How can you use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) in executive coaching?

With almost 30 years in Leadership & Organization Development, I've done it all... MBTI, DISC, Strengths, Colors, Hogan, Learning Styles, Enneagram... But I don't do any of them anymore. Sure, they get people moving to different room corners, describing how different they are and laughing at others. So for some team building, they're fun. And because people completed it themselves, they say, "yes, that's me." But for true development, we must go beyond putting people into buckets and fragments. I've stopped the piecemeal approach and now take a wholistic, living systems perspective. What's a whole system? If you take it apart, can you put it back together? We can't put a frog back together if you dissect a frog into parts.

IMO the MBTI is not about a current snapshot of quantified behaviour (ala traits), it is about intrinsic (dispositional) tendency for our mind to process in certain ways (i.e. personality strength) - separate to environmental influences or our volitional efforts to do differently. Plus, the qualitative differences in how we relate to and value (bias) these ways of processing. It should be examined in the context of our lifetime development: underlying type is the ground point, typically more obvious in youth and early adulthood, often somewhat transcended as we live life, yet often with profound repercussions throughout. The questionnaire is just a clue in a deep and subtle introspective exploration which should be supported properly.

MBTI, often critiqued for oversimplification, holds innovative value. It's a dynamic tool for consultants and coaches, fostering self-awareness, enhancing communication, fueling growth, optimizing team dynamics, and catalyzing creativity. It unlocks hidden potential in individuals and organizations.

Personality tests can be helpful to identify patterns & habits but they come with a big risk of getting identified with a label. As a coach my work involves helping people dis-identify from labels so they can create newer futures, adopt relevant responses & build flex in their thinking. Labels feel limiting for humans - we a combination of a trillions of cells, multitude of emotions & capable of responding in numerous ways. Assessments tend to box us up. Whilst we tend to spend our time thinking ‘out of the box’.

Self awareness is the most important step in Coaching. Knowing about own personality type helps one to discover who they are and also the rational of their reaction/response to different people and situations. MBTI is one such tool that can uncover many aspects and helps the coachee understand themselves and other personality types and thus helps various aspects like relationship management, style of decision making, challenge perceptions, leveraging strengths, understanding limitations..It can be an effective tool for Coaching conversations to uncover/challenge individual barriers, biases and/or limiting beliefs. However, any Psychometric tool should be used with some caution. It needs exploration based on the objectives of the coachee.

I wouldn’t personally choose to use the MBTI in executive coaching at all. Step 1, at least. Why? 1) MBTI lacks empirical support. Unlike other psychological assessments, it's not particularly reliable and its validity is often called into question. 2) MBTI tends to categorise people into one of two opposite types (e.g., Introvert or Extrovert). This doesn't consider the nuance or fluidity of human behaviour, which is far from being binary. 3) Confirmation Bias: People may read their MBTI results and look for information that confirms their type, neglecting conflicting evidence. This can hinder objective self-assessment, a critical component of executive coaching.

MBTI is another tool (perhaps a tad sexier than its many cousins) in the repertoire of an executive coach. Like with any other tool, it would pay to be careful in using it only if contextual or relevant. I say this, as I see many a coaches recommending it because they are certified on its use (at a reasonably high personal financial cost...). It may be useful for those clients who may have a struggle in relating to their peers/ team members/ subordinates or in dealing with human diversity in general and who demonstrate the tendency to quickly attribute differences to clash of personal values (which play at a far deepest layer of human personality), while the reason could actually be much closer the surface (individual preferences).

Like any assessment, find what is most useful and pertinent to your client. Not every graph, chart, data point and color wheel will or needs to apply. Work backwards from what you are focused on in terms of your client and their goals and pull what's relevant to their session, journey and overall development.

The MBTI should be used as a tool, not a definitive measure of a person's capabilities or limitations. It is important to approach it with an open mind and encourage executives to see it as one piece of the larger puzzle of their personal and professional development. It’s really can be a valuable tool for enhancing self-awareness and improving leadership skills.

1. Coach and client need to know that MBTI only indicates a preference- it is not an edict. 2. The questionnaire brings up a person's dominant style of functioning. It’s the style that comes easiest and we are best at- our comfort zone. 3. Once the dominant style is known, we also know the style we have least access to. Here’s where we feel at a loss, feel stuck, have friction with others etc.- our growing edge. 4. Use MBTI to enable clients develop flexibility to access all 16 functions, depending upon what the situation demands. That's is where the real growth and success lies.

Drawing from my years in executive coaching, I've observed the transformative power of MBTI as a tool. I worked with a C-suite executive who, through MBTI, identified his inclination for analytical thought over intuitive decision-making. Recognizing this helped him consciously collaborate with colleagues who exhibited the opposite strength, ensuring a holistic approach to problem-solving. MBTI isn't just about understanding oneself—it's a lens through which leaders can appreciate team dynamics and foster an environment where diverse personality types not only coexist but thrive.

Simple: Adding another lens/perspective that is quantitative versus qualitative. It can reflect back blind spots as well as connect the dots on behavioral issues or gaps the coachee might not otherwise see or experience.

It offers a multitude of benefits. Firstly, it enhances self-awareness, allowing executives to gain profound insights into their personality type, which in turn, helps them understand their strengths, weaknesses, and natural inclinations. This self-awareness paves the way for improved leadership, communication, and decision-making. Furthermore, the MBTI fosters better interpersonal relationships, as it equips executives with the knowledge to appreciate and adapt to the diverse personality types within their teams. This enhances team dynamics and productivity. The MBTI acts as a powerful framework for conflict resolution, as it allows coaches and executives to identify the root causes of conflicts stemming from personality differences.

I’m curious if we ran an experiment and randomly and blindly gave those who spent hard earned cash on a MBTI facilitator any ‘read out’ they would say ‘oh that is like me isn’t it’. And then focusing on any given perceived weaknesses, even if they weren’t actually a weakness - could be of benefit. And if they were told they have an analytical nature, if they believed it they may be more confident and get better at analysing.

As Adam Grant mentioned in his research, over 50% of people get significantly different results when they take the assessment a month later. That implies something is wrong with the concept or the people. Either way that can limit the value coaches can deliver. Although different paths can lead to the same destination, it can be useful for specific purposes. The main challenge is that trying to understand somebody's mindset based on psychometric assessments without understanding the power of the environment (cultural intelligence) seriously limits the number and quality of insights a client can gain.

Any tool that improves self awareness is a helpful tool. However the inconsistency of MBTI and it’s focus on personality are two notable limitations. At fassforward we have been using our Thinking Pattern survey with clients for many years. It focuses on how you think rather than your personality traits. Once you are able to understand how you think you are then able to better understand how other people think. We believe this is an essential capability for successful leadership.

The nature of a type tool like MBTI is that it makes a fundamental assumption that a person is one thing or another with a clear midline boundary ie 50% are introverts 50% are extraverts. But personality traits sit along a continuum, much like height in the population. The majority of people are similar in height (ie average) and a small number of people are either taller or shorter than most people and a very few people are really tall or really short. Those in the middle (ie average and the majority) can easily move their type, much less likely for those at the extremes. This makes for the biggest difference between type and trait tools and is crucial to know when interpreting any results.

I almost always use an assessment when entering into a coaching relationship. The assessment provides a great place from which to gain insights about the coachee and how they are wired. I generally use the assessment to kick off the relationship and start the coaching dialog. I find the coachee often begins to refer back to it as we progress through the relationship.

With any assessment, they are only as good as the practitioner using it and only as relevant as it relates to the person's specific goals and areas of focus. Use it as an aid, not the driver.

There's no right way to apply it but there are suggested principles on how to ensure you debrief the report accurately. Application is subjective and determined by the coach, their style and philosophy. The question becomes an issue regarding maintaining the integrity of the data.

Follow these steps: 1. Assess: Administer the MBTI assessment to coachees to determine their personality type. 2. Interpret: Help coachees understand their MBTI results and what they mean for their leadership style. 3. Tailor Coaching: Adapt coaching strategies to align with each coachee's personality preferences. 4. Strengthen Communication: Guide coachees to enhance their communication and collaboration based on MBTI insights. 5. Leverage Strengths: Encourage coachees to leverage their innate strengths for improved leadership. 6. Address Development Areas: Identify and address areas where coachees may need to adapt or develop.

MBTI, Strength Finder, Enneagram and many other tools help provide self-awareness which is pivotal in coaching. However, at fassforward we developed surveys based on how you Think, Present and Communicate rather than on your personality. We believe these insights are more impactful self- awareness tools that provide practical “How-tos” to improve your leadership.

A personality assessment tool (type, trait or indicator) is only useful as a starting point to help a coachee raise their awareness of how they behave. How their personality manifests in their thoughts and actions in any situation will depend on other factors (e.g Psychological safety, their purpose and the role they are assuming in the communication) as well as their underlying personality. The value of any tool comes from the experience and knowledge of the person using the tool….ie it’s the responsibility of the coach to pay attention to the limitations and strengths of any tool they use and be open about why they’ve chosen to use that particular one.

Look for tools which allow for nuance, fluidity and scope for development. With a big pinch of evidence-base rooted in reliable, valid constructs. The Team Management Profile, Lumina Spark and Strengthsfinder are all worth looking at if you're wanting to tick all boxes.

a trait based tool is apt for executive coaching as it helps you deep dive into facets of personality going to the core granularities of the BiG 5. this helps coaches determine low hanging fruits- easy behavioral fixes vs fixes which will take years to fruition. a type based tool like JTI or MBTI is based on very different outlook to personality, it says that one can be whatever one wants to be, provided they know the price to pay for adaptation of behaviour. so one can actually move through various TYPES INTJ to ENTJ but the movement comes at the price. this helps participants who are overawed by ones personality to how ones adaptation of behaviour can get you job success and helps then focus on the job rather than the persobality

Personality assessments are great for knowing about self when coachees are open to seeing them only as reference points and not as conclusions. It is the state of mind, environment, values, belief system, and VAK preference that plays a deeper role in how one processes information and responds to certain situations. After using several assessments, I understand, that the results change/depend on internal and external factors. As a Coach, I am cautious at what point to use these assessments to add value to my clients rather than restrict them to seeing beyond different dimensions. It is also how the coach uses the debriefing to ask relevant questions to help the client reflect on which of the findings feels aligned with their core self.