Did anyone hear Mariella Frostrup’s programme on BBC4 radio last night (30th March 2010), entitled “How Myers-Briggs® conquered the office”?
If not you can listen to it here for the next 7 days: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rmst0
If you missed it, and your company hasn’t caught the Myers-Briggs® bug yet, here’s an overview of what it’s all about.
How did it all start?
The Myers-Briggs® Type Indicator (MBTI) was the brainchild of two American housewives, Isabel Myers and her mother, Katharine Briggs, back in the 1950s; apparently based upon the theories of Carl Jung.
Years of development later, it’s now the most popular personality profiling tool, used in businesses across the world. More than 200,000 people took the MBTI last year in Europe alone.
What is it used for?
Myers-Briggs® is commonly used across all business sectors for:
- Individual personal development: Improving influencing skills, sales skills, public speaking or leadership skills as examples;
- Team building: To help colleagues understand how to pool their different resources for the common good of their company and get better results in the process;
- Conflict management – to provide a non-confrontational language to resolve issues and promote unity among co-workers.
What is involved?
- First you complete a questionnaire which takes about half an hour. This gives a first indication of what your personality type might be.
- Next you have a feedback session with a licensed Myers-Briggs® practitioner; this will usually include answering questions and completing some light-hearted exercises.
- You then find your ‘best-fit’ type from one of 16 possible personality types.
- You’ll be given some literature which explains what this means – including information on how you impact on others, how you deal with stress and how you can develop.
This can be done on an individual basis or in teams if everyone is willing to share their results and can be great fun.
Can you fake it?
As with all personality tools; of course you can. But what would be the point? Ethical practitioners of Myers Briggs®, such as those we employ at Think, will tell you that your Myers-Briggs® results are confidential and only shared with others with your consent. So, if you want to fake it, the only person you’re really kidding is yourself.
Is it any good?
While the Jungian purists would have us believe it’s a load of nonsense, my view is that anything that makes people feel good about themselves and promotes unity and understanding among co-workers can only be positive for company results.
Part of the Myers-Briggs® appeal is that it’s based on concepts that are easy to grasp and easy to identify with. We’ve used it extensively and with great success with people from the UK to India, Trinidad to Kazakhstan to improve all manner of staff performance.
Want to know more?
If you’d like to know more about how Myers-Briggs® could help your business become more effective, listen to our free podcasts on the subject, check out our special introductory offers via the Home Page or give us a call.
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