Making MBTI® feedback more memorable and meaningful

Vanessa Rhone, Lead Consultant

Why the changes?

People want to take the process more easily beyond best fitThere is a desire to start applying the awareness to real situations as quickly as possiblePractitioners would like to have readily available materials that bring the MBTI process to life for both individuals and groups

Conclusion: we need a new, refreshing way of delivering the MBTI process to encourage development of all preference pairs and whole type

Current improvements

More emphasis on applying all preferences effectively and appropriately, rather than over-emphasis on best-fit typeMore emphasis on bringing the MBTI process to life and linking with organisational applications Go further: develop simple action plans for personal developmentNew exercise tool kit for group feedback, that can be used in addition to current exercisesA range of application reports available for best-fit types

New-styleMBTI Step IFeedback

New feedback materials

For the practitioner: PowerPoint slides Group Feedback Kits Feedback prompt cards

For participants: Development Workbook Introduction to Type booklet Flip a Type Tip!

MBTI Development Workbook

Replaces the Report BookletProvides a much fuller, interactive experience for respondentsPromotes self-exploration, encouraging the user to record what they learn and helping to identify development actions and goalsSupports respondents in putting their new understanding of type into practice back in the workplace

Purpose is more important

Giving a greater focus at the beginning on WHY an individual is completing the MBTI questionnaire prevents the “SO WHAT?” moment at the endEncouraging individuals to ‘own’ personal reasons for completing the MBTI process leads them to look for relevant applications themselves, throughout the feedbackRecording these allows you to refer back to the applications at the end of the feedback, and suggest further work with you

How a workbook can achieve this

On page 3 of the MBTI workbook there is a list of nine areas where the MBTI instrument can really add value to performanceClients are encouraged to tick those areas that especially apply to them in their roleOn the next page they are encouraged to further personalise their thinking around these issues

General application areas

Improving working relationshipsDeveloping your leadership styleImproving communicationImproving problem-solving strategiesResolving conflictManaging changeUnderstanding stress reactionsValuing diversity in working styleConsidering team and organisational culture

New feedback cards

Characteristics

Tend to act before thinkingPrefer to get into action

Talk things throughMore expressive when interacting

Gain energy from interactionHave a breadth of interests

Tend to think before actingPrefer to spend time on reflectionThink things throughMore contained when interactingGain energy from concentrationHave a depth of interests

Remember, E–I is not about sociability or social confidence

Question and prompt cards

Supports you by providing scenarios to explore with the respondentFeatures helpful prompts

Exploring personal examples

In one-to-one feedbacks, the practitioner can use the cards to encourage discussion of typical examples of the MBTI preference pairsIn group feedback, this is the biggest moment of challenge – there is one of you and many of them – how do you encourage a discussion of personal examples and debrief these with MBTI expertise?We need some way to give your clients the MBTI expertise to ask and debrief open questions amongst themselves, without being dependent on youTry using a structured exercise eg scratchcards

Scratchcards

Get into pairs and pretend you are exploring the MBTI concepts for the first timeEach person picks two scratchcards (one about work and one about home)Their partner discusses and probes each questionThen they both scratch off the silver spot on the side that best fits their answer

Recording personal examples

In the workbook, on page 15, there is space to make a note of the exploration of Extraversion and Introversion from the scratchcardsFor one-to-one feedback, this will be a record of the examples from the feedback cards

Making it memorable

Dealing with reported type

A more adult approach to giving out reported type is not to keep it secret until the end!Giving the individual their reported type data as they are considering each preference pair allows a ‘best fit’ of each preference as we go alongPage 16 of the workbook has E–I reported type written in (by you, beforehand!)This has been copied from the MBTI reportThe clarity of preference scale has been replaced by boxes, to avoid the idea of trait

Applying learning

After each preference pair, encourage clients to apply their learning to their roles at workThis will be especially important for leaders, as we have already stressed that leaders need to develop BOTH sides of each preference pair to be effective

Flip a Type Tip!

Watch our Flip A Type Tip demo on YouTube at http://bit.ly/15KPIql

Pulling together your whole type

There is still great significance to understanding your four-letter best-fit type, so this is the place to do itYour client will already have benefitted from applying what they have learned, so if they can’t decide their best fit, it isn’t quite so badYou will already have demonstrated the value of the MBTI framework (and the value that you have added of course!)

Action planning

Getting your client to write down action plans commits them to actionYou could keep a record and remind them at agreed milestonesThese actions could give you a starting point to suggest further work with your clients

MBTI Step I application reports

Communication Style ReportDecision-making Style ReportTeam ReportConflict Style ReportStress Management ReportCareer Report

Leave them with possible next steps

The back of the workbook shows possible next steps.

Thank you!