Tips for Dynamic MBTI Feedback 3 minute read Written by Shawn Bakker, Psychologist Tip #1 – Quick Activities Very few people enjoy long lectures. Make sure that your introduction to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® does not fall into this category by quickly introducing activities that get participants thinking about themselves and others. The process goes like this: Step One – Introduce the Preference Dichotomy and describe both sides (e.g. E and I). Step Two – Break people into mixed groups and assign them a task/question to discuss. Step Three – Debrief: participants share their personal experiences and what their group discussed. Step Four – Self-Verification: ask each participant what side of the dichotomy they prefer. Here are discussion topics for each of the preference dichotomies that you can assign for Step Two: Extraversion – Introversion: “How do you typically operate in meetings?” and “How might Extraverts and Introverts respond differently?” Sensing – Intuition: “What kind of directions/instructions work best for you?” and “How might people who prefer S or N answer differently?” Thinking – Feeling: “How do you help people with their problems?” and “How might people who prefer T or F respond differently?” Judging – Perceiving: “What is your approach to deadlines?” and “How might those who prefer J or P answer differently?” Tip #2– Make it Personal Type is about preferences, so it is important to help participants understand the difference between what they are comfortable doing vs what they are capable of doing. By making it personal, participants will be able to better understand this difference and apply their learning. Ask these questions: E-I: When do you use Extraversion? Introversion? What is the experience of each of those like for you? S-N: When do you need to use Sensing information? When is an intuitive perspective useful? T-F: What does Thinking add to decisions? What does Feeling add? How might decisions go wrong if you leave out one of them? J-P: What’s it like when you need to plan well ahead? What’s it like when plans change and you need to work up to the last minute to reach a deadline? Tip #3 – Teams Love Data Aggregate, and anonymous, data is incredibly powerful in helping teams identify their natural areas of focus and potential challenges. Presenting a pie-chart that shows the team’s distribution on the Function Pairs (ST, SF, NT, NF) provides a great snapshot of the team and a springboard for discussion about team strategies and needs for moving forward. The pie-chart is a simple to make, but here is useful text to describe each of the Function Pairs. ST – Bottom Line People Motto: “Who, what, when, where, why, just tell me what I need to know” Contribute: Policies and procedures Focus: Efficiency; on the bottom line; how things will be done; how much things will cost SF – Customer Service People Motto: “Who, what, when, where, why, how can I help everyone?” Contribute: Internal and external customer service Focus: On offering support; who will be affected by tasks; who will complete tasks, and how. NF – Possibilities for People Motto: “I see interesting potential for people’s development and growth” Contribute: Ideals to strive for Focus: Giving encouragement; how things will be communicated; long-term impact on people NT – Possibilities for Systems Motto: “I can develop strategies for making the system work better” Contribute: Theoretical concepts Focus: Systems; latest and most relevant theory or strategy For more articles and tips like this, join the Psychometrics Network.
