IT Organization Circa 2017

I’ve been a believer in Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) for many years.  I went through a certification course about 18 years ago when I was in training for an organizational change management certification.  Over time I learned to be pretty good at assessing someone’s type preference just by observing and listening to them for a relatively short time.  I’ve found this exercise to be very useful for several reasons:

1. It gives you a conscious reason to really focus on people – intensive listening and observing to decode personality type preferences is a valuable skill that better sensitizes you to where people are coming from and their preferred thinking and communication styles.
2. Once you’ve figured out their MBTI preferences, you have insights into why they may enjoy working the process more than they value getting to a result, or vice versa, and into other preferences they bring to their work.
3. Once you’ve figured out their MBTI preferences, you’ve gained insights into how to most effectively communicate with them.

Anyway, be that as it may, with thanks to the Cognitive Edge blog, and in turn to Richard Oliver’s blog, I was just made aware of Typealyzer that purports to determine a blog author’s MBTI preferences by scanning their blog.  Seemed intriguing, so just for chuckles, I pointed Typealyzer at my blog and it came up with:

INTJ – The Scientists

The long-range thinking and individualistic type. They are especially good at looking at almost anything and figuring out a way of improving it – often with a highly creative and imaginative touch. They are intellectually curious and daring, but might be physically hesitant to try new things.  The Scientists enjoy theoretical work that allows them to use their strong minds and bold creativity. Since they tend to be so abstract and theoretical in their communication they often have a problem communicating their visions to other people and need to learn patience and use concrete examples. Since they are extremely good at concentrating they often have no trouble working alone.

For good or bad, the conclusion that I’m INTJ is spot on!  This was how I tested years ago when I took the “official” test.  It’s also how I’ve tested several times since then when I’ve re-tested through various web sites.

Not really sure how significant this is, but I do find it interesting (and perhaps not surprising) that one’s blog writing reflects one’s MBTI personality type.  I guess that next time I want to comment on a bloggers post, I will first scan their blog to determine how to frame my comment for maximum impact!