Assessments Today

Free Journal: Personality Type in Depth

Image by UggBoy♥UggGirl [ PHOTO // WORLD // SENSE ] via Flickr

The idea for Personality Type in Depth grew out of an online conversation in the spring of 2010. PTD editors Carol Shumate and Mark Hunziker, who had never met, were discussing the need for an information- and idea-sharing forum that bridges the gap between personality type and depth psychology.

So far there are four issues and the next one comes out in May.  For the "serious" Jungian practitioner this is a terrific resource.

Example:

Do you think America has an ESTJ culture? Do you think Hamlet had ENTJ preferences? These are some topics of the January 2011 issue of Personality Type in Depth.

Check Out People Maps

I have been meaning to let you know about this site for sometime now. People Maps is a site for customised personality profiling.  I like their philosophy as can be seen in some of their videos and downloads.  Their particular tools are based on the work of Carl Jung.  The site is friendly, accessible and slick.  It has some great resources as well.

Another very nice feature if you like this sort of thing is that if you subscribe to their newsletter you will receive from PeopleMaps a free psychometric profile report to you courtesy of a wide range of sponsors.  They assure us that these will be absolutely free reports on everything from your personality and careers to dating, sports and even superheroes.  There will  be exclusive special offers and a range of articles digging deeper into the topics that have a direct impact on how you lead your life.  You don't have to do anything except  subscribe.

One of their divisions is Career Psychometrics and  they provided  quick short and free aseessments also based on the work of Carl Jung specifically geared to career development. They argue that career development planning begins with discovering what you were born to do. You need to know what you have a natural career aptitude for which is why you should complete this free personality test, sometimes referred to as a career aptitude test.

Here is the free widget that you too can put up on your own site or blog. Check it out.

Career Personality Test

What is the relationship of the Enneagram to MBTI?

As I have previously announced, Last month, I set up a more generic network for consultants, coaches. Membership is now over 200. If you haven't checked it out I encourage you to do so.

I posted this question on the Forum to my "experts":  What is the relationship of the Enneagram to MBTI as well as shared my own views. Here is part of my own observations:

Speaking for myself, I found working with the MBTI very enlightening about how I tend to show up in the world. It also was very helpful in learning more about the dynamics of my personal relationships. The shadow side was particularly eye opening.

The Enneagram took it a step further for me. Besides being deeper in my opinion, the key distinction between this and many other self awareness models is that the Enneagram is transformational.

I am not sure if the link will work but Sandy McMullen did a great job of responding.  While I did get Sandy's permission to reprint it, she has also posted it on her blog.  If you are interested in this question OR the MBTI in general - please visit her site and the article at Personality Plus in Business.

Different takes on some old subjects: MBTI, DISC, EQ

This is probably the best introduction to the MBTI I have seen and it comes in at under 2 minutes. While it probably takes at least a few viewings to grasp all the content, I found it to be a nice overview to the MBTI.  I am quite surprised at how few views it has received:

Blog Radio is another interesting place to find some resources - especially if you are an auditory learner.  Here is an interesting show from Career Success Radio with Cynthia Kivland (a LinkedIn connection of mine) Cynthia is President and author at Coaching Smart People and discusses EQ:

Creating High Performing Teams using MBTI, DISC & EQ

In the above hour long broadcast, hosts Annemarie Cross and Keith Keller interview 3 guests on how to build a high performing team through using key personality type and behaviourial profiling tools MBTI and DISC. They’ll also be discussing emotional intelligence/quotient (EQ ) and the impact that both high and low levels of EQ of a leader can either support or derail their own and their team’s career.

Finally for a little lightness on the subject, here is a short video by Richard Wiseman from Quirkology.

A One Two Punch - Good pairings for the MBTI and DISC

Image via Wikipedia

Normally I don't recommend giving clients more than one assessment.  It is a bit like overload and you end up spending a heck of a lot of time on debriefing the data than getting on with the learning. 

That said, there is in my mind an excellent match for each the MBTI® and the DISC.  First, let me be VERY clear that I do not recommend using both the MBTI and DISC together.  Nine times out of ten it will only confuse the client.  They will ask you to correlate their results which is rather tricky since they  measure different things. The MBTI is a preference assessment and the DISC is a behavioural (observed) how assessment.  Second, I will assume that you are properly trained and certified in the instrument of your choice.

MBTI® and Firo-B®

Clearly, I am not the only one who thinks this is a great combination. For quite sometime the CPP in the US and Psychometrics in Canada have offered a combined MBTI® / Firo-B® Online Report.  I have always liked the Firo-B ^® and was glad to see it come back into vogue in the late 90's in leadership development programs.  It does have a strong "psych"flavour and needs to be used properly. "The Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior ™ (FIRO-B ^®) assessment has helped people around the world unlock the mysteries of human interaction at work and in their personal life. This instrument quickly gathers critical insights into how an individual's needs for inclusion, control, and affection can shape his or her interactions with others."  Here's what they say on the web site:

Leadership Report Using FIRO-B ^® and MBTI ^® Instrument 17 pages

The FIRO-B and MBTI instruments tap into key aspects of personality and behavior in areas such as communication, problem solving, decision making, and interpersonal relations. The instruments are also quite distinct, each providing a view through a different window of the client's leadership personality. Together, they complement each other and provide rich information of use in a personal, ongoing leadership development program.

DISC and Values (Spranger and Allport's Motivators)

I knew of two different vendors offering this combination and I am now pleased to report that their is a third one on  the market.  All of them are based on the research of Dr. Eduard Spranger and Gordon Allport who looked into what drives and motivates an individual. The seven dimensions of value discovered between these two researchers help map the reasons that drive an individual to utilize their talents in the unique way they do. These assessment helps clients understand  motivators and drivers and how to maximize  performance by achieving better alignment and passion for what they do.

The three that I know of are:

1. The PIA&V (Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values™ from TTI Performance Systems. TTI along with Inscape is a recognized source for solid DISC instruments in the personal and business coaching communities and is also the distributor of PIAV which is a nice companion tool with the DISC.
   
   

2. The founder of Maximum Potential co-created the PIAV with Bill Bonnstetter of TTI. He has the rights to a similar product.  Maximum Potential uses more business language but unlike the PIAV, it does not have normative data.
   

3. My new portal Assess Yourself will be offerning the Online Assessments from Tony Alessandra. The Online Values Assessment measures seven dimensions of motivation (and similar to those above) as outlined below:

• Aesthetic - a drive for balance, harmony and form.
• Economic - a drive for economic or practical returns.
• Individualistic - a drive to stand out as independent and unique.
• Political - a drive to be in control or have influence.
• Altruistic - a drive for humanitarian efforts; help others altruistically.
• Regulatory - a drive to establish order, routine and structure.
• Theoretical - a drive for knowledge, learning and understanding.

New Survey: How do you define Success?

I have begun some research for my contribution to a new book and I could really use your help. Success is one of those interesting concepts. Like beauty it is in the eye of the beholder. It is not so much an end result as a value judgment of who one wants to be. Therefore it is different for every person. There are four overall objectives, two of which make it quite unique:

1. How do people define success (for themselves personally)?
2. How does age influence how we see success?
3. Is there a difference between those that use social networks and those that don't?
4. Is there any correlation between "personality types" and how they define success?

Question 4 will be addressed in an optional section at the end of the survey for those respondents who are familiar with the five personality systems being used. Since you read this blog, I am hoping that you will provide me with this data.

I am collecting input in three ways:

1. Through Social Networks directly - if you use Twitter, the definition has to be 140 characters or less. Please @robertahill and add #success (in case the first gets dropped)
2. Via comments and discussions below - so please join the dialogue.
3. A more in depth survey which I really hope that if you have read this far then you will take the survey by clicking the link below:



Also, would you will Retweet and pass this link along to others. Your support is greatly appreciated. Results will be posted here on my blog and through Twitter and LinkedIn.

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This survey will remain open until at least Feb. 5th.

Update Evening, Jan 25th:

Thanks to early responders, fix a typo AND put in additional theme that somehow was missed while entering the choices.

Update Jan 26th:

The survey has an optional area for you to add your name and email should you want to retain credit for anything you write OR if you would like me to get in contact with you. NO emails will be published or shared.  There is no link referral mechanisms - so unless you provide your info, it is completely anonymous.

Respondents are slowly coming in via all sources. Thanks for putting the word out.

Update Jan 29th:

I have not determined how I will use the data. Naturally, all written comments would be quoted directly - with or without attributions depending on what respondents have indicated.  My intention was not to offend by using the statement "relinquish of rights.  I simply wanted to be sure that I had permission without having to negate confidentiality.  Rather, I wanted to ensure that the data - even if anonymous was not used with consent.  Hence the opt out section. I hope I have clarified my intentions by making some additions.

Someone pointed out that the survey takes much more than 3 - 5 minutes.  I must have under estimated and apologize for those that felt I was misleading. I have adjusted the intro accordingly.

TypeLabs presents Let's Split the Difference / Q & A with Susan Nash

"Most people confuse the instrument with the theory."

In a follow-up to my previous post, I am so glad to not only tell you that the interview with Susan Nash was recorded but I am able to present it to you here below:

This is a very valuable presentation if you have some solid understanding of the MBTI or Type.  I loved Susan's comparison of using three lens.; very helpful understanding some of the nuances of differences.  While I haven't purchased the book (to date), I think this is a must have for one's bookshelves.

Webinar from TypeLabs with Susan Nash

I have been a little negligent in getting this out sooner but it did only arrive in my own inbox last Thursday.

TypeLabs is presenting a free webinar with Susan Nash this Wednesday, Dec 9, 2009 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST. Join psychological type expert Susan Nash for a Q & A session to answer your most pressing questions. Susan will also be reviewing her latest contribution to the field— "Let’s Split the Difference: Your Guide to Clarifying Differences Between Similar Types".

You have to "submit a questions to Susan" in order to register - which I personally found annoying. I am also a little annoyed that it isn't clear whether the event will be made available to view afterward.  Being in Europe the timing isn't the best for me.  However, I registered just in case it is.

TypeLabs s also offering a special on their Type Practitioner Blueprint on DVD.  If you place your order within the next 18 hours you will receive an additional DVD at no charge plus over $190 worth of Bonus Material.  Great material but still a big ticket item.  Remember to use this link: http://www.typepractitionerblueprint.com

The Dangers of Comparing Personality Types to The New World of Work

This summer I read an article in Business Week which asked the question: "Is There a Virtual Worker Personality?"  What a great question I pondered.  The article points out that when Pearn Kandola began studied hundreds of workers at Cisco as well as other employees at global client companies around the world, they discovered the opposite to what they expected to find.

It turns out it's the gregarious types who thrive in virtual work setups, since they connect nonetheless. It's the shy types who feel isolated.

I have no desire to take exception with the study or some of the recommendations - which make sense for any virtual off site employee regardless of personality.  I am concerned about the stereo typing that is bound to occur.  I raised a similar issue in the Spring: The introvert / extrovert perefernce in MBTI and networking  We have to be careful not to draw conclusions or make assumptions. 

Image via Wikipedia

Brad Cope has a rather lengthy and humourous look at this issue in Southwest Airlines' magazine: "I'll Be Switched".  This is in response to whether you should or could try to change your personality for your career advancement.  Apparently if you are into the MBTI, studies from CPP Inc suggest that the ESTJ type is the most coveted in senior management. (i.e. there are more ESTJ's in executive and management positions than any other for the 16 types.)  In Canada I would suggest it might be ISTJ and coming from a research industry maybe even INTJ's.  In Europe I believe that "introverts" are also more valued.  Perhaps this is my own bias as a gregarious introvert myself.

The whole discussion raises the old debate - are you drawn to a career based on your "personality" or are you more successful because of said "personality"?  I am of the view that it is irrelevant.  We need to have variety in all roles to ensure innovation and prevent cloning.  And children need to stop being told that they can't do something because they don't have the right makeup for it. Besides . . . the times they are a changing.

The work place is shifitng in ways that we really can't predict.  We are told that emotional intelligence will be more necessary but if it is true that we will become more virtual and isolated - will we?  I believe so as the old norms of understanding are replaced the skill of reading people and responding based on their perspective will be in greater demand.  As the world of work diversifies and becomes even more global, the cues will become more confusing and complex.  It is not a question of which personality is better suited to these changes.  We are all capable of adjusting as long as we understand our own tendencies and preferences.  Then and only then will we be in a position to identify what we can do that fits with our own integrity and makes up happy and successful in our lives.  For these reasons taking a reputable assessment (be it MBTI, DISC, EQ or a myriad of others) is a great starting point - not a death sentence on our journey.

Simple and Clear Explanation of the MBTI

I recently came across a great Slideshow from Michelle Villalobos' workshop "You're Not Crazy... It's Just Your Personality Type." This is a wonderful overview of personality type theory, MBTI, and how it applies in business.  This is a rather thorough review if you are willing to take the time.

Youre Not Crazy... Its Just Your Personality Type

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My good friend and colleague, Mary Jo Asmus has just posted the second in her own series on leadership and the introversion / extroversion conundrum. You can read both here:

Introverted Leaders: Gifts and Cautions

Extraverted Leaders: Gifts and Cautions