I know a lot of people who dismiss the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment and even put it in the same category as horoscope and palm reading. Well, I absolutely love MBTI and it has proved to be a highly effective tool in personal and professional development, yes, it can help with your relationships - family, significant other, work, siblings and even your devoted husband or wife:)
So let me tell you why I am such a huge fan of the MBTI... first of all, it rests on the concept that we are all born with unique personality traits and preferences that influence how we draw our energy, how we take in information, how we make decisions and how we orient to the outside world. When you know your type, it can significant impact your career decisions and consequently, your career satisfaction levels.
Try These Exercises
-- Think back to the last time you were in a staff meeting, not just any staff meeting, but one of those brainstorming meetings. Mentally picture, which employees were actively engaged and enthusiastic about coming up with new ideas and which employees kept trying to focus on how to implement them.
-- Consider the person in the office who loves coming around to everyone's desk and chatting first thing in the morning and frequently through out the day.
-- Remember how frustrated you get with the "quiet" woman in your team who prefers to share her ideas by email and does not say much in verbal discussions.
-- Think about how irritated you get when others want you to stick to a schedule when you know something always come up at the last minute, so flexibility make more sense
Now you may not relate to all these points I mentioned, but in each scenario, individuals are/were operating according to his/her personality preference. Hmmm....yes, all the "quirks" or habits that drive you up a wall (smile) are a natural reaction to someone who is behavior opposite to your personality preference.
If you have a preference for:
Introversion - your ideal work situation will require independence, autonomy and plenty of time to reflect and analyze before taking action
Extroversion - your ideal work situation will allow you to interact with others regularly, encourage verbal discussions and presentations and maximize your varied interests
Sensing - your ideal work situation will follow logic and factual steps, have realistic expectations and give you room to approach projects step by step
Intuition - your ideal work situation encourages big-picture, future-oriented activities and requires you to think outside the box
Thinking - your ideal work situation will ensure equality and fairness at all costs, make decisions based on facts and not emotion
Feeling - your ideal work situation will strive to make sure that each person is treated as an individual and where harmony and acceptance are the norms
Judging (not judgmental) - your ideal work situation will contain a high level of structure and organization in its operations; very little surprises
Perceiving (not perceptive) - your ideal work situation will allow great level of flexibility, function to some degree with loose parameters and reward you for spontaneity
Of course, none of this will make sense unless you know your personality type - it can be very instrumental in helping you to better understand yourself and more importantly to appreciate others.
Are you curious about...
-- why you feel out of sorts in your current job even though you love the work; why you get the sense that some people try to avoid communicating with you or why you have a hard time getting re-focused when someone disrupts you on a project?
That's where the MBTI assessment comes in and make a world of difference in your life...why don't you give it a try...I offer MBTI assessment and interpretive coaching sessions to apply the results to your unique career situations.
About the writer
-- Are you struggling to effectively market yourself to employers because you don't know your personal brand?
-- Does your executive resume lack compelling Challenge-Action-Results success stories that indicate your value proposition?
-- Are you getting interviews, but not getting favorale job offers?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to contact Abby Locke. She helps 6-figure executives and professional MBA women who have a hard time marketing themselves become sought after leaders, attract jobs that match their values and earn the salaries they deserve.
