You’ve probably heard of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)—you know, that personality tool that puts you in a pretty four-letter box and has been known to trigger existential crises. Now, you also may have heard that the Internet is a savage space often containing misinformation, and it just so happens that much of that is regarding the veracity of MBTI. Gasp.

Sure, there are scads of studies and scathing reviews of Myers Briggs, but in so many ways, it’s beneficial to not only humor, but to explore. So shimmy on down from those high horses and quit guzzling the haterade. Yeah, I said it.

The Why and What of the Workshops

In realizing the opportunity to help alleviate common points of contention among teammates, PRPL recently brought in personality experts Vernon, Claire, and Connie Rainwater from Human School to provide background on this framework and guidance in pinpointing our mental tendencies, so we could relate better in and out of the office.

As a company, we went through a handful of workshops with open minds, diving into introspective whirlpools, breaking out into teams, and holding each other accountable for our self-diagnoses. The catch? No Googling personality types until we were fully and properly informed at the end of the program. We relied solely on the curriculum and discussion to land on our letters—no arbitrary tests or misleading multiple choice questions.

What came of it all, in one word, was insight.

Insight into the developers’ solution-fixated workflows; insight into the producers’ constant concern for timelines and expectations; insight into our CEO’s open-ended approach to, well, everything. We began to understand those with whom we interact daily, and that doing so makes each day more enjoyable.

Granted, this involves some categorization, stereotyping, and submission to the “confines” of those 16 personality types, which many find they straddle, but it got honest conversations going in common terms.

Key Findings

The makeup of our agency is notably different than most companies, with at least one person repping each type and an abnormally high ratio of “Rationals.”
Seeing the personal differences as complementary rather than opposing allows us to lean into others’ strengths, rather than zeroing in on shortcomings.
These lessons really highlighted three of our core values. Who’da thunk.
- Authenticity — Be yourself and accept the weirdos you work with.
- Mindfulness — Pay active and open attention to others’ intentions and emotions, and to those of yourself.
- Appreciation — Recognize the value and perspective each personality type contributes.

So, what next?

We all wear custom glittery lanyard letter labels every day? Pshh, I wish. From the group discussions, we learned specifically about those we work with most on a daily basis; but the most important takeaway was understanding our own personalities and how to best apply them in a team setting. Or relationship setting. Or family setting. That’s what was special about this experience: our company investing in us as not only employees, but as people.

Pseudoscience…BS… call it what you may, but it’s proven useful in our business culture and for me, personally, in assessing situations and communication tactics. And after all, you have to know what your box is to be able to think outside of it.

Interested in learning more for yourself or exposing your workplace to Myers Briggs? You can’t believe everything you read, so below is a handful of good places to start.

Some reliable resources

Myers Briggs Basics
Snapshots of 16 Personality Types
Keirsey’s 4 Temperaments Overview
The Definition Of Hell For Each Myers-Briggs Personality Type

Myers Briggs for Businesses

Launched: 3Cinteractive