MBTI® Test Personality Differences Can Create a stronger and More Productive Team
MBTI® Test Personality Differences
People have personality differences, though this is a strength, not a weakness.
So You find yourself day dreaming about the future…maybe you daydream about future possibilities in your personal life, or maybe you daydream about future work possibilities….
Perhaps you are not a daydreamer. Perhaps you prefer to concentrate on what is in front of you-what is factual and concrete and you find that daydreaming is a waste of time?
What good is deep thought and daydreaming anyway?
Is it possible that in order to make great advances as a people it takes all kinds of individuals? That’s right! We need daydreamers as much as we need matter-of-fact types! We need the imaginative types as much as we need the concrete planners and visa versa!!
Surely, one can see that throughout history our greatest discoveries began with a dream, but we needed down-to-earth individuals to implement these dreams, did we not?
There is no better representation of the importance of differences and similarities as can be seen in Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® Personality Types. Those of us that share the ISTJ personality type find the world to be a systematic, fact-based, logical place. Those of us that share the ENFP (the opposite of an ISTJ) MBTI personality type find the world to be filled with less important logic, and more important compassion-based decisions. The Myers-Briggs Type indicator test ENFP wants to cure the world of heartache and pain through sympathetic measures while The Myers-Briggs® test ISTJ wants to implement logic and accountability.
Well guess what? We need both types of people to make the world turn. Most importantly, we must accept and celebrate our differences as much as we celebrate common ground and our similarities. Only by doing so can we truly succeed as a society.
The first step is to become educated about our differences. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test is a powerful tool that can help us understand who we are. Once you know who you are, you can begin to understand others and how we approach life differently. Taking The Myers-Briggs Assessment is invaluable, and it has been proven to be the most successful and effective test to determine careers as well as for determining team cohesiveness.
Another example of important differences regarding personality type can be seen in the second and fourth pair of opposite letters of MBTI Types, which are the Sensing-Intuition Dichotomy and the Judging-Perceiving Dichotomy. These pairs of opposites are explained as follows:
- Sensing Types: These types are attuned to practical realities and focus on what is real and actual.
- Intuitive Types: These types are attuned to seeing new possibilities, imaginative, follow hunches and trust inspiration.
- Judging Types: These types are characteristically scheduled, systematic, and make short and long-term plans.
- Perceiving Types: These types are adaptable. They seek to experience and understand life as opposed to controlling it. They also prefer to stay open to new information and are energized by resourcefulness in adapting to the demands of the moment.
Let us explore for a moment well-known figures in history, some who share identical MBTI test personality types, and some who have different MBTI test types and who handled their accomplishments in very different ways.
Imagine for a moment the “perfect think tank” or team. A combination of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test ISTJ personality types (Introverted-Sensing-Thinking-Judging types), along with a team of INTP’s (Introverted-Intuitive-Thinking-Perceivers), resulting in the perfect thinking team. As you review the bullet point list above, you can see how combinations of type can be used advantageously in a team setting.
For example, the combinations of ISTJ’s such as Dwight Eisenhower (our general in WWII and President from 1953-1961), George Washington, and Warren Buffett along with INTP’s such as Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin are a list of individual thinkers who’s accomplishments cannot be denied.
Now imagine a fantasy “dream team” ‘per se’ of thinkers for a moment. Imagine these thinkers as a team, who celebrated their differences, and worked together and create as exploring, and imaginative thinkers (Einstein and Darwin), and logical thinkers and planners (Eisenhower, Washington, and Buffett).
The result would be a powerful team unfounded in all of history. So as you can see, differences are not only important, but should be embraced and not discredited or misjudged. If you find that you are working with someone different then you, explore your differences, combine and utilize these differences effectively and a highly efficient team will follow!!
To take the Myers-Briggs Test go to our Myers-Briggs Assessments Page.
And Remember to acquire and achieve personal and professional success each and everyday!!
