Understanding the MyersBriggs Personality Types

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Understanding the Myers-Briggs Personality Types

• Author Dr. Melenie Lankau
• Department of Management
• Terry College of Business
• Presented and posted by permission of author

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Eight MBTI Preferences

• Energy Orientation
• Extravert (E) vs. Introvert (I)
• Information Processing Techniques
• Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)
• Decision Preference
• Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)
• Organization Preference
• Judgment (J) vs. Perception (P)

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Extraversion

• Energy oriented outward
• Thoughts, actions toward people
• Like having people around
• Like variety and action
• Like talking out before reaching conclusions
• Enjoy communicating in groups

4
Introversion

• Energy focused inward
• More reserved, questioning
• Think first, then act
• Like quiet, concentration dislikes interruptions
• Enjoy working alone
• Need to be drawn out

5
Sensing

• Use five senses to determine reality
• Rely on experience, standard procedures
• Proceed in step-by-step manner
• Like evidence presented first (Just the facts)

6
Intuition

• Use a sixth sense
• More innovative, future-oriented
• Look for whole picture vs. details
• Enjoy learning new skills vs. using them
• Like solving new problems
• Idea person

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Thinking

• Logical, objective
• Intellectual criticism - find flaws in advance
• Like brevity, business-like
• More impersonal (easier time firing people)
• Want pros/cons listed

8
Feeling

• Use human values to reach conclusions
• Enjoy pleasing people
• Let decisions be influenced by subjectivity
• Prefer being friendly, sociable

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Judgment

• Structuring, organizing
• Schedules, timetables with tight deadlines
• Feel anxiety until decisions are made
• Reach closure by deciding quickly

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Perceiving

• Enjoy flexibility, surprises in work environment
• More spontaneous
• Spend a lot of time making decisions
• Leave things open for last-minute changes

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Best Team Decisions Occur When

• Basic facts/realities have been addressed
  (sensing)
• New possibilities have been discovered
  (intuition)
• Unforeseen inconsistencies/consequences have been
  exposed (Thinking)
• Important values have been protected (Feeling)