Understanding Individual Differences

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Understanding Individual Differences

• Myers-Briggs Debrief

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Understanding Individual Differences

• Exercise Summary
• 1. How groups were formed for this exercise
• Using 2 dimensions of cognitive style
• Surveys you took were mini-version of real test
• Groups were not really cognitively homogenous
• 2. Questions
• How did it feel to be part of a homogenous group?
• Could you sense that there was cognitive
  similarity?

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Understanding Individual Differences

• Exercise Summary
• 3. Outcomes
• Cognitive diversity can lead to process loss and
  inefficiency or can lead to efficiency and
  teamwork.
• 4. Goal of this exercise
• To minimize process loss by grouping people with
  common personality types.

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Understanding Individual Differences

• Exercise Summary
• 5. How to use this at work
• If two dimensions have predictive value, we can
  make predictions about how others will behave.
• If we understand where individuals fit on these
  two dimensions, it may lead to clearer
  communications and better outcomes.
• We can create norms of interaction that respect
  differences

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Understanding Individual Differences

• The Two Dimensions Used in the Exercise
• ST Problem focus set up leadership and formal
  structure work fast define solutions not
  processes concentrate on routines and
  procedures Task oriented, look for cost/benefit.
• SF People focus, hierarchical but open to
  unstructured situations, concerned about human
  qualities of people doing work as individuals,
  interest in maintaining good interpersonal and
  social relations a primary focus, focus on facts
  how to handle problems with empathy.

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Understanding Individual Differences

• The Two Dimensions Used in the Exercise
• NT Theoretical orientation, comfortable with
  complex situations, concentrate of defining
  problems, goals, analytical in the abstract
  often create complicated procedures, using a
  messy process with little consensus.
• NF Creative process, guided by insights and
  imagination emphasizing decentralized, humanistic
  organizations Moral concerns with a people
  orientation, less concerned with structure.
  Comfortable with ambiguity.

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Understanding Individual Differences

• How we gather information
• Sensing (S) getting the facts, good at details,
  comfortable with standard solutions to problem
  solving, working with tested ideas
• Intuition (N) developing data through insight
  and imagination, get bored with routine, see the
  possibilities, less concerned with facts, seek
  innovation, see the big picture

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Understanding Individual Differences

• How we make decisions
• Thinking (T) analytical, look for cost/benefit/
  focus on analysis/prefer clarity, task oriented
• Feeling (F) personal convictions or beliefs,
  can become committed to personal views,
  nostalgic, traditional, principles oriented

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Understanding Individual Differences

• How we choose priorities
• Perceiving (P) oriented towards generating
  data, can procrastinate, open minded and curious,
  comfortable with ambiguity
• Judging (J) oriented towards decision making,
  clarity, order, dislike ambiguity, decisions are
  important not information gathering

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Understanding Individual Differences

• How we establish relationships
• Extravert (E) requires variety and stimulation,
  become bored easily, sociable, look for new
  situations, often viewed as influential, not
  easily organized, like meetings
• Introvert (I) Think things through before
  communicating, harder to get to know,
  communication is more of a strain, few tasks at
  one time, few interruptions, others around the
  introvert often feel left in the dark

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Understanding Individual Differences

• Interpretation of Individual Scores
• Consider how cognitive differences affect
  organizational situations
• Four or more points viewed as a significant
  preference, less than four points means no clear
  preference on that dimension
• Does your score feel right?
• You can probably think of a situation where your
  behavior was inconsistent with your Myers-Briggs
  score
• No right or wrong answers, your results represent
  a lifetime of experience
• According to the theory, we all have the ability
  and potential to develop both sides the
  personality dimension

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Understanding Individual Differences

• Closing Thoughts
• There are differences based on country, culture,
  and experience
• Age and education influence personality
• Risk of organizational homogeneity
• Seek balance in your own personality, balance is
  the key to effectiveness and this ability resides
  within all of us
• To derive the best solution seek cognitive
  diversity, groups grasped only a part of the
  problem, best solution was a combination of ideas
• Psychological testing can deepen self-knowledge,
  and improve teamwork but can be misused in
  promotion and hiring decisions