Personality Matters Blog
Vanessa Bradford
How Australia Post used MBTI personality type to build trust and increase productivity
Managers have a lot on their plate – from exceeding customer expectations to taking care of their employees. This blog explains how sales and operations managers at Australia Post improved company success by using the MBTI personality assessment to build trust and collaboration.
Global Marketing
Why knowing your personality type is critical to a growth mindset
If people think ability is innate, it could be holding them back.
Sherrie Haynie, Senior Director of US Professional Services for The Myers-Briggs Company
How stress and personality type affect leader’s risk tolerance & decision-making
How stress and personality type affect leader’s risk tolerance & decision-making
Melissa Summer
Psychology of Change
What is change management and why does it matter for organizations?
Melissa Summer
Leadership, Extraversion & Introversion
What should leaders be aware of about these well-known personality differences?
Melissa Summer
Conflict Management
How can conflict management save organizations money?
Melissa Summer
International Women’s Day: Increasing awareness, supporting, and connecting
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated...
Melissa Summer
Using interpersonal needs to make the hybrid model work for teams
Is it possible to get the best of both worlds with hybrid work?
Melissa Summer
Holiday stress & personality: Tips for each MBTI type
Home Alone. A Christmas Story. It’s a Wonderful Life. What do all these movies have in common (aside from taking place during the holiday season)? Stressful situations! While this time of year can be fun, festive and a great time to catch up on sleep, for many people it also brings undesired stress from lack of time, to the pressure to give gifts, to travel and burnout from holiday parties (especially social burnout for those with preferences for Introversion). And all the hustle and bust...
Kevin Wood
To build or not to build - Is this the question for team leaders?
Do you know what the difference is between team building and team development? The phrases are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same. Here’s what HR practitioners and leaders should know…
Melissa Summer, Global Content Marketing Manager
What's your financial personality?
Our research department has teamed up with Marcus by Goldman Sachs® to help uncover what your personality says about your financial management...
John Hackston, Head of Thought Leadership, The Myers-Briggs Company
Diversity and inclusion...and personality?
Today’s businesses aren’t all just about shareholder values–many measure their performance with a triple bottom line. Profit, yes, but also People (caring for customers, workers and the wider community) and the Planet (caring for the environment).
By Sherrie Haynie, Director of US Professional Services
We’re All Innovators Pt II: Bringing the Vision to Fruition
In my last post we talked about how different types innovate in different ways, and are at their best during different phases (a la Damian Killen in Type and Innovation) of the innovation process. Those preferring NP tend to be better at the “discover” phase, and are great at generating ideas; Those preferring NJ excel in the “decide” phase, and apply their innovative skills to choosing the right direction and developing a strategy for making it happen; people who prefer ...
Global Marketing
We’re All Innovators...But We Do It According to Type
By Sherrie Haynie, Director of US Professional Services We’d all like to think of ourselves as ‘innovative’, wouldn’t we? At its core, being innovative involves somehow being able to come up with original ideas and apply them in ways that have some benefit, either for ourselves or for someone else. It’s certainly pertinent to your career and livelihood, but it just as equally at play in all aspects of live, whether it be redesigning your house, managing your money r...
Global Marketing
Leveraging Your Personality Type for Stress Management During the Job Interview Process
As I sit down to write this story on how the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) tool can help us deal with stress during the interview process, I can’t help but feel a bit stressed myself. I need to get ready for a workshop later this week. Each time I’ve attempted to sit down and prepare this morning, my brain has filled up with a litany of other things to which I need to attend. My plate is plenty full, and yet I keep adding more portions to it. Then, I realize that so much of h...
Global Marketing
Confidence, Extraversion & Understanding – What Helps You The Most?
Written in collaboration with John Hackston, Head of Thought Leadership at OPP Politicians are known for their confidence, but sometimes this can get them into hot water (I’m sure that you can think of some recent examples). You can probably think of a time where you saw someone who seemed to use confidence to cover up a lack of ability. But confidence isn’t just important for politicians, as this article by Laura Barton points out. Women tend to be less confident in their abiliti...
Global Marketing
10 Books About the MBTI Tool and Type That You Should Read in 2018
Which books about the MBTI assessment and type have had the biggest impact on practitioners? We posted this question on the LinkedIn group of MBTI certified professionals a while ago to discover the titles that had most impressed and inspired practitioners or been a key support in their work with the MBTI assessment. Twenty books rose to the top of the piles. Here are the second set of ten (in no particular order - you can find the first ten in our April post) with comments from the individua...
Global Marketing
MBTI Step II Facets: Traditional or Original and the Holiday Season
The holidays are just around the corner. The music, decorations, food, smiles on people’s faces, and gifts (giving and receiving!), all make this season special. I love this time of year. Of course how people prefer to celebrate this season can differ quite a bit, and one way it differs depends on where they find themselves on the Traditional-Original MBTI® Step II™ facet. This facet is about the approach to traditions in the social context. People who have the preference for traditional tend th...
Global Marketing
MBTI Step II Facets: Practical–Conceptual & the Importance of Ideas
While delivering a training program recently, I was getting excited about the “miracle” of the theory behind personality type. I felt like I was in my wheelhouse expounding on the power of type and the implications of these ideas. As explained in the MBTI® Step II™ Manual, “[Conceptual people (like me)] are not content…just to make inferences. Inferences give birth to ideas, and ideas are what excite them” (p. 30). I was brought back to reality when a pa...
Global Marketing
MBTI Step II Facets: Realistic–Imaginative
A colleague came into my office one day and asked me, “Why would someone send another person flowers?” I was a bit surprised by the question. She continued, “They seem like such a waste. I mean, they are really expensive and they are going to die.” I thought about it for a minute, not sure at first how to respond. I love to send and receive flowers, so I tried to explain that the cost and short life span of such a gift are not the point. Clearly not getting my message across very well, I deci...
Global Marketing
MBTI Type, Age, and Occupation Play a Significant Role in Workplace Happiness [Whitepaper]
New research lead by the CPP Asia Pacific office in Australia reveals personality type plays a role in workplace well-being. The study—Well-being and MBTI® Personality Type in the Workplace—investigates how differences in well-being are influenced by personality type, gender, age, geography, occupation, and activities. “Research shows that higher well-being of workers adds to a company’s bottom line,” said Martin Boult, Sr. Director of Professional Services and International Training at CPP A...
Global Marketing
Team Building with the MBTI Step II Thinking-Feeling Facets
There is just so much depth with the Thinking–Feeling facets that many people only begin to explore. During the MBTI® Certification Program, I take participants through several decision-making stages—T–F facet by T–F facet. A participant asked me this week how I keep things from getting out of hand when I go through this process with working teams. She realized that it can be a powerful experience for teams and things can get a bit heated. While I don’t feel esp...
Global Marketing
MBTI Step II Facets: Can We Be Too Accommodating?
If you missed it, you can see the first blog post in this series here and the post on the other side of this facet, Questioning, here. I often ask people who report Accommodating on the MBTI® Step II™ Interpretive Report if they are too accommodating. Usually, the reply is a straightforward and accommodating “yes!” Accommodating people tend to pick their battles when faced with differences of opinion. As a result, they are sometimes seen as “wishy-washy” ...
Global Marketing
MBTI Step II Questioning Facet: In-Preference and Out-of-Preference
If you missed the first blog in this series, check out the overview here. Or you can watch this video that covers all 20 MBTI Step II facets. As I mentioned previously, we're going to cover the Thinking-Feeling facets first starting with Questioning and Accommodating. This facet in particular deals with how a person responds to differences in a point of view. Questioning in-preference can come off as a bit harsh at times. I tell a story in my MBTI® Certification Program about a participant w...
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—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—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—A Step II™ Day
Like last year, I facilitated a full-day MBTI® Step II™ workshop. I had an engaged group of participants with varying levels of personality type knowledge, which can get tricky to facilitate. I didn’t want to go too fast and lose people just learning about type, nor did I want to go too slow and bore those who already knew a lot. However, the one thing I’ve learned over the past couple of years is that many people could use a basic MBTI type refresher. For anyone needing a ...
Global Marketing
New Ready-to-Deliver Workshops for Easier Facilitation
Designing an effective MBTI® workshop can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. That’s why CPP created two new workshop facilitation kits—so you can focus your energy on facilitation rather than preparation. The kits come with everything you need to ensure that your training is a success: Workshop ready: Comprehensive, ready-to-deploy presentation slides and training materials with engaging visuals Comes with expert guidance: Includes facilitator notes with work...
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
Type at the Family Conference Table: Introverted Intuition
Written by Mathew David Pauley, JD, MA, MDR INTJs and INFJs, Introverted Intuitive types, tend to be big-picture, well-organized individuals who can bring both qualities to bear as they work toward their goals. They are often known for their uncanny insight and ability to anticipate things before they happen. However, unlike individuals with a preference for Perceiving, who typically are ready to respond to the unexpected and flex to meet new challenges, INTJs and INFJs would rather dimini...
Global Marketing
Type at the Family Conference Table
Written by Mathew David Pauley, JD, MA, MDR Strewn throughout hospitals are conference rooms primarily devoted to provider-patient discussions. No, that is not entirely accurate—providers meet their patients bedside. So, it is more precise to say that these meeting spaces are used by providers meeting with family members. They are meeting with family members probably because their patients are too sick to participate in the decisions about their health, and the people wh...