MBTI: team diversity

The MBTI test (Myers-Briggs Type indicator) is by far one of the most widely used tools to asses normal personality differences within organizations. The test is based on the theories about the personality outlined by Carl G. Jung in the early XXth century, and was fully developed by Katharina Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers during World War II. Nowadays, it is estimated that two million people take the tests each year. The MBTI is used for a variety of purposes, such as self-understanding and development, career development, team building, leadership training, or diversity and multicultural management.


The MBTI test classifies individuals according to the way they preferentially interact with the outer world, gather information, make choices or project themselves to the outside. Clustering these preferences gives rise to the so-called 16 types of the MBTI matrix. It is important to outline that the MBTI test is not designed to measure competences, skills, intelligence or raw knowledge. When used under the supervision of a trained MBTI coach, it is a powerful tool for understanding our own and unique personality, and the ones of our colleagues. Additionally, large organizations benefit form having an array of different personality types, that allow them to confront different company needs and situations from complementary perspectives.

In its European version, the test consists of 88 forced choice questions, that classify each individual as opposed dichotomies in the following four dimensions:
Extraversion (E) - (I) Introversion
Sensing (S) - (N) Intuition
Thinking (T) - (F) Feeling
Judging (J) - (P) Perceiving

Extraversion and Introversion refer to attitudes towards the world. People who prefer Extraversion  direct their energy and attention outward and receive energy from interacting with people and from taking action. On the other hand, people who prefer Introversion like to focus on their own inner world of ideas and experiences. They direct their energy and attention inward and receive energy from reflecting on their thoughts, memories, and feelings.

Sensing and Intuition refer to ways of gathering information from the outside world. People who prefer Sensing like to take tangible information. They are observant about the specifics of what is going on around them and are especially attuned to practical realities.  People who prefer Intuition like to take information by seeing the big picture, focusing on the relationships and connections between facts. They want to grasp patterns and are especially attuned to seeing new possibilities.

Thinking and Feeling deals with ways of making choices. People who prefer to use Thinking in decision making like to look at the logical consequences of a choice or action. They want to mentally remove themselves from the situation to examine the pros and cons objectively. Their goal is to find a standard or principle that will apply in all similar situations. On the contrary, people who prefer Feeling in decision making like to consider what is important to them and to others involved. They mentally place themselves into the situation to identify with everyone, so they can make decisions based on their values about honoring people. Their goal is to create harmony and treat each person as a unique individual.

Judging and Perceiving refer to complementary lifestyles. People who prefer to use their Judging process in the outer world like to live in a planned, orderly way, seeking to regulate and manage their lives. They want to make decisions, come to closure, and move on. Sticking to a plan and a schedule is very important to them. On the other hand, people who prefer to use their Perceiving process in the outer world like to live in a flexible, spontaneous way, seeking to experience and understand life, rather than control it. Detailed plans and final decisions feel confining to them; they prefer to stay open to new information and last-minute options.

For detailed information about MBTI - Type, please refer to:

The Myers-Briggs Foundation
Association for Psychological Type International
CPP The people development people

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