Via Wired, "...the MBTI quiz has morphed into a new form of astrology" because it's appealing to figure out what labels and categories fit us.
Critique:
- Based on dichotomies, opposing pairs of characteristics like perceiving/judging and introverted/extroverted.
- Nobody is one or the other but all have characteristics of both.
Benefit: Dichotomies keep things simple so you can jump start some self-reflection.
M-B has been an interesting experience for me. I've done the full inventory four times and got the same profile each time. During one session, the people burst out laughing, saying, "That's you to a T!"
I'm more intrigued by the DiSC profile. It's an inventory of behavior types like Myers-Briggs but has the added layer of adapted profiles. Here are the elements:
- Dominance: Person places emphasis on accomplishing results, the bottom line, confidence
- Influence: Person places emphasis on influencing or persuading others, openness, relationships
- Steadiness: Person places emphasis on cooperation, sincerity, dependability
- Conscientiousness: Person places emphasis on quality and accuracy, expertise, competency
Completing the inventory shows you the behavior styles you tend to favor. You have a natural DiSC profile (what you're really like), but you also have an adapted style where you change aspects of your natural behavior style to fit how you think you need to behave at work. For example, you may naturally favor Steadiness, but at work, you think a more dominant style is more appropriate so you adjust. I think a potential problem is not really understanding how to act under the adjusted model. You may think a dominant style requires more yelling when it really doesn't.
The intriguing part is the potential for identifying the DiSC profile associated with success in a particular job and then seeing how a candidate's natural or adapted profile line up. Us middlebrow folks don't drill into such niceties and may need to be aware of that aspect of hiring, especially if it's not valid.
