One of the biggest misconceptions I hear about the Myers-Briggs® (MBTI®) assessment, from those who are not very familiar, is that the tool is a way to point out one’s weaknesses. I’ve had several discussions with friends and acquaintances about this when they ask me where I work. A few have even been scared to take the assessment as they believe that their results will show something negative about their personality type. I’ve even had a friend tell me, “I don’t want it to tell me I’m crazy”. Even though that particular conversation was quite amusing, I had to clear that up with my friend. In no way does the MBTI tool work to make anyone feel as if their type preference is not worthy. This got me thinking that many students may have heard about the MBTI tool (or maybe just about inadequate personality assessments off of the internet) but they may be thinking similar thoughts when asked to take it for career development purposes. So when our Director of Research, Rich Thompson, wrote the article “How to Properly Use a Personality Assessment” (published in Talent Management Magazine, August 2009), I knew I needed to share this with you. Rich lists the top seven misconceptions about the MBTI assessment. Even though this document was published in a corporate magazine, it applies to all organizations and audiences. As Rich states, “proper use of the instrument results in expanding vision and opportunity, while misuse can result in pigeonholing and exclusion.” This article is a wonderful resource that you can share with your colleagues, students and friends. I know I’m going to keep this handy for the next time my friends ask me where I work!
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