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Issue 5 Linda K. Liebold www.CoachToSuccess.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Who Are You?
Clues to a Career You Will LoveFinding a career you love can be a trial and error process. But, there are better and more efficient ways to determine the kinds of careers you will enjoy than trial and error! Personality assessments are one tool. There are many assessments available to help you better understand your personality type, but the one I use most with my coaching clients is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
The MBTI
The MBTI helps you discover who you are. Are you a person who prefers to be around people? Do they stimulate you? Give you energy? Or, are you a person who prefers to be alone? Does quiet time stimulate you? Are you energized from within?
Becoming more aware of your needs and desires and your natural gifts is an important step in finding a career you love. If you know yourself -- your personality type – you will be better prepared to choose a career that complements your personality.
What is the MBTI?
The MBTI is an assessment tool based on the personality theory of Swiss psychologist C.G. Jung with the work of Katharine Cooke Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers. Jung believed personality is made up of elements that are opposite to one another and that an individual tends to prefer one element more than the other.
The MBTI uses four dichotomies to describe personality type. A description of each is given below.
The Four MBTI Dichotomies
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To better understand this theory, pick up a pen and sign your name.
How did it feel? Most of my clients say “easy,” “relaxed,” “comfortable,” “natural.” Now sign your name with your opposite hand. How does that feel? The responses I receive tend to be: “hard,” “impossible,” “uncomfortable.” Most of us have two hands, but we prefer using one more than the other. We can use the less preferred hand, work and perfect our signature – but it takes hard work to do this. The dichotomies above work the same way. I’m a right-handed Extravert. I tend to use my right hand more than my left. As an Extravert, I like to be around people and to be active more than I like to be alone and inactive. Just as I have a left hand that I can use when I choose to, I have a little Introversion , too. Sometimes I prefer to be alone in my inner world.
What Personality Type Are You?
To better understand your personality type, check the words below that seem most like you – who you are in your heart of hearts – not how you think you should be at work or at home.
To determine your personality type, total the checks in each column and complete the table below:
Take your four circled letters and put them together to form a four-letter personality type. For example, if you circled I, S, F, and P, your personality type would be ISFP – Introversion, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.
The MBTI is not a measure of skills or abilities. Instead, it determines your gifts – the things that come naturally to you. It is a way to help you become more aware of your particular style and to better understand and appreciate the ways that people differ from you. You can begin to understand these differences by comparing the list of words under each of the headings: E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P.
Does Your Job Match Your MBTI Type?
Look carefully at the words you circled in the previous exercise. Your ideal job should complement your personality preferences. For example, I am an ENTJ. As a coach, many of the words listed under Extravert (E) apply to my job: Extraversion: active, outward, sociable, people, many expressive, and breadth. All of them reflect elements of my job as a coach. The two words I circled under Introversion also apply: reflective and depth.
Think about the job you presently have. See which words reflect the nature of your job. If many of the words you circled apply to your job, your job may be suited to you. On the other hand, if very few of the words you circled apply to your job, you may be dissatisfied and may want to explore new jobs.
The actual MBTI assessment is much more comprehensive than this and more accurate. When you take the assessment, you discover your personality type and receive a personalized multi-page report. The report analyzes multiple facets of your personality. It explains how the parts of your personality work together. It provides insights and suggestions on how you can best apply your personality type in communicating with others, in making decisions, in managing change, and in managing conflict. The MBTI can be utilized in a multitude of ways. I often use it in my leadership, management, communication, marketing, team building, career, and life coaching.
Using Personality Type in Your Career Planning
As you consider different careers and jobs, choose those that play to your personality type. The more your career reflects the things you like and the things that come naturally, the happier you will be professionally.
Career Coaching
This is just a brief introduction to the MBTI and how it can be a great tool to help you find a career you love. If you would like to learn more about your personality type and the kinds of careers that will appeal to you, contact Linda@CoachToSuccess.com.
Personal and Professional Growth
By understanding your personality type and the types of others, you can grow personally and professionally. If you would like to enhance your effectiveness in the following areas, e-mail Linda.
- Leadership
- Management
- Communication
- Team Building
- Conflict Management
- Personal Selling
- Public Speaking
- Training
The MBTI and Your Family
The MBTI can also be an effective tool for understanding and communicating with the members of your family. Working with a coach, you can learn how to bring more happiness and harmony to your family. E-mail Linda for more information.
Want to learn more?
Are you interested in learning more about this topic and others like it? l will be happy to talk with you about creating custom on-site workshops and tele-classes for you and your group. Contact me at Linda@CoachToSuccess.com
Recommended Resources
Do What You Are, by Paul D. Tieger & Barbara Barron-Tieger,
Little, Brown and Company.Life Types , by Sandra Hirsh & Jean Kummerow, Warner Books
One of a Kind, by Lavonne Neff, Multnomah Press
Reinventing Yourself, by Sandra Davis and Bill Handschin,
Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.Type Talk, by Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen,
Dell Publishing.About the Author
Linda Liebold, M. A., is a business, career and life coach. She is founder of Coach To Success, whose mission is to motivate and empower people to be successful both personally and professionally. Linda has 25 years of experience as a coach, consultant, manager, trainer, speaker, and facilitator. Since 1984, she has headed Liebold & Associates, Inc., a strategic planning, marketing and communications consulting company. She has worked with hundreds of individuals in over 60 organizations nationwide. She is affiliated with Coach U, Coachville and the International Coach Federation. She is certified in administering the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI), Strong Interest Inventory, the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), and other personality, management, team, and individual assessments. For more information click here.
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© 2008 Linda Liebold All rights reserved.
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