Every individual is unique. And, it is this uniqueness that Multiple Natures identifies.

Developed by acclaimed American educator, Steven Rudolph, the Multiple Natures framework accounts for people’s natures and personality traits that lead to behave in certain ways, especially with respect to learning and work. It explains why certain people are drawn more toward certain activities and careers.

According to Rudolph, these “Natures” or “tendencies” are found in each individual to differing degrees. He has categorized Natures into the following nine types:

Protective Nature
The tendency to protect oneself, others, bodies, ideas, or practices from harm, damage, injury, or loss.

People with a strong Protective Nature think first and foremost about others’ safety and security. They are lovers of justice and find it difficult to turn a blind eye to prejudice and injustice of any type. They can be successful as defense personnel, police officers, security guards, lawyers, judges, critics, journalists, talk show hosts, environmental activists, social activists, politicians, software security experts, etc.

Famous people with strong Protective Nature – Kiran Bedi, Jhansi Ki Rani, Tarun Tejpal, Kapil Sibal, Bhagat Singh.

Educative Nature
The tendency to acquire knowledge, skills, or experience to teach, instruct, guide, or inform others.

People possessing a strong Educative Nature derive immense pleasure from putting information together and filling up others’ knowledge gaps. Their greatest satisfaction may come from helping someone learn or understand something. They can be good as teachers, tutors, corporate trainers, music teachers, spiritual masters, etc.

Famous people with strong Educative Nature – Maria Montessori, Anne Sullivan, Dr. Radhakrishnan, Jean Piaget, Arvind Gupta.

Administrative Nature
The tendency to focus on details, organize and get work accomplished, and delegate responsibility.

People with a strong Administrative Nature are good at delegating responsibility, and they love to get the job done. They are detail-oriented people who have an innate urge to make plans and goals and to see them through to completion. They do well as managers, coaches, diplomats, receptionists, human resource managers, secretaries, personal assistants, public relations professionals, etc.

Famous people with strong Administrative Nature – E. Sreedharan, Sheila Dikshit, Dr. MS Gill, Lord Mountbatten.

Creative Nature
The tendency to generate original ideas or works that have value.

People with a strong Creative Nature are always full of ideas and constantly engage themselves in creative pursuits. They are brimming with innovation and invention, great in brainstorming sessions and make excellent problem solvers. They usually work well as artists, writers, graphic designers, fashion designers, R&D professionals, interior designers, architects, advertising professionals, etc.

Famous people with strong Creative Nature – Walt Disney, Salvador Dali, Thomas Edison, Edward DeBono.

Healing Nature
The tendency to guide or help others to recover from physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual imbalance or pain.

People possessing a Healing Nature obtain greatest pleasure from helping others stay healthy, fit and balanced. They are adept at assessing the energy in others, detecting blockages, and using a variety of tools and techniques to restore their systems and get their energy to flow freely. They work well as doctors, nurses, massage therapists, counselors, psychologists, Reiki practitioners, etc.

Famous people with strong Healing Nature – Dr. Naresh Trehan, Florence Nightingale, Marie Curie, Sigmund Freud, Charaka, Dr. Deepak Chopra.

Entertaining Nature
The tendency to amuse others or attract, focus, and maintain people’s attention on oneself or one’s work.

People with a strong Entertaining Nature have a special interest in amusing others. They have an uncanny ability to get others’ attention and to stir their emotions, whether it is through singing, dancing, making jokes, or even through their writings or drawings. They will find themselves serving as singers, musicians, dancers, actors, comedians, models, radio jockeys, magicians, etc.

Famous people with strong Entertaining Nature – Charlie Chaplin, Shah Rukh Khan, Steven Speilberg, Ekta Kapoor, RK Laxman, Khushwant Singh, Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Providing Nature
The tendency to invest one’s time or interests to help, assist, or care for others.

People with a strong Providing Nature have a built-in drive to serve others. They may be the ones who give others gifts, offer help when someone is in need, and so on. At a moment’s notice, they get ready to put aside their own work or interests to help others or to support a good cause. They can be good as chefs, waiters, airline hostesses, real estate agents, farmers, housewives, social workers, etc.

Famous people with strong Providing Nature – Mother Teresa, Baba Amte, Sanjeev Kapoor, Annie Besant, Melinda Gates.

Entrepreneurial Nature
The tendency to take on projects or create opportunities of a commercial or humanitarian nature, using a high degree of independence, where the reward may be monetary or involve self-satisfaction.

People possessing a strong Entrepreneurial Nature get pleasure from creating financial value and the ability to sustain and scale operations. They are constantly on the move to bring together people, concepts, and capital in a way that generates wealth. They work quite well as owners of companies, sales people, marketing professionals, traders, investors, etc.

Famous people with strong Entrepreneurial Nature – The Ambani Family (Dhirubhai, Mukesh and Anil), Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Shahnaz Hussain, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.

Adventurous Nature
The tendency to seek out unusual challenges or place oneself far outside the space of what an average person would consider normal or safe.

People with a strong Adventurous Nature are all about pushing the limits, taking risks and being competitive. The adventurous enjoy seeing what happens if they just went a little further or tried things a different way. They find themselves as athletes, astronauts, explorers, researchers, etc.

Famous people with strong Adventurous Nature – Narayan Karthikeyan, Kalpana Chawla, Sir Edmund Hillary, Vasco De Gama, Christopher Columbus.

MI + MN – A Powerful Combination
Multiple Natures and Multiple Intelligences are largely exclusive of each other. Intelligences are abilities and Natures are tendencies. Intelligences tell us how we are intelligent or able; Natures tell us how we use our intelligence. The combined application of Multiple Natures and Multiple Intelligences provides a comprehensive model and tool for understanding people’s nature.

Read about Multiple Intelligences.