Psychological Type has applications throughout many aspects of business. We can use it to help you increase sales, strengthen teams or develop management. Here is a basic MBTI module that we can incorporate (with modifications) into many of our programs.
PRE-WORK
Before the workshop, the individuals take the MBTI - either online or on paper, depending on the situation.
AT THE WORKSHOP
We start the workshop with an activity to get the team comfortable and open to learning. Then we briefly cover the purpose of the workshop, the instrument's history and address any questions or concerns.
BRINGING TYPE TO LIFE
Next we do activities to bring to life the 4 dichotomies of the MBTI: Extraversion/Introversion (E-I), Sensing/iNtuition (S-N), Thinking/Feeling (T-F) and Judging/Perceiving (J-P). The idea is for participants to get a feel for all the types before they find out what the instrument says, in this way they won't "tune out" information that they might think doesn't apply to them.
SELF-REPORTED TYPE
After the activities, each person will come up with a self-reported type, against which to compare their MBTI results. That's when we hand out the results and go over them.
MBTI RESULTS & BEST-FIT TYPE
Sometimes a person's self-reported type will be different, and we encourage people to decide on their own best-fit type themselves. Typically a difference is the result of behaving differently at work than in their personal lives. In any case, we will try to arrive at a true type for each individual before proceeding.
TEAM TYPE TABLE DISCUSSION
Next we'll plot everyone's results on one Type Table to see the distributions of type on the team. This will help us to identify the team's cumulative type, which can greatly influence the work culture.
For example, in a team of 10, if 8 have a preference for Introversion, this can make meetings and dialogue somewhat reserved. Special care needs to be taken to ensure that ideas are worked out in the open.
Or if most of the team has a preference for Perceiving over Judging, we might find that decisions take a long time and are not committed to. In this case, we might need to come up with processes to ensure decisions are made well and in a timely fashion.
In general, Team Type will also help us to uncover natural strengths upon which to build, as well as weaknesses for which we need to compensate.
ROLE PLAY, IMPROV & ACTIVITIES
Depending on the nature of the team, we will create appropriate activities to put type to work and get people comfortable with using it. For example, with sales teams we might create different sales scenarios that pair opposite types to help the salespeople learn to tailor their presentations.
ACTION PLAN
At this stage, we will create action plans for the team, specific issues to address, processes to develop and results we want to achieve.
FINAL DEBRIEF
Discussion & clarification on any of the concepts or practical applications, as well as suggestions of individual reading that people might want to do.
FOLLOW UP
We can reconvene at a future date to check progress and ensure that the lessons learned are being applied. If appropriate, MIVISTA can create a specific follow-up process and stay involved longer term.
LOGISTICS
Number of Participants: The above session works for groups as small as 2 or as large as 30 at one time. We can do larger groups on the same day with more facilitators or we can do multiple sessions over a period of time with different teams.
Time Needed: We can do the session (with modifications) in a half-day, although we recommend a full day (or even two days with larger groups) to make sure it really sinks in.
Location: Ideally we would do this program off-site so that participants can disconnect with work. We can handle meeting logistics, if necessary, or we can recommend venues for you to explore. We suggest having fun snacks and drinks to make the atmosphere relaxed and comfortable, rather than stiff and corporate.
Price: The cost depends on the type of program and amount of pre- and post-event follow-up, as well as the number of facilitators and participants. Let us know what you'd like to accomplish and whether you already have a budget in mind, we'll do our best to work within your means. We can turn around a proposal fairly quickly, so Contact Us to let us know what you need.
RELEVANT PROGRAMS & LINKS
▪ Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Main Page
▪ MBTI® Theory & Concepts (in-depth overview)
▪ Putting Personality Type to Work at Work
▪ Applications & Uses of the MBTI®
▪ MBTI® For Managers & Leaders