Myers-Briggs

Myers-Briggs Personality
Personality Type
Type
Indicator
Indicator –– MBTI
MBTI

MBTI, Myers-Briggs, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Introduction to Type are registered trademarks of
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Trust
LO 1 Describe Personality, the Way It Is
Measured, and the Factors that Shape It

• Defining Personality
– Personality is a dynamic concept
describing the growth and development of
a person’s whole psychological system.
– The sum total of ways in which an
individual reacts to and interacts with
others.

5-2
 Results

Behaviour

Feeling

Thinking

Beliefs/Unconscious

1-3
 Goals

• SMART
• Why we don’t persevere?
• How can goals be inspiring?
• If Goals are connected to…..why..
• What gives meaning to your life?
• Defining a purpose..

2-4
© 2005 Prentice-Hall
 Reflection Question to Search
Purpose
• What do you feel passionate about?
• What type of work inspires you?
• What specifically appeals to you about
the work
• What acknowledgements you get from
others? You are so..
• When are you happeiest in life
• What makes you feel good about
yourself
2-5
© 2005 Prentice-Hall
 Personal Social
Competence Competence
Self-Awareness Social Awareness
Knowing one’s internal Awareness of others
Awareness
states, preferences, feelings, needs or concerns
resources, and intuitions

Self-Management Relationship Management

Managing one’s internal Adeptness at inducing
Actions
states, impulses, and desirable responses in
resources others

Source: Daniel Goleman & Hay Group

Values
• When you think of the word values
what comes to your mind?

• Are values innate or are they

learned?

• Why is it important to identify your

values?
2-10
© 2005 Prentice-Hall
 Values

• Represent basic conviction that "a

specific mode of conduct or end-
state of existence is personally or
socially preferable to an opposite or
converse mode of conduct or end-
state of existence."

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 Values

• Our goals or what we move toward or

away from, reveal our values…
• Values are unconscious filters used to
make choices
• Identifying, getting clear about or
chrystalising our personal values can
help us make better decisions

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 Understand where your values are
expressed

• Work
• Home and personal environment
• Intimate relationship
• Family
• Friends/social life

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 Value Systems

• Represent a prioritizing of individual

values
• Identified by the relative importance
an individual assigns to such values as
freedom, pleasure, self-respect,
honesty, obedience, and equality

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 Rokeach Value Survey

• Terminal values - • Instrumental

refers to values - refers to
desirable end- preferable
states of modes of
existence behavior, or
• Goals that a means of
person would like achieving the
to achieve during terminal values
his or her lifetime

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© 2005 Prentice-Hall
 Examples of Terminal Values
Terminal Values
• A comfortable life (a prosperous life)

• A sense of accomplishment (lasting contribution)

• A world of peace (free of war and conflict)
• A world of beauty (beauty of nature and the arts)
• Equality (brotherhood and equal opportunity for all)
• Family security (taking care of loved ones)
• Freedom (independence, free choice)
• Happiness (contentedness)
• Inner harmony (freedom from inner conflict)
• Pleasure (an enjoyable, leisurely life)
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© 2005 Prentice-Hall
Examples of Instrumental Values

Instrumental Values
• Ambitious (hardworking, aspiring)
• Capable (competent, effective)
• Cheerful (lighthearted, joyful)
• Clean (neat, tidy)
• Courageous (standing up for your beliefs)
• Helpful (working for the welfare of others)
• Honest (sincere, truthful)
• Imaginative (daring, creative)
• Logical (consistent, rational)
• Loving (affectionate, tender)
• Obedient (dutiful, respectful)
• Polite (courteous, well mannered)
• Responsible (dependable, reliable)

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© 2005 Prentice-Hall
 Defining Personality

– Personality is a dynamic concept

describing the growth and development of
a person’s whole psychological system.

– The sum total of ways in which an

individual reacts to and interacts with
others.

5-19
 Measuring Personality

– Managers need to know how to measure

personality.
• Personality tests are useful in hiring
decisions and help managers forecast who is
best for a job.
– The most common means of measuring
personality is through self-report surveys.

5-20
 Personality Determinants

– Is personality the result of heredity or

environment?
– Heredity refers to those factors that
were determined at conception.
• The heredity approach argues that the
ultimate explanation of an individual’s
personality is the molecular structure of
the genes, located in the chromosomes.

5-21
 Personality Traits

• Early research tried to identify and label

enduring personality characteristics.

– Shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy,

ambitious, loyal, and timid.

• These are personality traits.

5-22
3-23

3-23
 Results

Behaviour

Feeling
Thinking
Beliefs/Unconscious
 Introduction
• Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung developed a
theory early in the 20th century to
describe basic individual preferences
and explain similarities and differences
between people
– Main postulate of the theory is that
people have inborn behavioral tendencies
and preferences
Development of the MBTI 

Instrument
• Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs (mother-daughter
team) expanded on Jung’s work by developing an
instrument to help people identify their preferences

• The MBTI tool is an indicator of personality type (i.e.

innate preferences) that has proven to be
remarkably reliable and valid
– Represents the result of over 50 years of research
– Is used globally in both education and corporate settings;
over 2 million people each year
Structure of the MBTI
• The MBTI instrument uses four dichotomies to
identify preferences, which are then combined
into one Type
Four MBTI Dichotomies
Extraversion – Introversion Where do you prefer to focus
E - I Dichotomy your attention – and get your
energy?

Sensing – Intuition How do you prefer to take in

S - N Dichotomy information?

Thinking – Feeling How do you make decisions?

T - F Dichotomy

Judging – Perceiving How do you deal with the outer

J - P Dichotomy world?
 E – I Dichotomy: Source
of Energy
• Most people who prefer • Most people who prefer
Extraversion Introversion
– Prefer action over reflection – Prefer reflection over action
• May act quickly w/out • May not take action at all
thinking – Are attuned to inner world
– Are attuned to external – Prefer to communicate in
environments writing
– Prefer to communicate by – Learn best through thorough
talking mental practice and reflection
– Learn best through doing or – Are private and contained
discussing – Enjoy working alone or in pairs
– Are sociable and expressive
– Enjoy working in groups
 S – N Dichotomy: Take in
Information
• Most people who • Most people who prefer
prefer Sensing Intuition
– Emphasize the theoretical
-Prefer facts & details/
– Prefer general concepts/ high-
specific information level plans
– Are oriented to present – Are oriented to future
realities possibilities
– Value realism – Value imagination
– Observe and remember – See trends and patterns in
specifics through 5 senses specific data
– Use a “sixth” sense
– Build carefully and
thoroughly to conclusions – Move quickly to conclusions,
follow hunches
– Trust experience – Trust inspiration
 T – F Dichotomy:
Decision Making
• Most people who prefer • Most people who prefer
Thinking Feeling
– Are analytical – Empathetic
– Use cause-and-effect – Guided by personal values
reasoning – Assess impact of decisions
– Solve problems with logic on people
– Strive for objective – Strive for harmony and
standard of truth positive interactions
– Described as reasonable – Described as compassionate
– Search for flaws in an – Search for point of
argument agreement in an argument
– Fair – want everyone – Fair – want everyone
treated equally treated as an individual
 J – P Dichotomy:
Lifestyle
• Most people who prefer • Most people who prefer
Judging Perceiving
– Are scheduled/organized – Are spontaneous/flexible
– Strive to finish one project – Start many projects but may
before starting another have trouble finishing them
– Like to have things decided – Like things loose and open to
• May decide things too change
quickly • May decide things too slowly
– Try to avoid last-minute – Feel energized by last-
stresses; finish tasks well minute pressures; finish
before deadline tasks at the deadline
– Try to limit surprises – Enjoy surprises
– See routines as effective – See routines as limiting
 What IS your Type?
1. Today’s discussion gives you a self-estimate
or assessment of your type

2. Your MBTI results will report the preferences

you choose on the Indicator

3. Final type assessment requires agreement

between self assessment and MBTI responses
 Why should we care?
– Increase your openness to feedback
(clues) from what is going on around you
– Improve your ability to see others more
accurately
– Enhance your ability to appreciate
differences in yourself and in others
– Respect people’s work preferences
– Improve communication among
supervisors, peers, employees, customers
 Ideal Leader is…
– Extravert: action-oriented
– Introvert: contemplative
– Sensing: pragmatic
– Intuitive: visionary
– Thinking: logical
– Feeling: compassionate
– Judging: planful
– Perceiving: adaptable

Source: From Teambuilding Program (2nd Edition), E. Hirsh, K. W. Hirsh, S. Krebs Hirsh, 2003,
CPP, Inc.
 To Take to the Office
with You
• With similar types on a team:
– The team will understand each other easily and quickly
– Will reach decisions quickly, but will be more likely to make
errors due to not taking in all viewpoints
– May fail to appreciate gifts of the “outlying” types

• With a variety of types on a team:

– Longer to establish communication between the members of the
team
– Less likely to overlook possibilities and details
– Longer to reach consensus

Source: From Teambuilding Program (2nd Edition), E. Hirsh, K. W. Hirsh, S. Krebs Hirsh, 2003,
CPP, Inc.
 Occupational Trends by
Type
     

ISTJ ISFJ INFJ INTJ

Management Education Religion Scientific or technical
Administration Health care Counseling fields
Law enforcement Religious settings Teaching Computers
Accounting Arts Law

     

ISTP ISFP INFP INTP

Skilled trades Health care Counseling Scientific or technical
Technical fields Business Writing fields
Agriculture Law enforcement Arts
Law Enforcement
Military
   

ESTP ESFP ENFP ENTP

Marketing Health care Counseling Science
Skilled trades Teaching Teaching Management
Business Coaching Religion Technology
Law enforcement Childcare worker Arts Arts
Applied technology Skilled trades
     

ESTJ ESFJ ENFJ ENTJ

Management Education Religion Management
Administration Health care Arts Leadership
Law enforcement Religion Teaching

Source: From Introduction to Type and Careers, A.L. Hammer, 1993,

Consulting Psychologists Press
 Extrovert
• “Let’s talk about it”
• Rapid speech
• Tend to interrupt others due to enthusiasm
• Louder volume
• Appear to think aloud
• Learn and refine ideas through dialogue with others
• Prefer face-to-face conversations over cooler
media
 Tip
• Do not interpret a lack of facial
feedback during a conversation as a
lack of engagement.
• Introverts do not show the same
level of external enthusiasm as
extraverts
 Introverts (I)
• — “Let me get back to you”
• Pause in answering or giving information
• Quieter voice volume
• Speak in shorter sentences
• Respond thoughtfully and carefully
• Prefer cooler media such as email, instant
messaging or texting
 Tip
• Make sure that you say what is on
your mind — don’t expect others to
read your mind. Ask that topics be
tabled for comment and discussion
after the meeting to allow for your
best input.
 Sensors (S)
• — “Details and facts please” Ask for
step-by-step information or
instructions Ask “what” and “how”
questions
• Use precise descriptions
• Are observant and attend to details
 Tip
• Be aware that your need for useful
details may shut down information
exchange and creative discussion.
Ask if input is wanted now or after
the presentation. Be brief when
giving content for your questions and
comments.
 Intuitive (N)
• — “Looking at the big picture” Ask
for the purpose of an action Look for
possibilities Ask “why” questions Talk
in general, abstract terms
 Challenge & Tip
• Tend to talk abstractly about topics and may omit
details that make their contribution clear.
• May appear to others to be off topic or obscure.

Tip: Recognize that others need to test out or gain insight

into your innovative ideas.
Be aware that your natural leaps may confuse others — so
flesh out the leaps where possible for your audience.
Provide content for your leaps and don’t assume others
understand
 Thinking (T)
• — “Let’s be objective” May appear to
be testing you or your knowledge
Provide honest and frank feedback
Are unimpressed by what others have
decided Are quick to analyze,
evaluate and critique May appear
brusque due to objectivity
 Challenge/Tip
• Will tune out when not on work topics or if the
talker appears to be rambling, getting personal or
becoming emotional.
• Tip: Recognize the importance of personal
connection in conversations and the need for
acknowledgment and appreciation by those with a
feeling preference. Learn to recognize those at
work who enjoy personal connection and affirmation
— most likely they have a Feeling preference
 Feeling (F)
• — “How will this impact others?”
Strive for harmony in the interaction
Often talk about what they value
Enjoy cooperating and collaborating
Concerned how others will be
affected Are quick to affirm and
show appreciation
 Challenge:
• Will tune out when others talk abstractly or when
impact on people is not being considered.
Tip: Support your arguments or views with objective
information and logical reasoning.
Focus not only on the people involved but on the tasks
and objectives.
Recognize that those with the Thinking preference will
compete, debate and challenge others in conversation
in order to get information and clarity. Don’t take it
personally but understand it is their style.
• Judging (J) — “Let’s move on”
Impatient with overly long
descriptions, procedures The tone is
“hurry up — I want to make this
decision” May decide prematurely
Enjoy closure Dislike rambling or
interruptions Tend to be concise
 Judgmental(J)
• Challenge: Will tune out when others ramble or are
slow to make a point. Their need for structure and
closure may restrict others and shut down
information flow. Tip: To avoid cutting off
discussion, try leaving discussions open that can be
left open. Recognize the value in “off-roading”
versus always using the superhighway in
conversations. Ignore the clock that is usually
ticking in your head reminding you of the passage of
time.
• Perceiving (P) — “Let’s explore this more”
Seem to want “space” to make own
decisions
• Wants more information to consider, more
options to explore Slow to conclude or
decide Enjoy processing and easily
sidetracked when speaking Go with the
flow and appreciate interruptions
 Perceiving(P)
• Challenge: This type of conversation style
may be hard to follow by others. It also
keeps items open too long and avoids
conclusions.
• Tip: Recognize that your exploration style
of conversation may sound like meandering
to others and you may lose the listeners.
Convey a general structure to