The MBTI® assessment is a self-reporting personality inventory, designed to help individuals understand themselves. It helps people understand their natural preferences, motivations, and potential areas for growth. It aids in understanding others, particularly those with different types.

The MBTI® instrument is my favourite assessment for helping individuals learn about themselves. It helps to identify preferences in 4 areas:

• How am I around people?
• How do I prefer to gather information?
• How do I make decisions?
• What sort of lifestyle is best for me?

There is a strong research background to this assessment. As a Chartered Psychologist I wouldn't use anything that had not been well researched. The MBTI® assessment is based on the work of mother and daughter Katherine Briggs and Elizabeth Briggs-Myers. Today the MBTI® assessment is one of the most widely used tools for self-awareness. It has been translated into several languages and is used to help people in career choices, in relationship and family counselling, in team development and executive coaching.

The MBTI® assessment describes an individuals personality preferences on 4 dimensions:

• Extraversion - prefers to gain energy from the outside world of activity, people and things OR Introversion - prefers to gain energy from the inner world of reflections, feelings and ideas
• Sensing - Prefers to focus on information gained from the senses and on practical applications OR Intuition - prefers to focus on patterns, connections and possible meanings
• Thinking - prefers to make judgements on logic and objective analysis OR Feeling - prefers to base decisions on values and what is important to people
• Judging - likes a planned and organised approach to life and to make decisions OR Perceiving - likes a flexible, spontaneous approach and prefers to keep options open

The MBTI® assessent doesn't measure, but sorts, and sorts people into 16 types based on how they fall on the 4 scales, for example ISTJ and ENFP. You can get an initial estimate of your personal style by having a go at this short quiz.

You should choose a or b from all 4 sections:

1: How am I around people? (Extroversion or Introversion)

A	I like to be the one who introduces people to others
B	I prefer to wait to be introduced to people
A	People find it easy to get to know me as I am open about myself
B	People find me quite hard to get to know, I am cautious about what I share about myself
A	I like to have a wide number of friends and contacts
B	I prefer to have a smaller number of friends who I know well
A	I like to get involved in meetings and speak up
B	I prefer to take time to think things through and so prefer to contact people in writing rather than face to face
A	I like being where the action is and being the centre of attention
B	I prefer to have more time alone and prefer to be in the background
	Total "A" Extroversion E [  ]         Total "B" Introversion I [  ]

2: How do I prefer to gather information? (Sensing or Intuition)  

A	I like to have facts and hard data
B	I prefer to deal with more abstract things and like to understand the underlying meaning
A	I am proud of being sensible and matter of fact
B	I am noted for being imaginative and developing alternatives
A	I take pride in my common sense and value practicality
B	I am ideas orientated and intellectually curious
A	I learn best from getting involved
B	I am interested in theory and like to look for patterns
A	I prefer the familiar and don't seek out change
B	I like things that are different and seek out the unconventional
	Total "A" Sensing S [  ]         Total "B" Intuition N [  ]

3: How do I make decisions? (Thinking or Feeling)

A	I usually make decisions based on logic
B	I usually consider the impact of a decision on others
A	I make clear and objective decisions
B	I am influenced by personal likes and dislikes when I make a decision
A	In a meeting I am likely to question others closely
B	In a meeting I am more concerned for agreement and harmony
A	I can be seen as sceptical and argumentative
B	I am tolerant and focus on the good in people and situations
A	I can be tough minded and focus on the objective
B	I am more gentle and prefer to get agreement between others
	Total "A" Thinking T [  ]         Total "B" Feeling F [  ]

4: What sort of lifestyle is best for me? (Judging or Perceiving)

A	I like order and structure and take a systematic approach to working
B	I prefer a leisurely and relaxed pace
A	I like to make long range plans
B	I prefer to decide on the spur of the moment
A	I plan my work so I don't have to deal with a last minute rush
B	I am motivated by pressure and hate to have to start too early
A	I like to have routine and established procedures
B	I see routine as constraints and enjoy the unexpected
A	I like to work to detailed plans
B	I often plunge straight in without any plans
	Total "A" Judging J [  ]         Total "B" Percieving P [  ]

This is of course not an authorised MBTI assessment, just a short quiz to give you a flavour of persoality style. If you take the authorised MBTI assessment there are far more questions and you get a real depth of understanding. Taking the MBTI assessment will help you to understand your natural preferences, motivations and potential for growth. You will find out why you get on well with some people, but with others things don't go smoothly; learn how to enhance relationship, improve your leadership and communication skills. Understand how you make decisions and how this may differ from others and create a personal development plan.

The MBTI® doesn't measure, but sorts, and sorts people into 16 types based on how they fall on the 4 scales, for example ISTJ and ENFP.

Who should take the MBTI®?

• People interested in personal development who want to understand themselves more.
• Employees who want to be more effective when working with others.
• Career changers to get ideas for future career options.

What's included and costs

• Everything you need to take the assessment on line
• Downloadable full colour report
• Additional reference booklet: MBTI Explored to help you get a deeper understanding of the assessment. This 17 page guide helps you to make sense of your results, and in particular how to improve your relationships with others. There is a comprehensive discussion of all the MBTI scales so you will be clear on the differences between Introversion and Extraversion; Sensing and Intuition; Thinking and Feeling; and Judging and Perception. It also helps you to make sure that the MBTI reported type – created via the on line questionnaire does fit right for you. You will complete a verification exercise and should the results differ, receive an explanation that relates to your verified type.
• In depth PowerPoint presentation with audio commentary
• Personal feedback discussion

You can choose between 4 different reports:

• MBTI Step 2- If you seek an in depth understanding of your personality this is the assessment to choose.
• MBTI Step 1 Interpretive report - Choose this if you want to understand more about MBTI type, without needing a particular work perspective.
• MBTI Step 1 Interpretive report for organisations - For people who want to understand and enhance their performance at work.
• MBTI Step 1 Career report - If your goal is help in identifying alternative careers then choose the career report.

Use the links above to find out more from our sister site: www.personalassessments.co.uk