Personality Types & Leadership
Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® in Leadership Coaching
Arudia can use personality assessments as a basis for a board, leadership or staff retreat or workshop!
Coaching with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®
Helping you determine your true personality traits
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers, and her mother, Katharine Briggs, to make the insights of Carl Jung ‘s Theory of Psychological Type understandable and usable. The essence of the theory is people have preferences for how they perceive and judge information, where they derive energy, and their outer-world orientation. Thus, confounding variations in other’s behavior are quite explicable and manifest in 16 distinct Types.
Whether your goal is to learn about yourself or have your team learn about themselves and each other, understanding your personality type can be invaluable. We are Certified MBTI® Practitioners and will utilize it to help you learn how to become more aware of your natural strengths, weaknesses, and preferences as a leader.
Myers-Briggs in a Nutshell
The Psychological Type Model is built around four dichotomies: two functions and two attitudes. Every individual has a preference within each dichotomy, which together form their Myers-Briggs Type (e.g., ESTJ).
Perception Functions (Sensing and Intuition)
The Perception Functions describe how we become aware of information about the environment, ideas, people, and things. These functions are:
- Intuition (N): This comes into play after information is sensed. It involves recognizing patterns, meanings, and implications. Intuition focuses on abstract connections and the “big picture.”
- Sensing (S): This refers to gathering information through the five senses. People with a preference for Sensing focus on what is concrete, observable, and detailed.
Judging Functions (Thinking and Feeling)
The Judging Functions describe how we analyze and make decisions based on what we perceive. These functions are:
- Feeling (F): Feeling relies on subjective criteria, often based on personal values and the impact on people. It considers harmony, empathy, and relationships when making decisions.
- Thinking (T): Thinking relies on objective analysis and logic to make decisions. It focuses on facts, principles, and fairness.
Attitudes: Extraversion and Introversion
The first attitude dichotomy is Extraversion (E) versus Introversion (I).
- Extraversion: People who prefer Extraversion tend to draw energy from the external world of people, activities, and interaction.
- Introversion: People who prefer Introversion are more energized by the inner world of ideas, reflection, and contemplation.
Importantly, this distinction is not about liking or disliking people—it’s about where someone naturally focuses their energy.
Outer-World Orientation (Judging vs. Perceiving)
The final dichotomy describes how a person interacts with the outer world:
- Perceiving Orientation: People who prefer Perceiving use their information-gathering (Sensing or Intuition) function in the outer world. They tend to appear more flexible, spontaneous, and open.
- Judging Orientation: People who prefer Judging use their decision-making (Thinking or Feeling) function in the outer world. They often appear organized, scheduled, and decisive.
Why You Would Want Arudia to Facilitate Your MBTI®
At the crux of our work, we believe that everyone can develop their leadership and management acumen. Our method is to use assessment tools to improve self-awareness and awareness of others, with a particular focus on developing resilience and understanding different workstyles and leadership styles. The assessments also provide the framework for a focused development plan. We follow with teach communication and coaching skills so that our clients can put their new-found leadership insight into action.
Those taking a profiling tool can experience anything from an “aha” moment when you recognize yourself or simply “Yeah, I knew that about myself.” But there is so much more. The magic of a profiling tool such as the MBTI® is in how, with the support of an experienced practitioner, you can go from insight to perspective and actions that make a qualitative difference.
