Myers Briggs (MBTI) is one of the most esteemed personality tests in the world. It was developed by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers in the 1960s, and is based on extensive research by the psychologist Carl Jung.
What makes others tick? And what makes you tick? Myers Briggs helps you understand your core temperament and relate to others better. Originally it was created to help understand your natural talents and abilities in your career. Today it still provides great insights into work place dynamics.
After answering a series of questions, you'll get four letters which can tell you a surprising amount about yourself. Each letter represents a different scale.
I or E - Introverted or Extroverted. How do you get your energy?
S or N - Sensing or Intuitive. How do you gather information?
F or T - Feeling or Thinking. How do you make decisions?
P or J. Perceiving or Judging. How do you live your life?
These seemingly simple questions can tell us so much about the essence of who we are and how we relate to others. Do you like to go with the flow? Do you make decisions based on logic? Do you like concrete information or prefer to think about possibilities?
There are 16 different types, all made up of these four letters. The Guardians (ESTJ, ESFJ, ISFJ, ISTJ); The Artisans (ISFP, ISTP, ESTP, ESFP); The Idealists (ENFJ, ENFP, INFJ, INFP) and The Rationalists (ENTJ, ENTP, INTJ, INTP).
People with extroverted intuition like the ENFP, ENFJ, ENTP are ideas people that can drive your company forward, and intuitively make connections others may miss.
You'll need the sensing types like ESFJ, ISFP, ISFJ to follow through on all the details. These types like rules, convention and excel in task master roles.
Rational types like INTJ or ENTJs can see the inefficiencies in how your organisation runs a mile away. However they may lack in tact when dealing with people, so best to get some feeling types in place for the people management.
An ideal team would have Rational types in charge, Idealists in a creative role thinking, Artisans in a creative hands on role and Guardians managing the office dynamics.
Understanding your teams strengths and weaknesses means you can ensure people are in the correct position in which they'll flourish.
You can also team people on projects so one person's strength matches another's weakness. By pairing people knowingly you can minimise unnecessary competition between similar types, and help everyone develop and shine.
By understanding what makes different people tick, managers will be better equipped to give effective feedback, and avoid and resolve conflicts.
Individuals also have a lot to gain by knowing about their type. It can help with decision making, time management and dealing with stress.
Myers Briggs also provides great insights into how you deal with others, participate in teams and what sort of work culture best suits your temperament.
Without further ado, take the test for yourself and see where you fall on the Myers Briggs spectrum.
Dedicate 10-15 minutes where you have time to yourself and can answer the questions honestly. Don't agonise and overthink each question. Just go for your first inclination.
Understanding your temperament will be insightful in all walks of life. Your friendships, love, parenting. Find out famous people in history and fictional characters with your personality type. There's hours of entertainment and self reflection to be had.