Myers-Briggs uses
Organisations
It is useful for managing others, improving leadership skills, tasks, teams, training of staff, conflict resolution, coaching, motivational training, change management and recognition. It is likely you will find many other uses.
Work
Understanding your ‘type’ will help you cope with the challenges of work.
Areas like time management (see The Complete Time Management package), problem solving , decision making and stress reduction should all benefit.
Other places where it may be of use is coming to terms with the workplace culture, team dynamics and your input, coping with change, gaining additional skills.
Person to person activities might benefit, for example, selling or the marketing and presentation of your products.
Career
Knowing and understanding your type can help you evaluate your best fit in considering your career path.
Your performance will be influenced by the environment in which you work. Ideally, this should match your type.
If not, you can try to work in a better environment or during periods more suited to your type.
Working on a project or in an area that you may not like can be improved by using your knowledge of your type to help influence decision making and other management aspects etc.
You can examine the reasons for the poor fit of the job and look towards possible solutions.
The results may be able to explain your motivation levels in particular situations.
Relationships
Understanding another persons point of view will help in relationships with colleagues, close friends and family.
You can’t avoid people forever that are causing you problems so having a knowledge of ‘type’ will be of benefit.
There are plenty of opportunities to use this technique within families.
For example, parenting issues, schooling and homework problems, discipline etc.
The use of ‘type’ can afford a neutral environment that is non threatening which will help in conflict resolution.
Learning
A better knowledge of teaching and learning styles will improve the absorption of knowledge.
Individual students will have preferred methods of learning.
Teaching styles that will appeal to a wider range of learning styles will have better results.
Behaviours may be misinterpreted as disruptive if they don’t fit into the pattern of teaching.
Personal
Your personality type does not alter over a period of time.
However, your personal preferences will help you in different ways, under altering circumstances throughout your life.
It may be of use when there are key changes in your life as we have referred to already, for example.
- Leaving school.
- Getting married.
- Lifestyle changes in your 30’s, 40’s or 50’s.
- As you approach and enter retirement.
It may assist in getting the balance between work and leisure.
It may help you cope during great personal upheaval such as a family death.
Used as a tool it may benefit health, and could be used in counselling and as part of a therapy session.
It is not a solution in itself but merely a tool to aid understanding and better inform choice.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® has been used in many professional areas, for example, in the healthcare industry to help tailor needs to the patient and in the legal profession to help understanding of the members of juries.
This very useful tool may help with your own personal motivation.