By learning about the behaviors and preferences that make up their personalities, apartment industry professionals can improve the quality of their workplace interactions.
Most of us can think of someone who drives us crazy. Sometimes it is a specific behavior that irritates us. Perhaps it is the friend who is always late, the co-worker who leaves everything to the last minute or the supervisor who focuses on seemingly insignificant details. Other times, we can’t quite put our finger on exactly what it is that bothers us, so we write it off to “personality conflict.” In any case, personality type is often at the root of the issue.
When it comes to the workplace, employees are brought together to work toward a common goal. When different personalities collide, the path that each person takes to reach the goal can be ridden with conflict, miscommunications, hurt feelings and tension. Why can’t we all just get along and get the job done?
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, also referred to as the MBTI, is a psychological assessment that identifies personality type. It can be a very effective tool in helping people understand how personality type is reflected in their behaviors, and how those behaviors impact other people. If we are to achieve positive results and develop strong relationships, be it in our personal or professional lives, we must first understand our own personality preferences, recognize differences in others, and then be flexible in how we interact with each other.
The MBTI began with a theory by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist, who believed that one’s mental habits are oriented along three different dimensions of one’s personality. The first dimension relates to how a person gains energy and how the person directs that energy (Extraversion or Introversion). The second and third dimensions, which are considered mental functions, pertain to how an individual takes in information (Sensing or Intuition) and then how they make decisions with that information (Thinking or Feeling).
The mother-daughter team of Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers then added a fourth dimension, which is how people organize their outer world (Judging or Perceiving). Briggs and Myers went on to develop the MBTI assessment and the corresponding four-letter personality types that it identifies.
The MBTI consists of a series of multiple-choice questions that force the respondent to choose between two very different answers. Psychological type is about preferences, not necessarily about situational behaviors. Those preferences are at the core of who we are and make up our personality type. As we mature and take on greater responsibility, we often find it necessary to adapt behaviors to effectively manage our lives or be successful in our career. These adaptive behaviors might not be our preferred behaviors.
By thinking about the behaviors, preferences and psychological type of both themselves and their colleagues, apartment industry professionals can hopefully make positive choices that will improve the quality of their interactions and, ultimately, their relationships.
Christopher Reed is Senior Vice President, Mercy Housing. He can be reached at CReed@mercyhousing.org. Susan Sherfield is National Director of Education, Mercy Housing. She can be reached at ssherfield@mercyhousing.org.