Do you know what multipotential people are? Have you heard of them? They’re people with very specific personality traits. They like to try, innovate, learn and get involved in as many projects and activities as possible.

In this article we have selected the 12 distinctive features of a multipotential person : most of them are positive features, although there are some that may present certain difficulties (slightly more “negative” features). We tell you everything, keep reading!

  • You may be interested in: “The 7 personality traits of creative people”

12 characteristics of a multipotential person

Multipotential people can do almost anything: they do not have a specific “field of action”, since are such versatile profiles that you can imagine them working on almost anything .

Thus, you can devote yourself to the sciences, engineering, electronics, education, health… Now we present you with the 12 distinctive features of a multipotential person.

1. they are very creative

The first of the 12 distinctive features of a multipotential person is his creativity. Thus, multipotential people tend to be very creative. This creativity translates into a great capacity to identify problems, as well as to design innovative solutions to them .

2. have multiple interests

Another distinctive feature of multipotential people is the great diversity (and number) of interests they have . These can be of very different subjects. In this sense, they are people who, if they did not have many new interests and areas to discover, would be bored.

This manifests itself in their working life as well as in their social and academic life… At work, for example, they are usually very versatile people, who get bored with monotony; in this sense, they like to embark on new projects, train in new skills, etc. They need constant and new stimuli. The same goes for their social and academic life.

3. Have multiple hobbies

Related to the above feature, another of the distinguishing characteristics of a multipotential person is his great diversity of hobbies. Moreover, these are usually numerous. This is why this type of person is involved in many projects, voluntary work, business, new activities … Since they like to discover new things and quickly get bored of the same.

4. They have multiple professions

At this point, when we talk about professions we also refer to professional facets . That is, multipotential people may either have more than one profession (for example, a “core” profession and a complementary one) or they may have many professional facets within their same profession (they specialize in many fields of their subject).

This trait is in line with the previous ones; their concerns and motivations are so numerous (and they also have the capacity to do very different things), that they need to satisfy those motivations, getting involved in many areas at a work level (or having more than one profession).

5. They are very curious people

Curiosity is another of the distinctive features of a multipotential person . This personal characteristic is defined as “the desire to know or find out about something”. In this case, the desire is extrapolated to the fact of discovering multiple things, constantly.

This trait can sometimes be detrimental to them, as these people can sometimes become too intrusive because of this remarkable curiosity they display. Otherwise, this curiosity can help them to learn more easily, although sometimes they find it difficult to focus their attention on just one thing, as we will see later on.

6. They like to learn new things

The next of the distinguishing features of a multipotential person is his desire for knowledge, his passion for learning. As we saw, they are people who need almost constant stimulation in all senses, especially at the level of learning and challenge.

Thus, they like to set themselves challenges , both on an academic and professional level. They feel fulfilled by learning, discovering and innovating

7. They have a lot of energy

Another characteristic of these people is an overflowing energy . An energy that, on the other hand, they need to develop everything they set out to do (which, as we have seen, is a lot).

Sometimes, it is as if they have a motor inside, which activates them and allows them to keep their attention, although they may have difficulty in focusing on one thing only, because of that insatiable desire to embrace everything.

8. They have a lot of intuition

Intuition is another of the distinctive features of a multipotential person . Technically, intuition is the “ability to know, understand or perceive something clearly and immediately, without the intervention of reason”. We have intuition when we become aware of something, almost automatically and unexpectedly, when we observe something or think about something.

Intuition is actually an evolutionary mechanism that has helped our ancestors to survive. It’s a tool that allows us to find easy shortcuts on complicated paths. Thus, multipotential people have good intuition, which allows them to adapt to the environment and easily manage in life.

9. “Specialist in everything, expert in nothing”

One way to summarize the following of the 12 distinguishing features of a multipotential person is with this phrase: “they are specialists in everything, but experts in nothing”.

Logically, as with all the features mentioned, there will be exceptions, but generally this type of person, having so many interests and “lands to explore”, specializes in many fields, areas, themes … but they do not become experts in any of them, often because of their lack of constancy (a feature we will see later).

It is not that they are not capable of focusing on something and becoming experts in it, but rather that, wanting to cover everything, they try out many things but without managing to dedicate enough time to become experts in something more concrete (so, for example, when they lack time, they prefer to do many things even though they don’t go into any of them in depth; they prioritise variety rather than quality).

10. Easily dispersed

As we mentioned before, although one of the distinctive features of a multipotential person is their eagerness to know and try new things (since they are also people with many capabilities), it is not always easy for them to focus their attention on just one thing .

That is why they can sometimes seem scattered, and easily distracted, by the large number of stimuli they seek to attend to. However, not all of them present this degree of dispersion, and it is certainly something that can be trained and improved (attention).

11. They find it hard to be consistent

A little as a result of (or in relation to) the above, we have the following feature: the difficulty of constancy.

Many times, multipotential people, being involved in so many projects, have difficulties to finish them , and facing a new business perspective, project, activity, etc., they can leave the initial projects overnight (suddenly). This translates into some instability, and the possibility of “letting go” of other people.

12. They are flexible and adaptable

This time, as a positive trait, another of the distinguishing features of a multipotential person is his/her flexibility (and adaptation). This characteristic(s) translates into a great capacity to modify things (internally or externally), and to adjust them so that they work, or to obtain the desired changes in the environment.

Thus, in the face of new or unexpected situations, a multipotential person has effective resources to manage such situations and benefit from them.

Bibliographic references:

  • Flores, A. (2011). The innovative attitude. Netbiblo, S.L. La Coruña (Spain).

  • López Martínez, O., & Martín Brufau, R. (1). Creative intelligence and thinking styles. Anales De Psicología / Annals of Psychology, 26(2), 254-258.

  • Martínez, O.L. and Lozano, J.N. (2010). Personality traits and development of creativity. Annals of Psychology, 26(1): 151-158.