Discovering the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) thirteen years ago was one of those epiphany moments. It provided a perspective on how I was wired and what makes people tick. I qualified as an MBTI practitioner a year later and have subsequently seen many others experience similar moments
The MBTI describes personality in terms of preferences. It can be used for coaching, career counselling, conflict resolution, team building and a range of other applications. Follow this link to find out more about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
So what is it that makes the Myers-Briggs so popular and so effective? I think one of the reasons is that it provides an intuitive model which describes 16 different personality types. Arguably this is also the biggest criticism to be levelled at the MBTI – that individuals can be pigeon holed into one of just 16 boxes. For me, the response to that argument is compelling – that while we are all individuals, we tend to differ in similar ways.
Back to those epiphany moments. When debriefing an MBTI, I’m often told “that’s really spooky” or asked “how could you know that?” The MBTI really does have the ability to get under one’s skin and just in case there is any suggestion that this might all be Myers-Briggs horoscopes, I often recount a summary of the opposite type to which the response is invariably “no, that’s really not me”.
The real value of the MBTI is that in learning about ourselves, we tend to learn about others too. This is where the MBTI can be really powerful in promoting mutual understanding, improving communication and enhancing team work.