The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

What’s it all about?

Sometimes you hear people talking about their “Type” of personality and saying things like “I’m an INTJ and proud of it!” or “Well, I would see things like that, wouldn’t I – I’m an ESFP!”

Have you ever wondered what they are describing?

Well, it’s the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (or MBTI). This is the world’s most popular personality instrument and it is used in many countries and cultures. It is currently the world’s leading psychometric measure in terms of business use. It has been translated into over 30 different languages and, in an average year, over 5 million people complete the questionnaire.

In everyday life we know that people are different. Thank goodness for that! Wouldn’t life be dull if we all had the same opinions and behaved in the same way? We can see, for example, that people are motivated by different things. But, without some kind of theory or framework to understand or explain these differences, we tend not to take them seriously and can simply dismiss them as unimportant or as the result of chance.

So, what’s being measured?

The theory which underpins the MBTI was furnished by the eminent Swiss psychologist, Carl C. Jung. It’s based on a personality framework which considers your preferences across four dimensions. It looks at where you focus your attention, how you take in information, the basis upon which you tend to make decisions and considers how you organise your life.

• Extroversion or Introversion – the preference of an individual to focus on the outer world of people and things (E) or the inner world of ideas and impressions (I);
• Sensing or Intuition – the preference of an individual to rely on the five senses for perceiving the world around them (S) or to use intuition or “sixth sense” to focus on relationships and possibilities (N);
•  Thinking or Feeling – the way in which a person prefers to base their decisions, that is, focus on logical analysis (T) or on personal convictions and values (F);
• Judging or Perceiving – whether you like a planned approach to life (J) or a more flexible and spontaneous one (P).

There are no right or wrong answers and all possible results are equally valid. As a result of considering these four dimensions of personality, 16 different Types of personality emerge. By finding out our natural Type, we can recognise our preferred style of working and interacting with other people.
What are the uses of the MBTI?

A key feature of the MBTI is its focus on the likely strengths and positive qualities of different personality styles.

The MBTI can be used to stimulate discussion about and help people improve:

• Communication
• Decision making
• Planning
• Organisational culture
• Leadership
• Career choice

The MBTI can be used in many different ways:

• One to one development discussions with individuals
• With teams to discuss how the MBTI make-up of the individuals within the team affects the behaviour, reputation and output of that team
• On group events to help individuals gain a better understanding of each other and the value that different Types can bring to the group
• As a tool in wider team building events especially where there are “clusters” of Types within a team or “gaps” where some Types are not represented

How do you complete it?

The questionnaire can be completed by pencil and paper or online over the Internet. It is un-timed but usually takes around 25 minutes to complete. It asks respondents to choose between two or three opposing courses of action, or two words, depending on what they feel is closest to their natural preference.

The value

It is important to stress that there are no right or wrong answers and all possible results are equally valuable for the people themselves and for the diversity that they provide to others with whom they interact. In fact, for organisations, it is precisely the differences of people that add to the rich complexity and contribution to the overall performance and output of its activities.

Shirley Huntington©

Psychometrics Manager, Corporate Alchemy