Personality Preferences and the MBTI

The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung was one of the first people to categorise personality type preferences in normally functioning people based on simple criteria – publishing this in his book Psychology of Type in the 1920s. The essence of his theory is that what can appear to be random variation in behaviour is actually quite ordered and consistent, being due to basic (innate) differences in the ways people prefer to take in information and make decisions.

A preference is best explained by likening it to whether we favour our right or left hand for most tasks. The scientific community agrees that this is not a conscious choice – it is something that we are born with. Yet we do use both hands and if we lost the use of our favoured hand then we would be able to do something with the other – it’s just more awkward, takes more thought and energy and the result is likely to be a bit more clumsy.

In the 1940s, American mother and daughter Katherine Briggs and Isobel Briggs Myers – decided to find a way for as many people as possible to benefit from Jung’s theory. In particular, during the second World War it was seen as a way of helping people to use their talents most effectively in filling wartime roles as well as improving relationships/reducing conflict. Over 20 years of research went into the tool before its publication as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®)* which helps the identification of preferences on 4 dimensions – each with 2 options for the lead preference and giving a 4-letter type. MBTI® is now the most widely used development questionnaire in the world.

The 4 dimensions and 8 preferences are:

Energy and attention: we either favour drawing energy from the outside world of people and things and are motivated by getting into action (Extraversion or “E”); or we prefer our inner world of thoughts, memories and reflections (Introversion or “I”) – note that this preference is not about social skill or confidence.

Information gathering: our preference is either for factual, practical information taken in through our senses (Sensing or “S); or we might favour more conceptual, ‘big picture’ or future based thinking, making connections and noting what might be (Intuition or “N”).

Decisions: which do we use first our ‘Head’ – logical objective and rational (Thinking or “T”); or our ‘heart’ – deciding based on the impact on people and values (Feeling or “F”). Note that most of us do both – however, one is likely to be prevalent.

Life approach: some people favour living in a planned, organised and controlled way, liking to bring things to closure (Judging or “J”) ; while others prefer to keep options open and live in a more spontaneous and flexible way (Perceiving or “P”). The 8 letter options combine into 16 possible types, eg ENFJ, ISTP, etc, each of which has its unique strengths and areas for development. Some people find it difficult to determine their type on one or more dimensions – the questionnaire returning a ‘slight’ preference which is a bit like being ambidextrous – your answers suggest you favour both options in almost equal proportions.

The MBTI is one of few profiling tools to view type positively – there is no right or wrong profile – the aim is to help people understand how they prefer to approach things (just like we all have a preferred hand that we write with) and how this might differ from the preferences of others. This knowledge is empowering. It can give an insight into the types of work an individual might find most motivating and into how they would typically relate to people with different preferences.

The MBTI is not about knowledge, skills or abilities. Neither is knowledge of your own type an excuse for behaving in line with your preferences – we all have the ability to flex if we choose an change our behaviours, while our underlying preference remains the same. Knowledge of your preferences can be helpful in a variety of applications:

Improving working relationships
Developing leadership style
Communication
Problem solving strategies
Resolving conflict
Managing change
Understanding stress reactions
Exploring career development options
Valuing diversity in working style
Considering team and organisational culture

Here’s a little story to illustrate how a simple change can make a difference in your success at managing: Ed has a preference for Extraversion – he draws energy from the world around him – from people, activities and things. Ian has the opposite preference for Introversion – he prefers to spend time reflecting in his internal world of thoughts and ideas.

Ed is Ian’s manager. When Ed has new information or an idea or needs input to a situation, he’s keen to share it with Ian – he goes to Ian’s desk, eager to discuss. Ian is often less than forthcoming with a response – sometimes he doesn’t even notice that Ed is there. This frustrates Ed and he’s beginning to think that Ian is lacking enthusiasm for the job. Meantime, Ian is frustrated with Ed’s habit of interrupting him while he’s working on a complex problem. He finds it difficult to think of answers when put on the spot and would much rather have time to think things over.

Solution? A bit of give and take.. Ed could reduce the number of interruptions and agree with Ian times of the day when they can get together to go through things. He can give advance warning of things he wants to discuss where Ian’s input is valuable. Ian could ask for time to digest information when he feels ‘put on the spot’ and work out a way of signaling to Ed the times when he needs to concentrate – he could even move to a different desk or room when he prefers to work quietly. If you would like to understand your own type and what this means, please contact me for information on booking a profiling session. Email me at zoe@zwcoaching.co.uk

Read more about the effects of the four dimensions of type in the workplace in these articles:

Type Preferences in the Workplace #1 – Introversion and Extraversion

Type Preferences in the Workplace #2 – Sensing and Intuition

Type Preferences in the Workplace #3 – Thinking and Feeling

Type Preferences in the Workplace #4 – Judging and Perceiving

* registered trademarks licensed in Europe to OPP Ltd