Emisary
Emisary is not about who you are on the inside, because in a sense that doesn't really matter.
We take a different approach. It’s not about pinning a static personality type on you; instead, it provides an evolving portrait of how you appear to others in the moment.
Unlike a one-time quiz, Emisary tracks an ever-changing state, based on the moments of your life that are foremost in conscious thought, the ones that are most impacting your demeanor at any given point in time.
The purpose isn’t to define who you are at your core, but to capture snapshots of how you come across in various situations – and to use that insight for positive change.
Crucially, Emisary’s feedback comes with context. Understanding why you were seen as, say, assertive in one situation and reserved in another makes the feedback more insightful and actionable. It is completely anonymous and safe.
The Emisary Model
We designed the Evolutionary Metric for Interpersonal Self-Assessment and Reflectivity from scratch, to serve as a simple, uniform metric to gauge a person's demeanor.
Emisary is not science, and it's not supposed to be, any more than the length of a meter or the weight of a gram is science. It's a unique, concise, and hopefully useful way of categorizing how someone is perceived.
The structure of this particular model is inspired by evolutionary psychology. The idea being that, long before consciousness evolved, animal behaviors emerged as strategies to help creatures survive and thrive in their environment. In other words, each trait we measure ties back to a fundamental question: What survival or social challenge might this behavior have evolved to solve? By framing traits in this way, the Emisary model adds a sense of “why” that personality tests often lack.
Our model is not a rehash of Myers-Briggs or the Big Five. Emisary’s approach is different: it doesn’t pigeonhole you into a type or rank you on broad traits. Instead, it captures a range of your behaviors on ten scales that cover a broad spectrum of interpersonal tendencies. For instance, if I talk with you in your office on a work day you will likely come across very differently than when I accidentally rear end you in a parking lot while trying to leave a concert venue. Neither moment would truly describe who 'you' are, but when aggregated, analyses of those moments can give you a sense of how you're coming across objectively.
The Ten Trait Dimensions
Emisary profiles you across ten key trait dimensions, organized into five broad aspects of behavior. Most aspects have two opposing tendencies: one relating to how you act (an outgoing or active expression) and one to how you react (a receptive or inward response). Think of each trait pair as a spectrum – you might lean towards one end in some situations and shift toward the other in different circumstances. There’s no “good” or “bad” end of any spectrum; each side has its role and context.
Here are the five aspects and their traits:
1. Relation to the Environment
Behavior evolved as a fuzzy control system to optimize reproduction and survival. However, long before even rudimentary consciousness needed to evolve, an entity had to feed and to avoid environmental dangers. This called for action upon the environment (dominance) and retreat to safety (submission).
A measure of both is required in all motile creatures, but in a fundamental way this general outlook colors many other more complex behaviors. How do you interact with the world around you? Do you shape your environment, or adapt to it?
Urge to Control – Submission to Dominance. This trait measures your tendency to act upon your environment versus reacting to it. On the submissive end, a person prefers to go with the flow of situations, staying passive or yielding when possible. On the dominant end, a person instinctively takes charge or control, asserting themselves to change the situation to their advantage. For example, someone low in Urge to Control might be described as meek or accommodating, whereas someone high in this trait might come across as bold or authoritative.
Responsiveness – Chaotic to Inflexible. This trait gauges how you react when things change in your environment. At one extreme, a highly responsive person might seem chaotic or erratic – easily thrown off balance by change, or quick to adapt in unpredictable ways. At the other extreme, a person may be extremely stable and inflexible – they stay calm under change but can also be stubborn about deviating from their plan. In between is a spectrum of flexibility: do you roll with surprises, or do you resist upheaval? This dimension captures that range, from a chaotic, quick-to-change nature to a rock-solid, unyielding one.
2. Relation to Others
As life grew and differentiated, its constituent parts began to compete for resources. And since creatures themselves are where many resources are most heavily concentrated, life began to eat itself.
Rudimentary consciousness became necessary to determine whether another entity could be a source of sustenance, and even more importantly, whether it might make the same judgement in return. Other creatures could be in direct competition for survival, or could be a secondary source of resources or protection.
Consciousness built upon this foundation and some form of these judgements are going on in the minds of higher animals all the time. When you interact with a person, what is your underlying demeanor? Do you tend to regard others as allies, competitors, or prey?
Engagement – Empathy to Aggression. Engagement describes your default approach toward other people on a spectrum from warmth to force. On the empathetic end, you seek connection: you’re cooperative, compassionate, and see others as potential friends or allies. You tend to listen and relate, making people feel understood. On the aggressive end, you take a more combative stance: you’re competitive, assertive, and not afraid of conflict if you see others as rivals or obstacles. Most of us fluctuate on this scale depending on the situation – Emisary helps highlight where you generally fall between being peace-making versus confrontational.
Receptivity – Trust to Suspicion. Receptivity captures how you interpret others’ motives and actions. This ranges from a trusting outlook to a wary, suspicious one. If you lean towards trust, you give people the benefit of the doubt – you’re open, agreeable, and may even be a bit gullible, assuming positive intent. If you lean towards suspicion, you’re more guarded and skeptical – you question others’ intentions and protect yourself until people truly earn your trust. This trait isn’t about how friendly you are, but about your internal guard: is it relaxed and open, or on high alert? Emisary reveals where you lie on this spectrum of innocence versus caution.
3. Relation to the Group
As competition induced life to evolve more complex forms, social animals began to live in packs, which themselves became agents of evolutionary change.
In some cases, the survival of a pack can be more essential to reproductive success (of their collective gene pool) than the survivial of an individual within the pack (which shares many of the same genes as those members who successfully reproduce). Therefore, the nature of the pack itself (such as the group cohesion of its members) became a tool of survival to reproduction.
Levels of group cohesion can be seen in a person's desire for status within a community and the extent to which that community's mores influence decisionmaking. How do you function in social groups or communities?
Status Seeking – Antisocial to Pretentious. Status Seeking measures your desire for social status or leadership within a group. On the low end, someone may be relatively antisocial or content to stay in the background – they don’t particularly care about standing out or climbing hierarchies, and may even shy away from group activities. On the high end, someone is highly status-conscious – eager to gain recognition, influence, or authority. They might actively compete for leadership roles or symbols of success (which can sometimes come across as pretentious or overly ambitious). This trait isn’t strictly about being social or not, but rather whether being on top matters to you in a group setting.
Conformity – Alienated to Conformist. Conformity reflects how much you value fitting in with the group’s norms and opinions. If you score low on Conformity, you’re more of an independent spirit or even an outsider – you’re comfortable being unconventional, open-minded, or even alienated from group norms. You won’t sacrifice your individuality just to belong. If you score high, you tend to follow group rules and seek acceptance – you care about others’ approval and feel more secure when you’re aligned with the group’s expectations. High Conformity can mean being a reliable team player, though taken to an extreme it might look like narrow-mindedness or unwillingness to question the crowd. Emisary shows where you fall, whether you’re a maverick, a joiner, or somewhere in between.
4. Boundaries
As life evolved, an animal's ability to create a mental model of the world around it became important. In the game of survival, how do you determine the Nash Equilibrium? Incoming data needed to be parsed in the creation of this mental model. Thus the urge to define, as a precursor to understanding, became necessary.
With regard to strategic actions taken by an animal, success required an objective view of the world around it, particularly an understanding that the animal itself is just one of many players, each of which has an agenda and is making similar strategic decisions. In order to achieve this, a strong mental boundary, or distinct model of the self, is needed. How do you draw mental and emotional boundaries – both in organizing your world and defining yourself relative to others?
Objectivity – Egotistical to Selfless. Objectivity in Emisary’s model is about the ability to see beyond your own perspective. A self with weak boundaries is at the mercy of internal desires and emotions, which appear to be a factor of the environment, rather than unique to each individual. It’s as if the “boundary” defining the self is indistinct or nonexistent. This might manifest as being self-centered or biased, or an inability to comprehend others' points of view. On the high (selfless or objective) end, a person recognizes that everyone around them has their own agenda, and none is intrinsically more important than any other. This trait is about perspective: can you see yourself as one player among many at the table, or are you at the mercy of your own ego?
Urge to Define – Negligent to Fussy. As you perceive incoming data, to what extent do you need to parse, classify and define it? On one end, a low urge to define means you’re comfortable with ambiguity and messiness – you might be seen as carefree, spontaneous, or even disorganized. You don’t stress too much about strict rules or schedules (which could be perceived by others as negligent or too lax in certain situations). On the other end, a high urge to define means you crave clarity and organization – you like defined boundaries, clear plans, and everything in its place. You might come across as meticulous, very orderly, or “fussy” about details and cleanliness.
5. Energies
A danger alert system is fundamental to every living creature, and in higher animals it can be triggered by abstract or unconscious thought. The level at which this threat system operates has a strong bearing on mood and decisionmaking.
Similarly, and almost in opposition to this, the creative force helps to produce a positive mood and playful energy. It is associated with intelligence to a certain degree, and is essential to a satisfactory life. How do your internal energy levels manifest – creatively and in terms of caution or anxiety? These last two are not spectrums between opposing traits, but singular energy levels that wax and wane over time.
Creativity – Low to High. Creativity represents your level of positive creative energy – the spark that drives curiosity, playfulness, and innovation. Someone low on this spectrum might be very practical, preferring routine and concrete thinking over imaginative ventures – they may not show much sponteneity day-to-day. Someone high in Creativity is imaginative, curious, and inventive – always brimming with ideas, playful humor, or artistic expression. This trait isn’t a value judgment; both low and high creativity have their place. Emisary simply reflects how others see your creative energy: are you viewed as more steady and pragmatic, or as a fountain of novel ideas and a source of joy?
Anxiety – Low to High. Anxiety in our model gauges your innate caution and sensitivity to potential threats – essentially, your internal alert system. A low-anxiety person tends to be calm, relaxed, and difficult to rattle. They appear steady under pressure and may take risks more readily because their internal alarm isn’t easily triggered. A high-anxiety person is more vigilant and cautious – they’re often on alert, which can manifest as nervousness, worry, or a tendency to overthink possibilities. While modern life often casts anxiety as negative, it’s good to remember this trait evolved to protect us from danger – a little anxiety keeps us prepared, though too much can be overwhelming. Emisary will reflect if others see you as cool and untroubled or tense and cautious, helping you understand how your underlying energy comes across.
Where you're at
Emisary is ultimately about personal awareness. By seeing these dimensions of yourself as others might see them, you gain fresh perspective on your everyday actions and relationships. This isn’t about fixed labels – it’s about noticing patterns and understanding yourself in a more nuanced way. Maybe you’ll discover that what you thought of as “just being helpful” sometimes felt like dominance to others, or that your easy-going demeanor comes across as aloof when you don’t intend it.
Think of using Emisary like engaging in a daily mindfulness practice: each moment you write about is a meditation prompt, encouraging you to reflect on those moments that are foremost in your thoughts at that moment in time. Collectively, these reflections can help you adjust and change. You might decide to dial up your Engagement in friendships, or practice being less rigid in your Responsiveness to change – small, mindful steps toward the person you'd rather be.
Emissary is meant to be an anonymous space to investigate how you might be seen through the collective eyes of those around you. It gives you a chance to align how you think you’re coming across with how you're actually perceived.