Personality Matters Blog
Global Marketing
Aligning Values and Culture—the Undersung Secret to Success
This article originally appeared in HRO Today's blog. To read the article on the original website, click here. Written by Catherine Rains A successful career entails not only identifying a career that gets you excited, but also finding an organizational culture that meshes with your values. The culture of a particular company might be a product of its wider industry, or it might be unique to that organization. Either way, your “cultural fit” will have a deep impact on your success. If the fit...
Global Marketing
MBTI® Users Conference—Type, Interpersonal Needs, and Stress: A FIRO-B® and MBTI® Workplace Culture Connection
My breakout session took place on the second day of the conference. I was glad to see so many familiar faces in the room, although it also makes me a bit more nervous to see so many people I know when I’m presenting. However, remembering that I’m presenting for the attendees and not for myself, helps temper my nervousness. In my session I addressed the stress we all face when our interpersonal needs are not being met. What we need, combined with what we fear, can have a huge impact ...
Global Marketing
MBTI® Users Conference—“Culture Matters” Panel: Macro and Micro Perspectives
For the second year in a row, I was asked to serve as moderator for the conference-wide panel session. Now that I have a little experience with panels under my belt, I was a bit more open to the idea of being a moderator. It helps to remind myself that the moderator’s key task is to encourage the audience to pay attention to the panelists and not himself. I just had to introduce the topic and the panelists and then keep things moving along. In the end of course, that is all easier said than done...
Global Marketing
MBTI® Users Conference—Creating a Culture of Clarity / It’s Not Meant to Be Predictive
And finally, Patrick Kerwin shared the criticism that the MBTI® tool is not predictive of behavior. Guess, what? It’s not meant to predict behavior. Instead, the MBTI tool is about giving us some understanding around how we take in information (Perceiving processes of S-N) and make decisions (Judging processes of T-F). Isabel Briggs Myers called this “clearer perceptions” and “sounder judgments.” If you try to apply the MBTI tool beyond that, you are oversteppin...
Global Marketing
MBTI® Users Conference—Creating a Culture of Clarity / It Is Reliable
Patrick addressed that the criticism that the MBTI tool isn’t reliable all tracks back to one article published in 1993, before the current form was even published. Data show that test-retest reliability for the MBTI tool is actually very good. When people get a different result on the assessment from one time to the next, it is usually because they reported “slight” the first time. With a result of “slight,” you could have answered just a few questions differently ...
Global Marketing
MBTI® Users Conference—Creating a Culture of Clarity / It Doesn’t Just Flatter You
Continuing my overview of Patrick Kerwin’s session at the MBTI® Users Conference, Patrick noted that the criticism that the MBTI® tool just flatters people was somewhat odd. Those of us who know what the MBTI tool is really about know that it’s not a diagnostic tool. It’s not even a test. “Test” implies results of good and bad, pass or fail. The MBTI descriptions may indeed seem flattering at times. All of us bring something to every situation we are in. All of us have gifts. That may seem flatt...
Global Marketing
MBTI® Users Conference—Creating a Culture of Clarity / Some Clinical Psychology Criticism
Patrick Kerwin then addressed a criticism about the MBTI® assessment he’s heard that “clinical psychologists don’t believe in the MBTI® tool.” I didn’t get training on the MBTI tool in my clinical program. Clinical psychologists are typically trained to administer “tests” that address psychological problems. As Patrick stated, the argument that clinicians don’t use the MBTI tool is like saying “it’s hard to find an engineer who uses a plunger.” The MBTI tool is not a test, and it doesn’t ident...
Global Marketing
MBTI® Users Conference—Creating a Culture of Clarity / Ambiverts?
Patrick also addressed the idea many have that “People are really ambiverts.” He reminded us to keep in mind that just because we use both hands to type doesn’t mean we are ambidextrous. This reminded me that when I was younger and played volleyball, I used to brag a little that I could spike with both my right and left hands. In my mind I was as lethal with either a left- or right-side attack. However, when I really thought about it and when my teammates were truthful with me, I realized I was ...
Global Marketing
MBTI® Users Conference—From Diversity to Inclusion to Engagement
There was a short break in between the keynote and the first breakout session of the day. I planned my day out the night before and knew I wanted to attend Dr. Pete Hammett’s session. Dr. Hammett is the director of HR at Oklahoma Gas & Energy. In his session he asked us to consider how personality type can influence a culture of inclusion. Hammett made the point that culture is a matter of life and death at the organizations he has been a part of (including NASA and many others). He has f...
Global Marketing
MBTI® Users Conference—The Art of Culture Hacking
The perfect way to kick off the conference was Robert Richman’s keynote. Author of The Culture Blueprint: A Guide to Building the High-Performance Workplace, Richman shared that only one-third of organizations feel that their culture is in line with their business strategy. When he asked the audience for a definition of organizational culture, he got about 30 different answers, including traditions, moods, and feelings that are encouraged or discouraged. Richman shared the idea that “experience ...
Global Marketing
MBTI® Users Conference—Culture Matters
If you didn’t get a chance to attend the 2016 MBTI® Users Conference, you missed out on a wonderful event. I will do my best to help you feel like you were there by covering it in my next blog series. Similar to last year, the conference took place in San Francisco. We were at the legendary Sir Francis Drake Hotel for three days of learning, laughing, eating, and connecting. The theme of the conference was the impact the MBTI tool has on organizational culture. Speakers from every business sec...
Global Marketing
Type at the Family Conference Table: In the Grip
Written by Mathew David Pauley, JD, MA, MDR This is the final post in my 10-part blog series, “Type at the Family Conference Table,” and I would like to begin by thanking CPP for a great collaboration throughout my participation in the MBTI® Certification Program and throughout these posts. Certification Trainer Michael Segovia and his team went out of their way to assist me during the program (which was sort of a birthday present), increasing the pressure for me to have the...
Global Marketing
Is It Over Already?
It has been a great three days (one day of pre-conference and two days in conference). The final conference session was a keynote by Wayne Cascio, Reynolds Distinguished Chair in Global Leadership, titled “Workplace Challenges: What’s Next?” This was a perfect end to the conference, and it offered great insight on what is coming down the pike. Topics addressed included: Extreme longevity—people are living longer; by 2025 the number of people over the age of 60 will incre...