Empowering career search and enrichment

Friday, August 24, 2012

People who prefer Sensing are good with details

Written by Catherine Rains

Although this is often true in terms of the behaviors exhibited by an individual with a Sensing preference, it is not true of ALL people who prefer Sensing. What is wrong with this statement is the generalization at that ALL people with this preference will exhibit this behavior or will have this skill to the same degree as others with this preference. A way to clean up this phrase would be to say “people who prefer sensing are often (usually, typically, generally, etc.) good with details. Again, we don’t want to use language that boxes our client into have EVERY characteristic listed for Sensing in the Introduction to Type® booklet. Most likely someone who prefers Sensing will exhibit many or even most of the characteristics, but not always or to the same degree. There are as many ways to express Sensing (and all of the preferences) as there as people. I like the way Isabel Myers used to describe this - someone who prefers INFP (what she preferred) can be like all INFP’s, some INFP’s or no INFP’s. In other words, although there are only 16 types, there are a million ways to express those 16 types, making each person unique within their own type.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Control + Alt + Delete

Regaining Balance with Insights from MBTI® Type Concepts

Written by Patrick L. Kerwin, MBTI® Master Practitioner

When your computer is acting all out of whack and nothing you do fixes it, there is one surefire solution: Control + Alt + Delete. Knowing how and when to use this combination of keys can help us take a frustrating situation and return it to normal. The same is true of our personality. When we’re stressed out, it helps to know what to do and when to get back to normal.

ISTJ and ISFJ:

Take lots of quiet time to reflect. Prioritize what needs to be done, and accomplish a task that is easy for you to complete.

INTJ and INFJ:

Do something by yourself that engages your senses, like working outside, reading a book, watching a movie, or doing a craft.

ISTP and INTP:

Take time away from the people or situation causing the stress. Get some alone time.

ISFP and INFP:

Get out in nature, or do another activity that relaxes you. Spend some alone time reflecting or meditating.

ESTP and ESFP:

Do an activity you like that distracts you from the stressor. Figure out what needs to be done to address the stressor, and get started on doing it.

ENFP and ENTP:

Get some space to reflect and refocus. Talk to a close friend.

ESTJ and ENTJ:

Talk it out with a trusted friend. Engage in physical activity. Take some time alone to think of a new approach to the stressor.

ESFJ and ENFJ:

Talk to someone who will be supportive. Take some time alone to reflect on the stressor, and to find some other ways to address it.

And this one applies to all personality types: Don’t be too hard on yourself. Everyone has out-of-character stress reactions, and you’ll eventually get yourself back to normal. It might take some time, but you’ll get there!

Join us Thursday, November 15th, 2012 for a free Ask an Expert webinar: MBTI® Type and Stress.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Flipping Out

Written by Patrick L. Kerwin, MBTI^® Master Practitioner

There’s no avoiding it: We all occasionally get really stressed out. It’s a normal, typical, unavoidable part of life because we all have times when the situation at hand exceeds our resources—physical, mental, or emotional—for dealing with it.

Have you ever noticed, when you’re really stressed out, that you’re just not yourself—in fact, you’re almost the opposite of yourself? There’s a good reason for that. It’s because, when we’re under great stress, our personality type turns itself inside out and “flips” into our opposite type (i.e., the four letters not in our four-letter type code)—but usually not in the greatest way. If you prefer Introversion and get really stressed out, you may flip into Extraversion—but in an exaggerated way, like blurting something out. Or, if you prefer Extraversion, you may flip into Introversion—but in an exaggerated way, like completely withdrawing.

Below are descriptions of the 16 types when they’re really stressed out. If you find yourself sounding like the “flip side” description for your type, then you know you’re right in the thick of being stressed out.

ISTJ and ISFJ:
Under stress, become “The Dramatizer,” catastrophizing about what’s happening. Flip Side Motto: “EVERYTHING is a disaster!”

INTJ and INFJ:
Under stress, become “The Indulger,” overindulging in anything sensory, like eating, cleaning, or exercising. Flip Side Motto: “I need MORE!”

ISTP and INTP:
Under stress, become “The Emoter,” being overly sensitive and overly emotional with people they’re close to. Flip Side Motto: “I need to express my FEELINGS!”

ISFP and INFP:
Under stress, become “The Criticizer,” being negative about others and self. Flip Side Motto: “Everyone’s an IDIOT, including me!”

ESFP and ESTP:
Under stress, become “The Exaggerator,” worrying about doom-and-gloom scenarios. Flip Side Motto: “Everything is going to go WRONG!”

ENFP and ENTP:
Under stress, become “The Obsessor,” obsessing about facts and details. Flip Side Motto: “This ONE thing is absolutely important!”

ESTJ and ENTJ:
Under stress, become “The Martyr,” feeling unloved and unappreciated. Flip Side Motto: “No one APPRECIATES me!”

ESFJ and ENFJ:
Under stress, become “The Condemner,” being extremely critical and condemning of others and self. Flip Side Motto: “I am SO done with you!”

Join us Thursday, November 15th, 2012 for a free Ask an Expert webinar: MBTI® Type and Stress.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Sign up for our free 2012-13 Ask an Expert webinars!

Written by Karen Gonzalez

If you are familiar with the Ask an Expert webinar series, you probably know that we began offering these in late 2009. We started with 19 registrations and after our last webinar in April 2012, have grown to over 1,080 registrations!

If you are not yet familiar, we offer these webinars as a way to give you application tips, interpretation advice, and to help you learn about different techniques in using the MBTI® and Strong Interest Inventory® assessments. The point of these is to help you further develop your skills, while you in turn, help your students on their own road to success. This is also your chance to ask our experts questions about the material. And the best part is that they are free.

Here is just a snapshot of our new 2012-2013 schedule (Full schedule with descriptions can be found here). Click on each link to learn more and to register:

9/27/12 - Using the iStartStrong™ Report in Academic Advising
10/18/12 - MBTI® Type, Learning Style, and Student Retention
11/15/12 - MBTI® Type and Stress
2/7/13 - MBTI® Type Dynamics and Relationships
3/14/13 - New MBTI® & Strong Products for Enhanced Interpretation Sessions
4/25/13 - Is Professional Networking Just for Extraverts?
5/23/13 - Finding the Best-Fit MBTI® Type

View our on-demand webinars as well. We hope you join us for this series!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Off the charts Extrovert

Written by Catherine Rains

Ok, I have to admit that I have used this phrase once or twice in my lifetime, before I knew better! This phrase can be an accurate way to describe observed behavior; however it is inaccurate when describing someone’s preference for type. This phrase is often used when someone gets their MBTI® results and their PCI is in the “Very Clear” range, which means they have a long bar in the Extroverted (or toward any of the preferences) direction, or are almost “off the chart”. This type of person will very often agree with their reported type for Extroversion, and sometimes will describe themselves as an “off the chart Extrovert”. Although they might exhibit a lot of extroverted behaviors, this is an inaccurate interpretation of their PCI. A high PCI, or long bar, describes clarity or consistency of preference, not how much a person exhibits the behaviors associated with a preference. A very clear PCI (preference clarity index) simply says that this person consistently answered the questions in the direction of Extroversion, and as a result, will more than likely agree with their results (but not always). Although someone may indeed exhibit a lot of extroverted behaviors with a high PCI, the MBTI is not measuring how much they have of this preference, or of behaviors associated with Extroversion. It simply measures how consistently they answered in one direction over the other. There are assessments that measure how much extroverted behaviors someone exhibits, but the MBTI assessment is NOT one of them. Other ways to say “off the chart Extrovert” include “I am a strong extrovert” or “he is a huge extrovert” – all inaccurate in terms of describing MBTI results. Any other ways you have heard people describe a preference that infers how much someone has of a preference?

Ever heard people describe the characteristics for a preference with a phrase that begins with “People who prefer Sensing are good with details and specifics”? We’ll tackle this fun topic next week!

Empowering career search and enrichment

Friday, August 24, 2012

People who prefer Sensing are good with details