This article is written by Randy Martinsen on his review of personality tests via Napa Valley Register
Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to take multiple personality tests. They each have a different focus, but generally are all the same when it comes to helping one understand why a person behaves the way he or she does. I believe it is useful to people who lead teams as managers or leaders. It is also useful to team members so they can learn how to communicate more clearly with people who are not their type.
The MBTI was constructed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers.
It is based on the typological theory proposed by Carl Jung, who had speculated that there are four principal psychological functions by which humans experience the world – sensation, intuition, feeling and thinking – and that one of these four functions is dominant for a person most of the time.
My most recent test results are ENFJ (Extrovert, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging).
It illustrates how we can grow from one type to another as we implement personal development in our daily lives. I’ve included the Myers-Briggs interpretation below for each of these types.
“INTJs project an aura of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. They are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. They know their strengths and weaknesses.”
I have evolved into an ENFJ, interpreted as:
“The benevolent ‘pedagogues’ of humanity. They have tremendous charisma by which many are drawn into their nurturing tutelage and/or grand schemes. Many ENFJs have tremendous power to inspire others with their phenomenal interpersonal skills and unique salesmanship. ENFJs generally believe in their dreams, and see themselves as helpers and enablers, which they usually are. They are global learners. They see the big picture and are entrepreneurial.”
If you’re a team leader I encourage you to look into these tests to help your team’s success.