JUST MY TYPE: Personality and Leadership James R. Donnelly, QEP Amy Gilligan,

What Is Personality? The sum total of ways in which a person reacts & interacts with others. Factors that lead to people’s emotional reactions & how these reactions affect those individuals Individual differences in the strength with which individuals experience their emotions (e.g. anger, fear, joy, love, sadness, surprise).

What Is Personality? Determined by: ▫ Genetics (accounts for about 50% of personality differences) ▫ Environment (e.g. What characterizes North Americans in general?)

Why Is Personality Important? Knowing about certain traits can aid in decision making processes, matching people to jobs, and guiding personal development. The trick is getting to know which traits are most important in governing behavior and then seeking those out.

How Do We Use Personality? Personalities play a significant role in shaping our behavior. The more information we have about ourselves and others, the better we are able to understand and predict future behavior.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Based on the theories of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, Created by mother-daughter team of Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator MBTI theory dictates that we engage in everyday behaviors in ways that draw on our natural psychological preferences and how we feel most competent using these preferences. All are equally valid ways of viewing the world; none are right or wrong.

MBTI Extraverted (E)/Introverted (I) Sensing (S)/Intuition (N) Thinking (T)/Feeling (F) Judging (J)/Perceiving (P)  Based on eight psychological preferences,  Divided into four pairs,  Each of which consists of two opposite halves:

Extraverts and Introverts: Directing Energy and Attention Extraverted (E)Introverted (I) Outwardly DirectedInwardly Directed People, Things, ActivityThoughts, Ideas, Contemplation ExpressiveReflective Breadth of InterestsDepth of Understanding Speaks to ThinkThinks to Speak “What you see is what you get.” “Still waters run deep.”

Sensing and Intuition: Taking in Information Sensing (S)Intuition (N) SpecificsVisionary Day to DayFuture Oriented LiteralFigurative PracticalImaginative RealisticPossibilities PerspirationInspiration Inside the boxOutside the box

Thinking and Feeling: Making Decisions Thinking (T)Feeling (F) ObjectiveSubjective Cause-and-effect Logic People-centered Values AnalyzesPersonalizes ClarityHarmony JustMerciful

Judging and Perceiving: Orientation to the Outer World JudgingPerceiving StructureOpen-Ended ClosureOptions Controls EventsAdjusts to Events PlannedSpontaneous Uses ListsLoses Lists

Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicato r Typing is a continuum Typing may change with time & Tests Results presented many different ways Different Tests May Give Different Answers

ts Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator, Example Results INFP Introverted – Intuitive – Feeling - Perceiving Strength of the preferences % moderately expressed introvert moderately expressed intuitive personality moderately expressed feeling personality slightly expressed perceiving personality

What does this mean for the team? Remember, there is no right or wrong

Cohesive Team: All Similar Types Advantages ▫ Team members rapidly achieve consensus ▫ Behave consistent with common preference ▫ Relatively easy to manage Disadvantages Likelihood for moderate result Creativity is often lacking Need to figure out how to get other opinions, recognize what is lacking

Diverse Team: Varying but not extreme Advantages ▫ Members have unique perspective ▫ Creative solutions are more likely Disadvantages May have difficulty reaching agreement Differing styles hard to coordinate Off-the-wall ideas often ignored to achieve harmony Need to work on coordinating their styles and bring out the differences rather than hiding them

Conflicted Teams Advantages ▫ Potential to achieve optimal performance ▫ Synergy is likely if team members can manage their differing styles ▫ Highly creative solutions Disadvantages Hostility and conflict likely Disparate styles can overwhelm decision making Figure out how to capture the energy, not use if for evil. Need to spend time figuring out how to work together

Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator Websites with Free MBTI Tests 72 questions 20 questions Short & Sweet.