This personality profiling tool was developed by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggsin the 1950's. Based on Varl Jungs work in the 1920's.

Have you ever wondered why you like doing things a certain way or like certain things and others hate them ? Why do some people love being organised while other find it boring ? They are connected to our personality type.

Knowing your own type and the types preferred by those around you it can help you communicate better, choose work roles and jobs that suit you, learn more effectively and know how to get the cooperation of others.

It is based on the psychological theory of Carl Jung who argued that personality traits are inherited or innate. Myers and Briggs developed a list of four ranges of personality types that combine in numerous combinations. They are:

xxxxx Introvert - Extrovert [I-E]
xxxxx Sensing-Intuitive [S-N]
xxxxx Thinking - Feeling [T-F]
xxxxx Perceiving- Judging [P-J]

It is designed to help "normal" people understand "normal" human behaviour. Each person is unique in the extent to which they display the above characteristics. For example:

Extroverts (E) are energised by tye outer world of interaction with others. They love to talk, participate, organise and party. They are people of action. They can find it difficult to concentrate in reading, research or writing tasks - indeed any solitary endeavour.

Introverts (I) are energised by the inner world of reflection, thought and contemplation. Tyhey need time and space to be alone. They like reading, lectures, etc. They usually have a longer attention span and prefer to think things through before acting. They are uncomfortable in discussion groups and find it difficult to remember names, hesitating to speak up at meetings.

Sensing (S) people are rely heavily on their five senses to take in information. They like concrete facts, organisation and structure. They are good at memorising, usiually realistic and relatively conventional. They tend to think in the moment so they like gossip, specifics and clear guidelines to work with. They have difficulty with theory and may check things out to make sure they understand before acting.

Intuitive (N) people see the world using their intuition. They rely on hunches, looking at the whole of something rather than the detail. They want to know the theory before deciding that the facts are importannt to them. They are more creative, innovative and work with bursts of energy, so can go off with enthusiasm and miss important details. They will ask "why" before anything else.

Thinking (T) people decide on the basis of logic, analysis and reason. Edward de Bono falls into this category. They follow their head rather than their heart, value truth over tact and sometime appear blunt and uncaring about the feelings of others. They have strobly held principles, value fairness over everything and need purpose. people who have to mke difficult decisions are often rational thinking types.

Feeling [F] people follow their heart rather than their head. They decide on the basis of their feelings, personal likes and dislikes. They want others to like them so find it difficult to say no. or disagree with others. They need and value kindness, harmony and get distressd by friction. They feel rewarded when they can help others.

Judging [J] types try to order and control their world. They are decisive, may be closed-minded and well organised. They meet deadlines, like planning and prefer to work on only one thing ata time.

Perceiving [P] types are spontaneous and don't like to be boxed in by deadlines or plans. They work at many things at once, are flexible and often good in emergencies when plans are disrupted. Their biggest problem is procrastination. they make a calendar of things to do, but will probably lose it.

From the 8 Preferences you get 16 Types:

To undetake a Myers-Briggs Assessment you need to find a licensed assessor. There are numerous agencies offering this service at various costs. A Google Search will give you hundreds. I use Myers-Briggs to support my Executive Coaching work with corporate clients. It is a sophisticated tool, but below are materials to help you gain a basic understanding of what it's all about.

Characteristics of different personality types
Psychological types and relationships
Communicationg with different personality types
Coaching different personality types

More info at: http://www.knowyourtype.com
Read: Introduction to Type® in Organizations by Sandra Krebs Hirsh and Jean M.Kummerow

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