EML

Team Building with MBTI

Myers Briggs Type Indicator® Step I instrument

One of the world's leading personality tools the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) Step I instrument is a versatile tool, which provides individuals and teams with a powerful understanding of their own and others' personality style.

By understanding the differences between personality types, groups and individuals are able to work together more effectively, improving communication and reducing conflict.

EML utilises the MBTI® instrument in both one-to-one and group settings. The MBTI® Group application integrates with EML's entire team building event range.

The MBTI® has a wide range of workplace applications including:

Individual development and executive coaching

The instrument helps individuals to understand their preferred working style, and how this can be developed to be more effective with others. It also encourages individuals to value difference, as a way of improving working relationships.

Management and leadership development

The instrument is highly recommended for management and leadership development programmes, as it helps individuals to appreciate the impact of their personal style on others. In addition, it helps to identify aspects of their role that may come naturally to them, and other areas where they may need to focus more energy and attention.

Team building and development

Using the instrument within a teambuilding setting increases awareness of the team's overall working style. Through this the team is able to address internal team needs, harness individual strengths and identify areas for development. Using the MBTI instrument can help to improve communication, enhance problem-solving and encourage an appreciation of diversity. The benefits will reach beyond the team, as they begin to understand and develop the impact they have on other teams.

Organisational change

Using the instrument as part of a change initiative will help the organisation and its individuals to understand why people react to change in different ways, and provides a starting point for supporting them through the process.

Improving communication

The instrument is ideal for helping individuals understand how to communicate more constructively with different people, and is a basis for techniques that can be used to listen, influence and persuade more successively.

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Other applications include: employee retention, conflict management and career guidance.

What does the instrument look at?

Through completion of the questionnaire and a personal feedback session, the assessment will reveal characteristics unique to each personality type. This will show the individual how they interact with others and how they deal with all kinds of real-life situations.

Within a group context MBTI® dimensions can be used in conjunction with our team event range to highlight variations in teams' responses to team building challenges.

The MBTI dimensions explore the following features:

E - I

Where you prefer to get and focus your ‘energy' or attention (Extraversion or Introversion)

S - N

The kind of information you prefer to gather and trust (Sensing or INtuition)

T - F

The process you prefer to use in coming to decisions (Thinking or Feeling)

J - P

How you prefer to deal with the world around, your ‘lifestyle' (Judging or Perceiving)

Benefits for you and your organisation

• People find the process enjoyable, the results enlightening and the framework easy to work with.

• The MBTI instrument promotes a constructive approach to individual differences, demonstrating that different working styles can be complementary, rather than a source of friction.

• The MBTI instrument has an impressive and prestigious reputation built over 60 years, with organisations from all industry sectors successfully addressing a variety of workplace issues.

• The MBTI instrument is a truly international tool, helping your organisation develop a common framework across borders. It is available in a wide range of languages, and the questionnaire has been adapted to be sensitive to cultural issues, ensuring that it retains its validity in these contexts.

• The continual development of the instrument ensures its ongoing relevance today and in the future.

What is the tool suitable for?

The MBTI Step I instrument is a self-awareness and development tool. It is suitable for employees at all levels, including board level.

What next?

Contact our MBTI practioners for more information on the use of MBTI within your organisation and in conjunction with our full range of team building events.