Myers Briggs Personality Type

Extrovert – Introvert
Intuitive – Sensing
Thinking – Friendly
Judging – Perceiving

Katherine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers developed the Myers-Briggs type indicator of personality type based on the thinking of Carl Jung. It is a well established widely used and researched. It is a guide to how you and others might prefer to approach day to day issues.

No single approach is better than any other. All are of equal value and in fact each person is likely to use the opposite approach depending on circumstances and how strong their preferences are.

To get a feeling for your Myers Briggs personality type or someone else’s type think through the following:
“Do you, or they, tend to”:

E Extrovert –speak out loud when thinking / feel energised in the company of others.

I Introvert – keep thoughts in the head until ready to speak / feel energised by time on their own

N Intuitive – start gut instinct / overall picture when making a decision

S Sensing –like and use all the details before making a decision

T Thinking – decide by logic / give an opinion whatever people may feel

F Friendly – put human values first in decisions / want everyone to be comfortable before acting

J Judging – come to a decision quickly /focus and pursue the task

P Perceiving – see many options, innovate and change direction

Myers Briggs Assessment

This is only a brief indication of your type. To confirm your type the best approach is to look at the published descriptions for your selected type and the ones near to it. Select the one you feel is closest to your approach. The recommended approach is to complete the full Myers- Briggs Type indicator with an accredited assessor.

Remember this is only a preference and your type will alter depending on circumstances.

You may adopt the opposite approach when you have to or perhaps when your are under pressure.

All types are equal in value, no type is better or worse.

When building a team you need a range of types and all in the team should have equal status and appreciation for the contribution each type can bring.

Resources

Sixteen Personality types by Jenny Rogers Oxford Psychologists Press for the full profiles to check against your thinking

Introduction to type by Isabel Myers Oxford Psychologists Press for the original work

Understanding personailty type by Anita Houghton BMJ Career Focus 2005;330:18-19 (8 January) gives a great description of use in a team setting – try putting in your team personality types

The whole type and how it relates to job satisfaction by Anita Houghton BMJ Career Focus 2004;329:241-242 (11 December)

For more information go to Sixteen Personality types by Jenny Rogers Oxford Psychologists Press or Introduction to type by Isabel Myers Oxford Psychologists Press  or the original work by Isabel Briggs Myers – Myers, I. (1962) Introduction to Type: A description of the theory and applications of the Myers-Briggs type indicator, Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto Ca., 1962

For a shorter, on-line, indication of your likely Jung Myers Briggs typology assessment go to http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp or http://www.16personalities.com. Remember to check your suggested profile against the full profile description before you accept it. It is not an exact science so you may find your profile changes slightly over time or how you feel.  However your broad profile will still guide you on your preferred approach and your best approach to others.