The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, more affectionately known as MBTI ®, is based on the psychology of Carl Jung and was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother Katherine Cook Briggs. These women, after fifty years of research and development produced a tool that has proven invaluable to people in all walks of life.
Basically the MBTI® allows us to heighten our understanding of ourselves by acknowledging our preferences, motivations, strengths and growth opportunities (We wouldn’t dare call them weaknesses now would we?). It works on the premise that we are who we are and that’s just fine. How refreshing is that?
There are four dichotomies examined in the MBTI®. Here they are. Click on the link for more information about each.
Those who teach the MBTI® are very clear that there is no right and no wrong to these preferences. In other words, it is not better to be an introvert than an extravert or vice versa. It is simply different.
The MBTI® has been used by organizations for years for the purpose of building teams, career planning, problem solving, and yes, management and leadership training, along with other applications too numerous to name here. It is a solid piece of work with surprisingly accurate outcomes.
Here is what it is not. It is not an instrument that labels people. In fact it clearly points out that it is about our preferences. For example, if you are right-handed and wrote your name with your left hand, the result, (unless you are truly ambidextrous), would be less than satisfactory. And, it just wouldn’t feel natural to you. So, the MBTI® is a tool that helps us acknowledge what comes naturally.
Here’s a site that will allow you to take the MBTI® Inventory. This one is free.
Have fun! And let me Know how it worked out for you, will you? I prefer INFJ. What is your preference?
You're Not the Boss of Me 