MBTI

The other day, I found my old copy of Profiles of the 16 Personality Types, by William Jefferies. This little book was used in my studies to become somewhat knowledgeable about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®.

If you don’t know much about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, or MBTI, let me give you the quick explanation. All people prefer to use one of 16 personality types to interact with the world. The key word here is “Prefer”, and you may prefer to act one way, but are forced by your life situation to act in another, completely different way. But your preference is an integral part of you (genetic) and you can’t escape its significance. These 16 types are referred to by a series of 4 letters. For instance, I am an INFP and I prefer Introversion, iNtuition, Feeling and Perceiving when dealing with the world around me. And this Type is shared with approximately 1% of the world’s population. (The exact opposite of my Type is ESTJ, or Extroversion, Sensing, Thinking and Judging.)

So what does knowledge of your MBTI do for you? It helps you to understand how and why you react to the world, and that helps you to understand other Types. The MBTI is used by dozens of the world’s largest corporations and it’s used by the Armed Forces, as well as most government agencies.

OK, from the Snapshot section of the book…INFP, You have an uncanny knack for knowing what others have not told you. You have a talent for listening, but prefer to cast what you hear in the form of stories and metaphors laced with moral overtones. You will normally go with the flow until your core values come under attack; then you will act relentlessly to right the situation. Existence is a mystery for you, and you enjoy unraveling its many nuances. Life is a lifetime of coming to know yourself. Gandhi, Lincoln and Joan of Arc share this Type with you.

And now the opposite, the ESTJ. (13% of the world’s population) You are decisive and tough minded. You prefer to organize operations and systems well in advance and then take charge and work logically to ensure mission success. Logical analysis is your path to success. General Schwartzkopf, Archie Bunker, Barbara Bush and Lucy (Peanuts) share this Type.

I will add some more to this in the following days…