In the early stages of an organizational assessment, it is often found that corporate leaders describe similar situations or behaviors differently. Nothing is more important to organizational success than a collaborative management team. Collaboration can occasionally be a challenge within a group of tough, smart senior managers. To build effective executive teams, members need a consistent vocabulary and understanding of programmed behaviors to help diagnose organizational, conflict, and leadership problems within a team.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a tool that can help both managers and employees and coworkers understand each other. It is important to remember that when working with personality types, it is a tool to aid understanding. While the MBTI is not a tool that can be used to predict performance, it can help a team understand the underlying motivations for many of its members’ actions.
The MBTI classifies people into one of sixteen personality types. These types are formed by combining one trait from each of the four dichotomies, Extraversion-Introversion, Sensing-Intuition, Thinking-Feeling, and Judging-Perceiving.
Perhaps one of the most easily identifiable preferences is the Extraversion-Introversion binomial. This dichotomy addresses an individual’s source of energy. Is social interaction invigorating or does the individual recharge by withdrawing? An individual E finds strength in extended interactions. They seem to get stronger as the night goes on and are often the last to leave an event. The ego may enjoy the interaction for a time, but then finds it necessary to withdraw and recharge.
The EI communication problem often occurs because E’s and I’s have very different communication styles. Individual E “speaks to think.” When an extroverted individual speaks, he is formulating her thoughts. They are doing what might be called a brain dump; everything that is thought, is said. The introverted individual, on the other hand, generally does not speak until he has a processed thought; they “think to speak”. Conflict often arises when the introverted team member tries to keep the extroverted member in her ramblings or an extroverted member doesn’t understand the thought that has entered the introverted team member’s comment.
E’s and I’s need to understand that they each process information differently. The E is verbal and the I is introspective. As you learn to distinguish the difference between brainstorming and action items from your electronic co-workers, they will be much happier. E needs to understand that when a self speaks, it is likely to happen.