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BlogMyers-BriggsMyers-Briggs Under Pressure

Myers-Briggs Under Pressure: How MBTI Works

by Ron Potter

How did we get to this point where one’s behavior looks like being a jerk to another person when we’re all trying to do our best?

(If you didn’t start with the introduction to the “Myers-Briggs Under Pressure” series, I suggest you make a quick review because it will help you better understand these subsequent blog posts.)

Order of Use

The two middle functions of Myers-Briggs (Sensing, iNtuition, Thinking and Feeling) are considered the decision making functions and each temperament type uses them in a different order.

Dominant Function

For instance, my temperament type of ENTJ (Extraverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Judging) starts with the Thinking function being dominant. This means that I’m at my most natural using my Thinking function and will turn to it the most often when making a decision. Because it is my dominant function, I must have it satisfied if I’m to make a decision or support a decision.

Auxiliary or Supporting Function

Once my dominant function is satisfied (is it logical?) I will than turn to my auxiliary function to add balance and support to my dominant function. For my ENTJ preference, iNtuition will be my balancing function. So, once the decision seems to be logical or can be defended from a logical stand-point, my next question will be “Does it support or align with my conceptual view of the world of how things should be. This is my iNtuitive side.

Balance

First, notice that I have used my middle two functions of my Myers-Briggs type ENTJ. These are my dominant and auxiliary functions and must be satisfied for me to make and be comfortable with a decision. When I’m in balance and doing my best to solve problems and be in alignment with team decisions, I’m relying on these top two functions to be working in harmony.

Tertiary and Inferior Functions

The order of my last two functions, Sensing and Feeling happen with the Tertiary function (Sensing for the ENTJ) being 3rd and Feeling being the last function in my decision making process. These two functions (notice they are not visible in my Type Indicator of ENTJ) will be used positively for getting outside the box of my normal thinking but will also show up when I finally “break” under the pressure and do or say something that I will likely regret later.

The role of Pressure and Stress

Under normal or healthy conditions, we all tend to function well in our dominant and auxiliary space. Our dominant function takes the lead but is open to and listens to our auxiliary functions for balance. We will likely pay attention to our 3rd and 4th function (Sensing and Feeling for the ENTJ) just to make sure we’re covering all the bases but they’ll tend to confirm decisions already made buy our first two functions. It’s important to note that I’ve always observed that the best of leaders seem to cycle through all four functions with equal emphasis so that the outside observer would have a difficult time determining which of the four functions is actually their dominant function. Balance, balance, balance.

But, under pressure or stress interesting things begin to happen. We immediately lose our ability to deal with our 3rd and 4th functions in a healthy, balanced way and in fact, we begin to lose our ability to balance our dominant function with our auxiliary function. We become stuck in our dominant function!

In fact, this is what begins to make us look like a jerk under pressure. Our normal balance begins to recede and we find ourselves working from our single dominant function which can get harsh and unyielding in many ways. In fact, if the pressure finally gets to the breaking point, we actually revert back to our inferior function. And unless we’ve worked at improving our behavior under pressure, we’re just not very good at expressing or dealing with our inferior function. That’s when we look and behave like a jerk!

We’ll begin to explore some of these issues in coming posts as we look at various types and how they might look like a jerk.

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BlogMyers-BriggsMyers-Briggs Under Pressure

Myers-Briggs Under Pressure: Introduction

by Ron Potter

We all develop our lenses through years of experiences, learning and observing. The lenses that I’ve developed through the years tend to be focused on leadership style, team building, decision making and other dynamics of leadership teams. (I like to think of the glasses Nicholas Cage uses to read the Declaration of Independence in the movie National Treasure.)

When I see what appears to be strange, unexplainable or dysfunctional behavior I’ll often flip the “blue” lens in place or maybe I need to add the “red” lens to the mix so that I can see a deeper image. The point is that with the right lens we can see and understand behavior and dynamics in most situations.

But what happens when you don’t have the right lens or haven’t developed the lens you need to understand a particular situation?

Reacting Under Pressure

There are too many times during a team meeting, especially a team under the stress of making a right decision during difficult conditions. when in a whisper or a side conversation I’ll hear someone say “What a jerk.” Nobody intends to be a Jerk. No one is sitting there trying to think about how royally could they screw up this decision making process. There not being a jerk, they’re just looking like a jerk through your lens. Try flipping down your “blue” lens to see how a particular temperament might react or behave in this situation. Maybe it begins to look more normal and understandable and not look like being a jerk. Still doesn’t explain all the behavior? Try flipping down your “red” lens to see how that temperament might behave under extreme pressure or maybe add the “green” lens to see what happens when that particular temperament finally hits the breaking point. Now that may not excuse the behavior but it sure explains it and helps us figure out how to support our colleague through these pressure moments.

Myers-Briggs Series

I’m going to start a series titled “Myers-Briggs Under Pressure” to talk about those moments when it seems like someone is being a jerk but in reality they’re simply performing in a manner that any person of their temperament type might behave under similar circumstances.

My goals are to:

  1. Help you develop new lenses to see behavior in a new way and not write it off simply as someone being a jerk.
  2. Give you new tools to help team dynamics improve overall.
  3. Help you and others perform better under pressure
  4. Prevent the breaking points when someone reacts in a way that makes it difficult to recover even with the best of efforts.

Withstanding Pressure

Hopefully we’ll change those opportunities from “Under Pressure” to “Withstanding Pressure” and here’s a healthier way to work that adds value to both the individuals and the whole team.

Stay tuned to “Myers-Briggs Under Pressure”

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BlogDecision Making with Myers-BriggsMyers-Briggs

Decision Making with Myers-Briggs – Part III

by Ron Potter

This is the third in a Myer-Briggs series on Decision Making. Over the first two blog posts we looked at the Perceiving Function (how people take in information), and the Judging Function (how people make sense of what they perceive). This blog post will be focused on how we put it all together in the Decision-Making Process.

Background

Carl Jung was the famous psychiatrist who broke with Sigmund Freud. While Freud seemed to study what was wrong with us as human beings, Jung thought it better to study what was right and natural about us humans and what we could learn about ourselves with the proper framework. His work on Psychological Types led Myers and Briggs to put together their framework for understanding how we work.

Of the four functions pairs (making up the 16 possible archetypes) Jung and Myers-Briggs believed that the middle two were used in our decision-making process. It’s important to understand how these two functions work and in which order to under our and others decision-making process.

The simple concept is that we spend our days cycling between perceiving (observing what’s going on around us) and making judgments (decisions) based on that observation. A simple example is that when we’re leaving the house in the morning we look out the window and notice (perceive) that it’s raining. We then judge the situation to require (decide) to take an umbrella.

Depending on your personal type, one of the four function, Sensing, iNtuition, Thinking or Feeling is your primary function. If you’re going to make a decision you will need your primary function satisfied. My primary function is Thinking. If the answer does not look logical to me, I would (can’t) make the decision. Even more important to corporate teams or leadership, if my primary function is not satisfied, I will not commit to a decision. I may comply with it, but I will not make a full commitment to the decision. One of the most destructive events with teams is when people give compliance to a decision during a team meeting but it becomes obvious they are not committed to the decision in the long run.

Reaching Decisions and Commitments

Every person must have their primary function fully satisfied in order to make a decision or commit to a decision. Further, if their secondary function can also be satisfied, that’s all they need. They will now be onboard.

The problem is the facilitator, leader, decision maker always knows which two functions they need satisfied in order to commit to a decision, either consciously or subconsciously. Therefore, they direct the conversation to cover their two needed functions. Maybe it’s Sensing, getting all of the facts on the table, followed by Thinking, putting them into a logical order. That works great for that person and other ST’s on the team but for those who rely on N and/or F, all of the conversation sounded like the adults speaking in the Peanuts cartoons: Wha, wha wha. It’s like an English speaker sitting on a team of Chinese speakers listening to a language that is not understood at all until the question is put forth in English; “Are you ready to decide now?”

The Key

The key to reaching a decision or commitment on a team of diverse types is to take the time to speak in everyone’s language.

Sensing

Ask and answer the Sensing questions: What do we know about the situation? What are the facts? Do we have all the facts? What have we done so far and what were the results? What do we need to accomplish next?

iNtuition

Ask and answer iNtuitive questions: Where are we trying to go? What should the end results be? What other possibilities could we consider? What does the data seem to imply?

Thinking

Ask and answer Thinking questions: Is there a logical conclusion? Can we list the pros and cons of each option? Do we know what the costs of each option are? Can we put priorities to each possible outcome?

Feeling

Ask and answer Feeling questions: Do these answers support or violate our values? How will people (ours, customers, vendors, etc) react to the outcome? Who will commit to putting in the sacrifice needed to accomplish these goals?

Balance, balance, balance

It’s only when each of the four function is given equal time, honor and trust that we can count on getting to a committed answer and a team that acts in an aligned and committed manner.

Learn to cycle through these four functions and keep cycling until everyone is onboard and committed to the decision. You’ll be amazed at the power of an aligned and committed team.

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BlogDecision Making with Myers-BriggsMyers-Briggs

Decision Making with Myers-Briggs – Part II

by Ron Potter

This post is the second in a Myer-Briggs series on Decision Making. Over three blogs we’ll look at the Perceiving Function (how people take in information), the Judging Function (how people make sense of what they perceive) and finally the Decision-Making Process.

Background

Carl Jung was the famous psychiatrist who broke with Sigmund Freud. While Freud seemed to study what was wrong with us as human beings, Jung thought it better to study what was right and natural about us humans and what we could learn about ourselves with the proper framework. His work on Psychological Types led Myers and Briggs to put together their framework for understanding how we work.

Of the four functions pairs (making up the 16 possible archetypes) Jung and Myers-Briggs believed that the middle two were used in our decision-making process. It’s important to understand how these two functions work and in which order to under our and others decision-making process.

The simple concept is that we spend our days cycling between perceiving (observing what’s going on around us) and making judgments (decisions) based on that observation. A simple example is that when we’re leaving the house in the morning we look out the window and notice (perceive) that it’s raining. We then judge the situation to require (decide) to take an umbrella.

Judging

In this post, we’ll look at the Judging function. We looked at the Perceiving function earlier. We’ll finish the series with a Decision Process post.

How do you Judge what you have perceived about the world around you? Don’t think of this word as the negative form of “Judgement”. You’re not being a judgmental person. Myers-Briggs calls this your Deciding function. Once you’ve taken in information with your Perceiving function (previous blog), how do you then finally decide?

Thinking

The thinking function is driven mostly by logic. Add it up, pros and cons, bottom line; there’s your answer.

Feeling

The Feeling function is driven mostly by values. “I see your logic and may even concede that it’s correct, but who cares?” How will this logical answer affect our people, our customers, our vendors? Does it reflect our values?

It’s important to note that this is not feelings of emotion, though it’s often mistaken for that. It’s more a question of values and how people will be affected.

Both Thinking and Feeling functions are valid. I’m always emphasizing balance when I conduct Myers-Briggs sessions. Balance, balance, balance. It’s best when we can depend on and blend both functions. We’ll get into trouble relying too much on one or the other. Therefore, I like to use Myers-Briggs with teams. It’ easier for a team to balance functions when we have a mixture of both types on the team.

I often run a little experiment with my leadership teams. At one point I’ll ask the team what they “think” about moving forward. If I ask a thinking-preferenced person, I’ll often get a fairly robust answer. Something like; “I think we should take steps one, two and three which will lead us to a decision point about which way we should proceed after that.” As I work my way around the room and ask the same “thinking” question of a feeling-preferenced person, I’ll get a less robust answer. Something like “The logic in the previous answer looks correct. I could probably support that answer.”

But, a little later, I’ll ask the same question but I’ll speak of it in Feeling terms; “What do you “feel” we do about moving forward. The thinking-preferenced person doesn’t understand the difference in the question. Their response will be something like “I just told you what I “thought” a minute ago. But if I ask the feeling question of a feeling-preferenced person, I often get a more robust answer. “I think the logic is correct and we could defend it. But do any of you understand how upset our customers are going to be with that decision? I fear we’ll lose a percentage of our customer base that we’ll never get back!” Was it a logic answer? No. Was it a powerful answer? Indeed. In fact, it will likely change the team answer.

Like our Sensing and iNtuitive types, Thinking types are no less feeling than Feeling types. And Feeling types are no less logical than Thinking types. But, decisions will be driven by the preferred type. We need to address both to reach balanced conclusions.

The best answer is a balanced one. Weigh and compare the thinking attention to logic with the feeling attention to values and impact. It often takes a partnership or team to do this well.

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BlogDecision Making with Myers-BriggsMyers-Briggs

Decision Making with Myers-Briggs – Part I

by Ron Potter

This will begin a Myer-Briggs series on Decision Making. Over three blog posts we’ll look at the Perceiving Function (how people take in information), the Judging Function (how people make sense of what they perceive) and finally the Decision-Making Process.

Background

Carl Jung was the famous psychiatrist who broke with Sigmund Freud. While Freud seemed to study what was wrong with us as human beings, Jung thought it better to study what was right and natural about us humans and what we could learn about ourselves with the proper framework. His work on Psychological Types led Myers and Briggs to put together their framework for understanding how we work.

Of the four functions pairs (making up the 16 possible archetypes) Jung and Myers-Briggs believed that the middle two were used in our decision-making process. It’s important to understand how these two functions work and in which order to under our and others decision-making process.

The simple concept is that we spend our days cycling between perceiving (observing what’s going on around us) and making judgments (decisions) based on that observation. A simple example is that when we’re leaving the house in the morning we look out the window and notice (perceive) that it’s raining. We then judge the situation to require (decide) to take an umbrella.

Perceiving

In this post, we’ll look at the Perceiving function followed by a Judging blog and finally a Decision Process blog.

How do we perceive the world around us? For many years, Myers-Briggs called this your Attending function, what do you pay attention to? The two descriptors associated with our Perceiving function are Sensing and iNtuition. S vs N. That’s not a type in the word intuition. Myers-Briggs had already used the capital I to indicate Introversion (other blogs) so they used the capital N to signify intuition.

Sensing

The sensing function is focused on things we can notice with our five senses. Because of this, “Sensors” are focused on facts, details, the present and the practical. Things that we can see and know now.

iNtuition

Those who are intuition based seem to think and notice things like concepts, patterns, future, imaginative. Things that we can deduct or speculate about the future.

Balance

Both perceiving functions are valid, useful and necessary. I’m always emphasizing balance when I conduct Myers-Briggs sessions. Balance, balance, balance. It’s best when we can depend on and blend both functions. We’ll get into trouble relying too much on one or the other. Therefore I like to use Myers-Briggs with teams. It’ easier for a team to balance functions when we have a mixture of both types on the team.

I first experienced this function even before I knew of the Myers-Briggs framework. I have a preference for iNtuition and years ago I was working for a boss who had a clear preference for Sensing. He asked me a question that had great consequences for our business and I quickly answered him from my conceptual view of the world. He said to me, “You shouldn’t make important decisions like that so flippantly!” I didn’t feel it was flippant but he insisted that I spend time creating a business plan to support my flippant answer. Three weeks later I was back with my completed spreadsheet business plan and the answer was still the same. At that point I was curious. Didn’t he know the answer three weeks ago? Didn’t he at least have a hunch? He said, Yes, he figured the answer was likely to go that way but he was not willing to make the decision until he could see the numbers. This was an important revelation to me (later confirmed by Myers-Briggs). Sensing types are no less intuitive than iNtuitive types. He figured the answer would likely go that way. But, they won’t make decisions without the details and facts. iNtuitive types pay no less attention to the details (I’m very good at spreadsheet development and analysis) but they’re willing to make decisions based on that intuition without confirming the details.

The best answer is a balanced one. Weigh and compare the sensing attention to detail with the intuitive attention to the concept. It often takes a partnership or team to do this well.

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BlogMyers-Briggs

Myers-Briggs is a Crock

by Ron Potter

This is the title of a Wall Street Journal article written by Steven Poole doing a book review of Dean Burnett’s new book Idiot Brain.  Actually Idiot Brain needs to become the title of a future blog as well.  I can’t wait to read his book.

But, is Myers-Briggs a crock?  Poole says that Burnett “eloquently dismantles some pop-psychology canards such as Myers-Briggs personality test, still a favored corporate tool.  “The tool is based on untested decades-old assumptions put together by enthusiastic amateurs, working from a single source.”

TRUE!

HOWEVER….

Why does it remain a favored corporate tool?  I don’t see many corporations these days spending money that they don’t believe provides any value.  No Myers-Briggs practitioner worth their salt ever claims the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to be anything other than a great tool for understanding people.  We never claim it to be (or shouldn’t be making such claims) anything other than a model put together by two enthusiastic amateurs.

I had one experience when my client, a senior VP of a large pharmaceutical company, asked me to do some team building with her team.  One of her direct reports was a psychiatrist and ran the psychiatric department for the company.  When she heard that I was going to conduct a Myers-Briggs session she sent me a scathing email proclaiming many of the same issues as Burnett:

  • Invalidated testing
  • Decades old
  • Based on assumptions
  • Created by amateurs

My only answer to her was, “Humor me.  Your boss asked me to conduct the session.”  Well, after the session where the team seemed to learn a great deal about working better together, this same psychiatrist approached me very quietly, put her hand on my arm and spoke very softly into me ear saying, “Would you come run a session like this for my team, we could really use it.”

It’s a tool, a mental model.  One of my favorite bloggers is Shane Parish at Farnam Street.  In his Farnam Street Brain Food he often speaks of Mental Models.  This is how Shane puts it:

“Mental models are a framework for understanding how the world really works. They help you grasp new ideas quickly, identify patterns before anyone else and shift your perspective with ease.”

In my mind Myers-Briggs is simply one of these mental model tools.  I just conducted a session last week with about 20 participants.  As I walk through each process described in the model people always start laughing and enjoying themselves because they immediately see the examples in themselves and each other.  As Shane says, it’s a quick way of identifying patterns and shifting our perspective.  I’ve never finished a session without people telling me how much they learned and how they believe it can immediately help them negotiate their corporate, community and family relationships better.  Now that’s a useful tool, even if it was put together by a couple of enthusiastic amateurs.

team-leadership-culture-meme-8

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BlogMyers-Briggs

Ancient Tales of Modern Day Woes

by Ron Potter

photo-1456051580611-e193e8fb2cc9Long, long ago in a land far, far away I was summoned to the Court of the Farthing Orderer, better known as the office of the CFO.

Upon responding to the summons, the CFO looked at me long and hard for several minutes.  Finally speaking he said, “You dress funny.  All of us wear court garments of green and white but you are dressed in a strange combination of maize and blue.”  But that’s another story to be revisited after the fall jousting season.

Now this CFO was a bit portly and slightly balding, not a particularly striking figure.  However, he seemed to be very wise, was very good at ciphering and the other people of his court enjoyed working under his guidance.

“For what need have you summoned me?” I asked.

“One of my Knights,” the CFO responded. “I’m having a great difficulty understanding his speech.”

“Is he from a foreign land?” I asked.

“No,” responded the CFO. “He grew up in a court much like ours but in a smaller kingdom.”

“Is he performing poorly or not exhibiting the integrity of a Knight?”  I probed.

“Quite the opposite,” said the CFO. “He has performed extremely well over the few years he’s been here and the King is very pleased with his work.”

Humbly bowing to the CFO I said, “I’m sorry for my ignorance, sir, but I really don’t understand the problem.”

“The problem is,” responded the CFO. “I never know where he is or what dragon he is slaying or how that slaying is going to further protect the Kingdom.  I need better information to tell the King when he asks about the Knights exploits.”

“Alright, I need to talk with this Knight, where shall I find him?”

The CFO looked at me blankly and said, “Have you been listening to anything I’ve said?”

“Never mind,” I said. “I’ll find him.”

When I found our knight, I decided to take the direct route and said, “The CFO never knows where you are or what you’re doing, you need to communicate more.”

The Knight looked at me dumbfounded and said, “You’ve got to be jesting me!  I talk to the CFO all the time.”

  • In the morning before the court is even open I tell him about my long-range plans while we’re practicing our sword play.
  • When I pass him in the great corridor of the King, I give him a quick update on all fronts.
  • I’ll often whisper in his ear during the Great noon-time Feast.
  • Even while having an evening ale I’ll give him a quick update.

I talk with him all the time.  How could he need any more communication?”

And in that moment I saw the problem.  Long ago I learned from a certain seer from the land of MBTI that two particular types of people often have a difficult time communicating.  It seems that the CFO was an IS and the Knight was an EN.  Hmmm…. I thought, how can I get this IS and EN to better understand each other?

I suggested to our EN (Extraverted iNtuitive) Knight that he nail a one-page outline of his weeks slayings to the CFO’s door every Monday morning.

“But that’s so restrictive,” said the knight.  “How could I possibly convey all that’s going on in a one-page outline?”

“Humor me,” I said.

Three weeks later I asked the IS (Introverted Sensing) CFO, how are things going?

“Splendid!” were his words.  “I know exactly where our Knight is and what dragon he’s slaying.  The King and I are both very pleased.”

The moral of the story?  Even if you grew up and work in the same court together, don’t assume your communication is being understood.  Know enough about all of the “languages” being spoken and heard to assure good understanding and communication.

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Lights! Camera! Action! An Introvert Living in an Extraverted World

by Ron Potter

My friend Mark Storrs sent me a note saying how much he identified with the post about an Introvert living in an Extraverted world. Mark has years of experience in learning & development and communications and is currently a Human Resources Business Partner for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan so I was very interested in his thoughts. I asked him to send me a story and the following is what he shared with me. He said “I witnessed a technical lead providing a project update to the executive team, and I watched how nervous he was, how his leader was coaching and supporting him.” I think it’s a great story.

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“You’re doing a great job working on the project. I’d like you to present a strategy and status update to the executive team.”

We’ve all been there. Writing code for a new application your company is working on. Supporting a major project behind the scenes. Perhaps even informally leading a small team on that project. Then the unthinkable happens… you get recognized for your work, and your boss wants you to take what is often seen as the next logical step – visibility with leadership. But you’re an introvert and you don’t see visibility as the next step. That’s somebody else’s job. You’re perfectly happy in your behind-the-scenes individual contributor role.

[Oh no, I can’t do that. I don’t want to do that! You can’t make me!!]

“No, that’s not necessary. But I’ll be glad to write something up for you, and you can present.”

“No really. I want you to give the update to the project sponsors.”

[OH NO!!!!]

And there you are. You’re stuck. You can’t get out of it. You have to present. Now comes the stress…

[How detailed do I have to be?]
[What should I wear? I don’t want to be too casual, but I don’t want it to look like I’m trying too hard.]
[Can I use notes and talk from them? Or do I have to memorize it all?]
[But if I memorize it, I’ll sound like a robot!]
[It’s 3am and my presentation is in 6 hours! I’m not ready!]
[I haven’t had any sleep. Surely they’ll see bags under my eyes.]
[Must get to sleep… wait! What if I oversleep???!!!]

“Good morning. I want to give you a status update on Project X…”

[They hate me already.]
[And they deserve to hate me. I’m a fraud. I shouldn’t be up here.]
[I wonder if I sound too rehearsed? Be natural…be natural.]
[I can feel the sweat. I wonder if they can see me sweating?]
[The VP is checking her phone – she’s bored! I’m such a fraud!]

“And that concludes my update. Any questions?”

[Please, dear Lord, don’t let there be any questions!!]
[This awkward silence is deafening! It must be 30 minutes now!]
[Whew, I’m glad that was over. I bombed! Well the good thing is I won’t have to do that again.]

And that’s how it is for an introvert who’s taking those first steps in an extroverted world. A terrifying experience! But with these type of presentations being part of the next step up the corporate ladder, just what is an introvert to do?

So many times, we think we have to change our personalities to do something new like this. But that’s just not realistic. An extreme introvert is simply not going to just change and be bubbly and outgoing simply because there’s a change in job responsibilities. It’s just not going to happen. The trick is to not focus on changing yourself, but to think of yourself as an actor. That’s right – you’re an actor playing a role! You’re an introvert playing the role of an extrovert!

Think about it. Actors embrace different characters, put on different personalities. And that’s just what you’re doing here. You’re embracing the role of a presenter, giving an update about the project that you’re an expert on.

And just like actors, you have to practice at it to get good. An actor doesn’t just start out on Broadway or in a blockbuster film. They have to hone their craft. They go to acting classes, participate in different workshops focusing on various aspects of acting, learn from other actors, etc. They have to get comfortable with acting.

It’s the same for an introvert who finds him/herself in the strange new world of extroverts. You go to class… Study up on personality styles, read up on meeting facilitation techniques, learn how to use your introverted nature as a strength in developing your own presentation style. Watch other presenters, see how they make eye contact, work the room, engage all participants. Ask others to be your practice audience, give the presentation to them and then absorb their feedback like an actor does with his acting coach.

Your acting career starts out slow, with small presentations. You’ll be nervous, you may even fumble a little. And that’s OK. Because like an actor, you learn from those early experiences, you develop your own “acting” style, and you get better. One presentation at a time.

Over time you find yourself getting more and more comfortable in this new world of extroverts. You may even get to a point where you fool some into thinking you’re one of them. But deep down you know you’re not.

You’re just an actor.

Mark may not know it but a large portion of stand-up comedian performers identify with the Introverted side of the scale. And they’re really good! Introverts can be very entertaining, even in an extraverted world.

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BlogMyers-BriggsYou Might Be Surprised

You Might Be Surprised: Thinking or Feeling – Part II

by Ron Potter

You Might Be SuprisedAfter years of being totally compatible in almost every area, are Dave and Charlie discovering that they’re really quite different?

Spoiler alert!!!  To fully appreciate this blog take just a minute and read our last blog that sets the stage for understanding the apparent conflict between Dave and Charlie and how they view each other.

After Dave erupted in utter disbelief which was turning into complete distain for the validity of the Myers-Briggs instrument we tried to calm things down long enough to turn this into a good learning opportunity.  After a few false starts we finally hit on a question that fairly and accurately painted a picture of the differences between Dave and Charlie.

We asked Charlie if he felt he was located in an accurate position on the Deciding (Thinking-Feeling) scale now that he had learned the difference between the two approaches.  With Dave still staring at him in disbelief Charlie indicated that he felt it was a fair and accurate assessment and he actually felt very comfortable with the outcome.  Once again Dave couldn’t contain himself with a very loud “No Way!”

But then the question:  Dave, what process do you use to purchase a new car?  Dave was quick and precise; he would first determine the class of vehicle he currently needed (truck, SUV, sedan, etc), then he would research all new entries into the market, do a complete analysis of performance, maintenance and long-term care and finally use all the modern tools available on the web to find the absolute best price before finally approaching a dealership armed with all of the ammo he needed to make his purchase.

Charlie, what process do you use to purchase a new car?  “Well, I’ve had one car salesman that I started using right out of college.  He’s taken good care of me through the years and we’ve actually become pretty good friends.  I trust him and I believe he has my best interest at heart so when he calls and says it’s time for me to purchase a new car, I ask him for his recommendations and have always purchased what he suggested.  It’s always worked just fine for me.”  Charlie made his decision based on the values of friendship, loyalty and trust.  It works for him.  Charlie comfortably fit on the Feeling side of the Deciding function.

Dave of course sat there with his mouth wide open.  When he regained his composure enough to control of his jaw muscles, he finally said to Charlie “You have always seemed to have cars that fit your need and personality so I guess we can still be fishing buddies.”

Be very careful when you think you really know someone and their Myers-Briggs functions, they might just surprise you.

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BlogMyers-BriggsYou Might Be Surprised

You Might Be Surprised: Thinking or Feeling – Part I

by Ron Potter

You Might Be Surprised
Dave and Charlie had been best friends for most of their lives. They had met in college and seemed to share common interests in both the classes they were taking and in the great outdoors. Both of them loved camping, hiking and most of all fishing. As their careers began their work took them in different directions but they used their outdoor activities to stay connected and would schedule at least one fishing trip together each year. Families began to grow and the distractions increased but their annual fishing trip was never abandoned.
And then a wonderful thing happened about half way through their careers. All of a sudden they were working for the same company and ended up in the same city. As it turned out their children had all gone away to college and they had a bit more time to spend together and they took full advantage of it by adding some weekend outings and expanding their fishing adventures to all kinds of venues.
You probably couldn’t find two guys more compatible then Dave and Charlie. They knew their similarities added to their mutual bond.
Then one day Dave and Charlie ended up in one of my Myers-Briggs team building sessions. As I run the sessions I rearrange the people in the room around the conference table based on their positioning within each scale. This allows me to talk with those in the middle of the scale about their ability to adjust their behavior depending on the situation. It also allows me to talk with those who are solidly on one side or the other of the scale about how clear their preferences are and how they will default to those preferences in many situations and often without even much thought. It’s just natural.
As we progressed through the scales of Energizing (Extraversion and Introversion) and the Attending/Perceiving functions, Dave and Charlie weren’t far apart and I could often see them exchanging knowing looks. Then we came to the deciding function, the one identified by Thinking and Feeling.
Once we’ve taken in our information through either our Extraversion conversation or Introversion reflections and processed it through our Sensing attention to detail or our iNtuitive conceptual view, we then will decide. This Deciding function shows us how we approach decisions from either a very logical, practical angle or a Values based approach. While Thinking types will consider emotions and feelings as data to weigh their decisions will be made based on logic. And while the Feeling types will consider logic and objectivity as data to value, in the end they will make their decision based on values.
Well now the dynamics between Dave and Charlie had changed. Dave was solidly on the Thinking side of the table and Charlie was well into the Feeling side of the table and Dave was staring at Charlie in utter disbelief.
Finally, Charlie almost erupted. “There is no way this instrument can be valid! Charlie and I have known each other all of our lives and we are completely alike. There is no way he could be on the Feeling side of this category. That’s not who we are!!!”
Can you guess how Charlie reacted? Did he truly belong on the Feeling side of this preference? Did Dave really not know Charlie after all of these years? In our next Myers-Briggs based blog we’ll continue the story of Dave and Charlie. Please join us. You might be surprised.

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BlogMyers-BriggsYou Might Be Surprised

You Might Be Surprised: Intuitors Acting Like Sensors – Part II

by Ron Potter

You Might Be Suprised

Is Sally the data miner a Sensing type or Intuitive type?

Spoiler alert!!!  To fully appreciate this post take just a minute and read our last post that sets the stage for understanding Sally.

When we left Sally she was preparing a presentation to the leadership team.  She really wanted them to “get it” so she had asked her staff to gather every shred of data available on the issue.  After her staff had assured her that there was no more data to be had, Sally went to work pouring over the data, learning and understanding every piece of it.

At this point it might be easy to assume that Sally is a Sensing type.  Sensing types like to present the details of their work first, they usually proceed step-by-step and seldom make error of fact.  But what we haven’t yet seen is how Sally views and uses the data that she so meticulously gathered.

Sally always wants her projections to be fact-based.  She knows that several members of the leadership team will check her facts and she wants to be prepared.  But what Sally actually does with the data is to look for trend lines, inflection points and other “implied” results that the data can suggest.  She is always looking into the future.  “What does this data produce in the long run?”  “What opportunities or threats does the data lead us to think about ahead of time?”  “How does this align with our long-term goals?”  Sally isn’t worried about what needs to be done by Friday, she wants to know of we’re preparing ourselves for the future.  Sally is a very Intuitive thinker.

It’s not just the Sensing types that make sure the facts are correct or are the only ones who base their decisions on the facts.  Intuitive types are fact based as well.  But they want to both start with the long-term projections and implications and understand where the trends are going to lead us.  They also want to know about the decisions we’re making today and if they will lead us in the intended directions.

Sally is an Intuitive type on the Myers-Briggs scale.  That doesn’t mean she ignores the facts or makes her decisions on “gut instinct” only.  It simply means that her search for meaning and direction in the data will influence her decision making.

Most of the mistakes that amateurs (and even some Myers-Briggs practitioners) make is bases our assumptions on behaviors that may lead us to assume that a person is a Sensing or Intuitive type.  Be careful.  You might be surprised!

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BlogMyers-BriggsYou Might Be Surprised

You Might Be Surprised: Intuitors Acting Like Sensors – Part I

by Ron Potter

You Might Be Suprised

Sally runs a division of a company in a highly technical industry.  At her disposal is a team and technology that can dig into any question and come up with reams of data to support the analysis.  Sally with collect this data, cross-reference it, put as much of it into spreadsheets and data base systems that would blow your mind.  At her fingertips she can go deeper and deeper into any question or issue until she reaches the base level of data and facts that support the whole structure.

When her people approach Sally they know where the question is going to head:

  • Where’s the data on this issue?
  • To what level of depth have you uncovered?
  • How recent is the data?
  • Have we gathered it from more sources than just our own?

And on and on.  Sally wants to be sure that we have all of the data that’s available to us as we search for answers and directions.

Once Sally feels that she has all the data to be had, she’ll spend hours poring over the spreadsheets of data looking for the insight and understand that she needs to present her finding to the leadership team.  She really wants to make sure they “get it” based on the facts.

What do you think?  Is Sally as “Sensing” or an “Intuitive” type?

Myers-Briggs gives us some quick sketches for each type:

  • Sensing
    • Like to present the details of their work first
    • Seldom make errors of fact
    • Like using experience and standard ways to solve problems
  • Intuition
    • Like to present an overview of their work first
    • May make errors of fact
    • Like solving new complex problems

So, what do you think?  Sensing or Intuition?

In our next Myers-Briggs based blog we’ll continue the story of Sally the data miner.  Please join us.  You might be surprised.

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