How To Motivate Employees through Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator


Varying personalities of people in the workplace are sure to be experienced by practically anyone. The essence to be able to fit into a desirable working environment depends on how employees are able to work hand in hand with people around them. While there are mixed types of people coming from different cultures and traditions, Carl Jung, a psychologist who believed that each individual has their own type of preferences when it comes towards interpersonal communication, decision making and information gathering becomes the varying factors that separates the various personalities that most individuals have. To help prove this theory, psychological testing such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, provide a comprehensive set of 100 questions that are used in most employee development practices by most organizations today. The examination provides a series of questions for an employee to determine how he would feel or what preferences he would have in given situations.The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) identifies individuals on the basis of energy, information gathering decision making and lifestyle. Each criterion helps identify the inner strengths of each employee and classifies them accordingly where they can truly excel. The MBTI helps in the overall development of deserving employees and provides a better assessment on what their actual strengths are so that these may be used for them to be able to maximize their true potential.

  • Energy. Introversion versus Extroversion
  • Information Gathering. Sensing versus Intuition
  • Decision Making. Thinking versus Feeling Lifestyle. Judging versus Perceiving
  • Beware of Energy Traps

    An executive’s energy can be exhausted because of some psychological factors. However, an executive will continue to be productive and can still feel comfortable while performing his tasks when these weakening factors are overcome.

    The following are some of the offenders and how they consume an individual’s energy on a day to day basis:

    Bitterness – When a person begins to feel bitter, he is often bothered that the feeling is not right and inappropriate. By controlling this feeling an individual can possibly waste an enormous amount of psychic energy.

    Intense – A person can feel intense by being hooked in the routine of daily tasks when personal resources from the real concerns are diverted into insignificant ones.

    Indistinct – Executives must wrestle almost everyday with the unknown in order to picture the result of their actions. According to psychologist, there are other harmful forms of indistinct behavior:

  • Indistinct role – the individual has no clear idea of what is expected of him.
  • Role conflict – this occurs when he is expected to satisfy to a lot of demands.
  • Personal predicaments – These refers to pressures that comes from the family, at the onset of middle age or thinking about retirement may take a heavy burden on an executive’s working capabilities.

    Separation – A lot of executives feel that because of their enormous responsibilities can result to communication gap or separation between themselves and their subordinates.

    Decisional Inertia – Usually come in the form of postponing a decision, going over some facts or reviewing decisions already made and are already being implemented.

    When to Call a Life Coach

    Life Coaching

    Don’t feel alone. It’s okay to ask for help. There are others out there who are in the same situation. Don’t be afraid to reach out. Help is out there for those who need it.

    No, this isn’t a commercial for a support group or an addiction counseling service. It’s simply a reminder that sometimes we get so caught up in the myopia of everyday work/life issues that lose sight of the big picture.

    Wouldn’t it be great to have someone to go to talk about your work and life goals in a constructive, supportive environment? Resolve to find yourself a life coach in 2008.

    Put simply, a life coach is an individual who can help you determine and achieve your personal and professional goals. A life coach should not to be confused with a psychologist, a therapist or a consultant, though the work they do is sometimes complementary to that of other professionals.

    Here are a few things to keep in mind when deciding if a life coach is right for you.

    Look for credentials — There are two major international bodies that certify coaching professionals, The International Association of Coaches (www.certifiedcoach.org) and The International Coaching Federation (www.coachfederation.org). Look on these websites to find a coaching professional in your area.

    Leave your ego at the door — Many people still see coaching a negative, as an indictment of the work they are doing. Coaching is not for people who are incompetent or incapable of performing on their own.

    Quite the contrary. Often it this the best and the brightest that seek out advice. They want to take their goals to the next level

    Even NBA legend Michael Jordan has a coach, Phil Jackson, who helped him elevate his performance to a transcendent level.

    Feedback — It’s one thing to critique yourself and assess your performance on a regular basis. It’s quite another to solicit the advice of an objective third party. Many business owners get so consumed by the work they do that they can’t see the forest for the trees. Working with life coach will provide a built-in sounding board for many of your major career and personal life choices.

    Can you afford it? — Or more appropriately, can you afford not to do it? Many coaches are willing to work within your budget to get a coaching relationship up and running. Like many of their clients, they’re in business for themselves and understand the financial constraints e Do an exhaustive and honest assessment of your financial situation to uncover opportunities to free up additional dollars. If you look at it as an investment in your future, you’ll find a way to pay for it.

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