Newsletter #8

In this issue:

About Myers-Briggs® and Personality Types: Is there a "Home" and a "Work" Personality Type?

About the Strong Interest Inventory®: What is Congruence?

The FIRO-B™: Team Chemistry, Part II

Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode (TKI): What's Wrong with Accommodating?

 

About Myers-Briggs and Personality Types: Is there a "Home" and a "Work" Personality Type?

This question comes up frequently when discussing the Myers-Briggs: is my type different at home and work? The short answer is maybe. As many of you know, Jung theorized that type does not change during a person's lifetime. It will develop, and behavior will be influenced by the environment, but the four letters should stay the same. What about those who get different results on the test? Can there be a difference depending on the frame of mind a person is in when answering the questions? The short answer to that is yes.

A recent study asked 209 participants to take the Myers-Briggs Step II two times: once in "home" mode and another in "work" mode. The results confirm what many had suspected about how work influences people.

Surprisingly, there was no noticeable difference between Introversion and Extraversion in the study. There was a shift from Intuition to Sensing when going from home to work mode, although it was not that strong. There was a marked shift from Feeling to Thinking and from Perceiving to Judging when comparing home to work. There was a greater shift towards Sensing for men, and a greater shift towards Thinking for women. The work world seems to move people towards STJ and away from NFP. For those of you who are in the latter group, you likely understand why you sometimes feel like a chameleon at work, having to adjust yourself to fit the work place, as opposed to finding a workplace that fits you. You can read more about this topic in the Strong article below.

The authors of this study concluded the greater the difference between the home and work modes, the more dissatisfied people are with their jobs. This makes sense. It was interesting to note that stressful work environments increased the differences between the two results. It would appear that being under pressure tends to move people closer to the STJ pole of the scales.

Furthermore, remember that if your job requires certain behaviors of you, you might be so tired at the end of the day that you choose the opposite to recharge. For example, even Extraverts can get tired of being around people all day. They might behave as Introverts at home, just to recharge. Some might erroneously conclude they are actually Introverts who are acting as Extraverts at work. This does not mean they have two personalities; it's just that we use both sides of each scale all the time.

 

About the Strong Interest Inventory: What is Congruence?

The Strong is based on the vocational theories of John Holland. Holland suggested six personality types and six work environments: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. These personality types result from an interaction among culture, heredity, social status, education, peers, parents, and the physical environment. From experience, people learn that they like some activities more than others. Oftentimes, competency results from engaging in the same activities repeatedly. As these competencies grow, the person tends to think, act, and perceive in special ways. So those who are Artistic types tend to seek out occupations that encompass the Artistic aspects of a job, or jobs that are by nature Artistic. In turn, they are likely to seek out environments that support their interests and abilities. These work environments are likely to be populated with others who share similar interests. This cycle perpetuates itself: the environment attracts certain types, who shape the environment to their liking, which in turns tends to attract those who enjoy the same things. The people in the environment tend to shape that work environment. Artistic work environments are dominated by Artistic types. Conversely, people tend to avoid those situations and environments that conflict with or are different from their preferences. For example, Artistic types are less likely to enjoy working in a Conventional job, such as Bookkeeper.

The Strong Interest Inventory works by measuring the interests of people who enjoy their work, have been in the field at least three years, and who do typical work for the field. When you take the Strong, your responses are compared to the representative sample of these occupations. You can have similarities with few or many occupations. An important aspect of finding a good career fit is that when you have a person-environment match, you're probably going to use your skills and abilities, take on agreeable problems and roles, and be able to express your attitudes and values. People search out those environments that match their interests. The environment attracts people through recruiting efforts and friendships with those already working there. This is a long-term process, taking place over many years.

Congruence simply means you're in an environment that matches your interests. If you're an Artistic type, you're in an Artistic environment. This is important because Artistic environments provide opportunities and rewards that Artistic types need and want. Obviously, an Artistic person in a Conventional environment will be less likely to find the work rewarding, enjoy the tasks or the people involved, or like being there. The greater the person-environment match, the more likely the person will be satisfied doing that kind of work.

 

The FIRO-B: Team Chemistry, Part II

As we discussed last time, team chemistry can make or break a group's efforts at working together. It's easy to understand that the greatest difficulties are likely to result from the greatest mismatches. The greater the difference between your highest and lowest Wanted Needs and the group's Needs, the more likely you'll run into difficulty.

For example, if your lowest Wanted Need is Inclusion and the group spends too much time in those activities, you're likely to be tempted to skip meetings, not listen to conversations, sit farther away from others, do other work during a meeting or keep your head down while others are talking. If your lowest Wanted Need is Affection and this is the group's highest need, you're likely to avoid chit-chat with others, skip after-work social events, avoid participation by taking detailed notes, or take unpopular positions to focus discussions.

Similarly, if your highest Wanted Need is Inclusion and the group spends too little time in this mode, you'll probably share a great deal of information with others, arrive early and sit in a central location, encourage everyone on the team to express an opinion, or ask if you can have more time to express your thoughts. If you highest Wanted Need is Affection and the team is lacking in that regard, you're likely to offer to help people individually, encourage the team to provide frank and honest feedback, make personal sacrifices, or schedule time for a luncheon or after-work social hour.

You're most likely to tolerate a mismatch in your lowest Total Need area. If you lowest Wanted Need is in the same field, you might consider acting on your wants, but might not follow through. You might also refrain from certain behaviors if past experience has taught you that there are negative consequences for your actions. You might have learned to express your dissatisfaction in more acceptable ways.

 

Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode (TKI): What's Wrong with Accommodating?

Once again we'll look at the costs involved in one style. This time it's the accommodating style. What are some of the potential downsides?

One important downside can be sacrificing something that is very important to you. If you give in to the wants and needs of others, you're likely to feel bad about the result. While you might feel some short-term relief at reaching a solution, your needs are unlikely to disappear. Since they haven't been satisfied, you'll discover how important the issue was to you, sooner or later.

You might also lose the respect of others in your group. If you show low assertiveness, your negotiation partners will notice this and take advantage of your position in the future. In other words, you're starting a pattern that could be difficult to dislodge later on. You could be exploited by others who learn that by pushing you hard enough, you'll eventually give in and give them what they want.

By using the accommodating style you also run the risk of losing your motivation. Your satisfaction with your outcomes will surely go down the more you use the accommodating style. You could agree to things you really don't want to do. After all, if your needs are not be met, at least some of the time, you'll soon learn that it doesn't pay to negotiate at all - your position will not be respected anyway.

Be careful of becoming a "doormat," which means letting others do whatever they want with you. This is common among those who avoid conflict as well as accommodating types. Remember, conflict does not mean others dislike or hate you. Conflict is common to all sorts of human interactions. You can have conflict and still be friends with others. Accommodating types can feel that conflict will cause lasting damage to a relationship. That might be the case. More frequently, it will either lose its importance over time or even build stronger relationships. Each style is good for some circumstances and not others. The true skill is to learn when to use each one.