So we are nearing the final of GBBO and it made me think about one of the fun sides of working with clients using the Myers-Briggs personality instrument.
I love being a wedding cake type personality. It reflects my nature of being future focused, strong on planning and organisation and always in search of excellence. By contrast I have a friend who is likened to a diverse mix of muffins. Their personality style, like the muffins, is imaginative and fun and an improviser able to generate lots of new ideas. Intrigued by what type of cake you might be? You can find out your MBTI cake type by going to https://eu.themyersbriggs.com/en/Using-Type/Bake-Type-table.
These 'typies' can be a fun way of engaging with core personality preferences; yet MBTI can be a tool for deeper reflection. More often than not when I start coaching private clients we begin with completing the Myers Briggs online type indicator. This can generate a variety of different reports which I find a useful starting point for raising the client's self-awareness and getting them to use a language to reflect on the way they interact with others, take in information and make decisions. For example, I have worked with leaders who have reflected subsequently on the value they place on different types of information and how that might differ with colleagues. Consider this statement from a colleague "you have to have the facts in order to see the big picture." What if your preference was to flip that statement on its head and need the big picture first in order to make sense of the facts? Neither is right or wrong but it means that the way we work with others may not pay sufficient attention to their needs because we assume everyone sees the world through a similar lens to our own. Nor is it that we are simply one thing or the other; we can switch between them but, we all have our default ways of working, ways that feel more natural compared to ways of working when we might need to be more deliberate. In the past when I have worked face-to-face with groups of leaders it has been revealing to watch how people respond to MBTI activities designed to highlight such differences in outlook and ways of working. It can go deep into highlighting where conflict at work may arise and how to overcome barriers to good group dynamics.
If you want to find out visit https://www.alisonrobbwebb.com/mbti or contact alison@alisonrobbwebb.com.
And if cake is not your thing, then there are lots of other typies available to communicate your preferences. Me, I'm happy sticking with the cake!
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