying a strong emphasis on thinking, evaluation, and assessment. Their typical behaviour involves thinking, assessing, making lists, evaluating the positives and negatives, and general analysis of facts. They love maps, charts and graphs. They are usually the most intelligent of the four types, however they tend to dwell on details. A Melancholy is a planner, making sure things happen, although sometimes they can paralyze themselves with over-analysis. Lists and "doing things the right way" are characteristics of this personality type. Melancholies are also known as the "Perfect" type. Some famous examples are Hillary Clinton, Ernest Hemingway, Vincent Van Gogh and Beethoven.
• Sanguines are a social personality type, displaying characteristics such as a predisposition to socialize and entertain. They enjoy fun, socializing, chatting, telling stories - and are fond of promising the world, because that's the friendly thing to do. A Sanguine gets on well with people and can get others excited about issues, but cannot always be relied upon to get things done. They love interacting with others and play the role of the entertainer or center of attention in group interactions. They have a tendency to over-promise and under-deliver. Sanguines are also known as the "Popular" type. Some famous examples are Bill Clinton, Robin Williams, Kelly Ripa and Richard Simmons.
• Phlegmatics are described as having a flat-type personality, being laid back and desiring a peaceful environment above all else. They are easy going, laid back, nonchalant, unexcitable and relaxed. Desiring a quiet and peaceful environment above all else. They tend not to actively upset people, but their indifference may frustrate people. They try not to make decisions, and generally go for the status quo. They are good as mediators because they don't usually have many enemies. They also have a "dry" and quick sense of humor. Phlegmatics are also known as the "Peaceful" type. Some famous examples are Calvin Coolidge, Tim Duncan, Sandy Koufax, and Keanu Reeves.

None of these types is specifically described as being positive or negative. They each have upsides and downsides. The characteristics are for observing and identifying, rather than judging.

Bibliography

• Your Personality Tree (1986)
• The Best of Florence Littauer (1989)
• Silver Boxes: The Gift of Encouragement (1989)
• Dare to Dream (1991)
• Silver Linings: Breaking through the Clouds of Depression (1994)
• The Gift of Encouraging Words (1996)
• Personality Plus for Parents: Understanding What Makes Your Child Tick (2000)
• A Letter is a Gift Forever: The Charm and Tradition of a Handwritten Note (2001)
• It Takes So Little to Be Above Average (2001)
• Personality Plus for Couples: Understanding Yourself and the One You Love (2001)
• Setting the Stage for Your Child's Faith (2002)
• Behind the Personality: The Story of My Life (2003)
• Your Personality Tree (2005)
• How to Get Along with Difficult People (2006)
• Communication Plus: How to Speak So People Will Listen (2006)
• Personality Plus at Work: How to Work Successfully with Anyone (2011)

Co-wrote with Fred

• After Every Wedding Comes a Marriage (1997)

References

External links

• Littauer's speaker page