Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®
Understand and gain insight into your own and others’ personalities with MBTI®
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, also known as MBTI, is a powerful tool that highlights how you see and interact with the world, providing valuable insight into both your own and others’ motivations. At its core, MBTI is founded on the belief that each of us is unique and therefore possesses different potential. The purpose of the 16 MBTI types is to recognise our individual differences and make positive use of this diversity.
We all have different preferences
“You’re not my type” can sound blunt when spoken aloud, but from a psychological perspective that’s actually how it is. As individuals, we all have different patterns of reaction and preferences when it comes to collaboration – whether in our private or professional lives.
To function effectively as employees, teams, and leaders, it is essential to understand one another both as unique individuals and as professionals – especially when it comes to teamwork and communication with colleagues, inside and outside the team.
Workshops and personal feedback with MBTI
If you are interested in an MBTI event for your team, department, or entire organisation, you can read more about how we use MBTI for team development and get an overview of our different MBTI workshops.
It is also possible to receive your individual MBTI type code with personal feedback, where one of our certified business psychologists will review your personality profile and explain how you can apply these insights in your everyday life and at work.
What is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is the world’s most widely used personality tool and has been applied globally for over 70 years.
MBTI was first published in 1943, when Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers released the initial version of the questionnaire, which has since been supported by extensive research.
Their aim was to make the renowned Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung’s theory of personality types accessible and useful outside the narrow confines of academia. To achieve this, they developed a system and framework for identifying personality types based on Jung’s typology from 1921.
Extraversion (E) – Introversion (I)
Where do you naturally direct your attention and gain energy?
Sensing (S) – iNtuition (N)
What types of information do you prefer?
Thinking (T) – Feeling (F)
Which approach do you rely on when making decisions?
Judging (J) – Perceiving (P)
How do you typically approach your work and private life?
What is an MBTI profile?
An MBTI profile offers in-depth understanding of your personality and allows you to work with your personal preferences and strengths on different levels.
The MBTI tool does not measure competences, but preferences – what gives you energy and motivates you.
Your MBTI profile is always determined through a personal conversation with a certified MBTI consultant. The feedback can centre around a variety of topics, including:
- Conflict
- Resistance
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Decision-making
- Influence
- Emotional intelligence
- Career development
- Change
- Leadership
What MBTI types are there?
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator categorises people into 16 different personality types based on your personal preferences within the four dimensions. Your final personality type is determined through a personal interview with a certified MBTI practitioner, combining self-assessment with your reported type.
What can you use MBTI for?
When you start working with MBTI, you begin a process of development where you gain insight into your personal preferences and a broader understanding of your own actions and those of others. You will naturally draw on this knowledge in all your relationships – both professional and private. MBTI is therefore a valuable and obvious tool for conflict management, coaching, communication, and teamwork.
Leadership
MBTI not only gives you insight into your own personal style and development as a leader. The tool is also ideal for developing the teamwork within the management team, where you gain insight into your colleagues’ different preferences and how they influence the way you and your management team lead – both together and individually.
Among employees
Personality type and preferences have a significant impact on how you interact with your colleagues on a daily basis. MBTI provides invaluable insight into communication, decision-making, work style, and other areas, and this knowledge can optimise collaboration, efficiency, and the overall wellbeing within your team.
Decision-making
Your way of making decisions may be very different from that of your colleagues, and this can be a source of frustration when working on projects. MBTI gives you an understanding of what is important to you and your colleagues in decision-making processes, so you can avoid frustration.
Meeting culture
How, when, for how long, and how often do you prefer to hold meetings? MBTI can be used to adjust the way you and your colleagues hold meetings to take into account your different approaches to holding meetings.
Communication
Your personality type can explain and shed light on your needs in terms of the form, quantity, and content of what you discuss with your colleagues, managers, and business partners.
Conflict
Knowledge about your own personality type and that of your colleagues can help you experience fewer conflicts and cooperation problems in your team. You will gain an understanding of how you and those around you understand and handle conflicts, and what lies behind this.
Stress
What stresses you and how you react to stress is very individual. An insight into your personality type can help you regain the balance that normally gives you energy and can help prevent stress.
In which languages is the MBTI available?
MBTI has been translated into more than 20 different languages, and this number is constantly increasing as the tool continues to develop. The broad language availability means you can complete the questionnaire in one language and receive your report in another, which is a particular advantage in international settings.
The translation is not simply a matter of language. Each times the questionnaire is translated into a new language, extensive cultural studies and adaptation are also carried out. Extraversion is expressed differently depending on whether you grew up in Italy or Finland, for example, which is why MBTI has been specially adapted based on representative local norm groups and cultural studies.
Can I take a MBTI test for free?
There are many free personality tests available online – and some of them even generate a four-letter type code that, on the surface, looks like MBTI – though they are not the same. The original, recognised MBTI tool comes with a quality guarantee that ensures the results are as accurate as possible. Our certified business psychologists are experts in applying the tool ethically and in ways that respect each individual’s role in determining their own type. Using a free test carries the risk of being assigned an incorrect type, as these tools are not based on the same level of data or research as the official MBTI.
Which other profiling tools should I know about?
We always recommend choosing the personality assessment tool best suited to your specific task. Different tools are developed for different purposes and can therefore address various needs. A general rule of thumb is that in recruitment, trait-based assessments such as 16PF or NEO-PI-3 are preferable, while type-based tools like MBTI are ideal for individual, team, and leadership development, as well as onboarding and coaching.
Human House is a member of VPP – Videncenter for Professionel Personvurdering, as we take professional assessment seriously and support the core Danish industry charter for this field.
Would you like to become certified in a personality assessment tool?
As the official Danish certification partner with The Myers-Briggs Company, Human House offers certification in MBTI and FIRO. Read more about how you can become certified via the button below.
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