Use MBTI and Type knowledge to be a more effective Leadership Coach

Coaching, Psychological Type and MBTI – Some Perspectives

Imagine you work for the UN. You are currently posted in the capital of a particularly disturbed country in Africa. In the middle of an important meeting, your security officer rushes in to inform you that there is a bomb threat and you are all to immediately evacuate the building. You look out the window. There are TV crews, army and police personnel all over the place.

What would you do first? 

·         Call your families to let them know everything was all right and not to worry?
·         Immediately go to find the manual on emergencies and the safe evacuation procedures for such a situation?
·         Straightaway step out to the hallway and help direct traffic safely, reassuring those who are in panic?
·         Start discussing the role of 24 hour news channels in giving publicity to such things and thereby encouraging terrorists to manipulate the media, even as you move out of the building in a calm and orderly manner as directed by the security officers?

Whatever your answer, it is quite likely that what you choose to do first would be influenced by your psychological type because type influences your every day choices and behaviour. In fact, my type preference has certainly played a part in how I have chosen to begin this article!

So what is psychological type? What can type tell us about our own patterns of behaviour? How can we use knowledge of type in enabling change in ourselves and in others?

The theory of Psychological Type was developed by Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychologist, to explain normal differences among mentally healthy people. He observed and concluded that differences in behavior result also from people’s inborn tendencies to use their minds in different ways. These he called as ‘Preferences’.

Each of us has a set of preferences from where we get and direct our mental energy, what we focus on, in the information presented to us and how we make decisions.

Based on these preferences, Jung broadly classified people into certain psychological types with reasonably predictable patterns of perceiving and judging the world. In fact, most people are amazed at how accurately type descriptions seem to describe them. 

Little wonder then that type theory is gaining in popularity and appreciation all over the world in general and in the world of coaching in particular. This is largely because it offers an easy to understand and rational explanation for why we behave the way we do.  

The knowledge that all types are normal, valuable and productive can be very liberating. And to know that that there are large numbers of people who see the world through similar lenses can be very reassuring.

It also facilitates a more open acknowledgement of the amazing diversity of approaches among people because type is a powerful tool for shifting perspectives about how we see ourselves and how we relate to others. When used appropriately, the revelations about who we are and how we show up in the world seem limitless.

This is where the Myers Briggs Type Indicator or the ‘MBTI’ comes in. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a self-report questionnaire, designed initially by Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers, to make Carl Gustav Jung's theory of psychological types understandable and useful in everyday life.  It is a tool that enables us to understand our preferences and is arguably the most widely recommended psychometric assessment of choice in executive coaching today.

At the same time, assessments are useful only to the degree they accurately mirror a person's true preferences. Good type practitioners and coaches expect, and are prepared for this outcome and know how to coach clients in a manner that hopefully culminates in an "aha" experience where they discover something new and true about themselves.

How does knowledge of type facilitate coaching?

Perhaps the most important perspective that a coach can offer an individual is that there is no single formula that defines the path to personal success. We have different strengths and weaknesses that are a part of our inherent personality type and we all have different goals and priorities, which means that different activities and attitudes will make us feel good about ourselves. Coaches can help clients understand, accept and work with this knowledge.

Coaches can use type knowledge to support clients to utilize their natural strengths while challenging them to not hide behind their weaknesses. For example, SJs are most comfortable with predictability, stability, standard operating procedures and responsibility. They are likely to face challenges in delegation, strategic thinking or when the environment is in flux and requires speedy response.

SPs are just the opposite. They want spontaneity because they trust their ability to handle whatever comes up. They need the freedom to choose their next course of action. So their challenges are in routines and in ensuring that all the projects that they so enthusiastically kick off reach completion.

NFs on the other hand are constantly searching for identity and meaning and want to make the world a better place by developing the potential in others and in themselves. They need to put in a lot of effort to offer practical ways of executing strategies for change and also when it is necessary to confront others.  

NTs seek to understand the principles on which the world works and focus on strategies that achieve long term goals through competence and knowledge. They can come across as difficult to understand when presenting their rich and complex views of the system and having difficulty with offering empathetic responses when dealing with people in emotionally distressed situations.

Coaches who are aware of these type tendencies are better placed to influence change efforts.

How to communicate with the different Types ?

Coaches can use type knowledge when offering perspectives to their clients.

When working with a coachee who has an ST preference, recognize that they prefer precise, step by step instructions apart from logical, practical reasons for doing something while SFs require all this and also require frequent, friendly interaction and approval. NFs, on the other hand, only want general directions, with the freedom to do things in their own way but again with frequent positive feedback. NTs are most enthusiastic when given a big, complex intellectual problem to solve, with the freedom to work it out on their own.

How to help coachees who are under stress?

The weaknesses associated with any given personality type are often quite apparent to others. Sometimes they overshadow the individual's natural strengths. Such a drastic imbalance is not uncommon, and may be the result of either developmental conditions, high pressure of cultural expectations or continuous and extreme stress. Most people will experience times in their lives during which they are stressed to this point of serious imbalance.

When this happens, coachees appears to be “in the grip” of their inferior function. What this means is that the coachee is under such tremendous internal stress that their less developed, non-preferred functions erupt almost uncontrollably and they lose access to their natural ways of operating. In this state they cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. The coach’s ability to offer type relevant ways to de-stress and return to preferred ways of functioning 

would add immeasurably to the effectiveness of the engagement.

Sometimes the challenges are a result of a type's dominant function overtaking the personality to the extent that the other functions become slaves to the dominant function. A personality that has developed with a goal of serving only the dominant function above all other considerations also results in a person who is imbalanced. A coach can call attention to this and in the process, challenge the effectiveness of this over-reliance.

It is natural and healthy that each personality type is ruled by a dominant function, and that the other functions support the ruling function. By definition, a kingdom needs a king in order to exist. However, a kingdom with a well-developed and effective king (the dominant function), who has well-trained and educated advisors (the supporting functions), will thrive more than the kingdom ruled by a domineering or neglectful king who is supported by inexperienced or fearful advisors. Coaches who are familiar with type can call attention to this necessity.

Some Watch Outs for the Coach

In all of this , a word of warning however. As a coach, you need to constantly be aware of your own type preferences and how that influences your approach and the perspectives you offer your own coachees. Your own type preference could either facilitate or disrupt the relationship and the effective progress of your engagement. For example, if you have an SF preference and you are working with a client who has a NT preference, be aware that you are likely to be more supportive and emotionally tuned in and less inclined to intellectually challenge the client. The client on the other hand would welcome a little more interpersonal distance and would prefer someone who can challenge and confront ideas and approaches.

If you have a preference for STJ and you have a client with an SFP preference, your own preference for clarity and closure may influence your approach which may be experienced as very direct, to the point and very uncomfortable for a type that first prefers establishing personal relationships and comfort apart from an open ended exploration without prescriptions, before being ready to be challenged by you.

Psychological Type is a powerful aid in the quest for personal excellence for all of us but it is not the actual solution. It is a model that helps expand our understanding of human nature, helping us and others find, follow or expand on our unique paths.

M. Hariharan

Leadership Coach