Many employers are looking to the psychodynamic approach to aide them in talent hunting. I recently interviewed with a construction company who administered both the Myers Briggs type indicator (MBTI) and DiSC tests prior to meeting with prospective employees. What are the advantages to using these tests in the workplace and how are the results used? Of course my first fear was that if I didn’t obtain a certain personality result, my application would be thrown out of consideration. I now realize that some of these results have many more uses than just describing an individual. The results can help employers build effective teams most importantly, help individuals understand themselves and acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses.
An important part of leadership is how leaders and followers interact. Knowing the tendencies of followers can go a long way in the performance of leaders in the work place. The result of properly using the information obtained through personality assessments comes in the way of avoiding complications resulting from clashing personalities. Take the example of an extroverted leader working with an introverted follower. This situation could result in the leader dominating conversation and assuming the follower is in agreement while in reality the follower was simply thinking over the situation and formulating a response in their own head (Northouse, 2013). This friction can result from a variety of leader-follower personality combinations. Knowing the tendencies of individuals can help by organizing teams with individuals that will work well together. Since balance is important and clashing individuals are bound to be working together, knowing each other’s tendencies can help tremendously in navigating through tough disagreements and interactions.
Possibly the most beneficial result from my own personal experience taking the MBTI and DiSC assessments is obtaining a personal awareness of tendencies. At the bottom of the results for my DiSC assessment there is a disclaimer that states “There is no good or bad pattern. Research indicates that the most successful individuals are those who know themselves and develop strategies to meet the needs of specific situations” (North Group Consultants, 2012). The results indicate that I may increase my effectiveness by adapting better to change, looking for shortcuts to improve productivity, and learning to be more assertive. Knowing this, I will be able to work on these areas and hopefully be a better asset in my future position.
In conclusion, the psychodynamic approach to leadership may be useful in the work place if used the right way. Companies should not exclude individuals base on their personalities but instead, embrace diversity and adjust the handling of certain situations to best accommodate individual strengths and weaknesses. In addition, individuals can benefit greatly from psychodynamic assessments by using the results to introspectively work on weaknesses and adapt work environments to embrace strengths. Leadership can be best served by the psychodynamic approach by equipping leaders with knowledge and understanding of themselves and the people around them.
North Group Consultants (2012). Personalized Description and Success Strategies. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Inscape Publishing
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th edition). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
Jon, it’s interesting you selected the MBTI personality profile to speak about. I am a Career Counselor at a private liberal arts college and we help students figure out what they “want to be when they grow up!” One of the ways we do this is to use the MBTI assesment. It helps the student to know what his leadership skills and style is. An introverted person may prefer conducting research whil an extroversion likes interacting with people. Knowing yourself helps influence how you handle things in the work place. Knowing a project requires a great amount of attention to detail and you are a “P” or perceiver (thinker, not detail oriented), you can arrange to work in a quiet location or ask for help (Myersbriggs.org, 2013).
The outworld of extrovert or or inner of introvert? Focus on Sensing or Intuition information? Making decisions, are you thinking or feeling? Structure can be defined by judging or perceiving. Knowing what makes you operate helps understand your world better!
Myers Briggs Foundation. “Type Use For Everyday Life – Personality and Careers.” The Myers & Briggs Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2013. .
Jon, it’s interesting you selected the MBTI personality profile to speak about. I am a Career Counselor at a private liberal arts college and we help students figure out what they “want to be when they grow up!” One of the ways we do this is to use the MBTI assesment. It helps the student to know what his leadership skills and style is. An introverted person may prefer conducting research whil an extroversion likes interacting with people. Knowing yourself helps influence how you handle things in the work place. Knowing a project requires a great amount of attention to detail and you are a “P” or perceiver (thinker, not detail oriented), you can arrange to work in a quiet location or ask for help (Myersbriggs.org, 2013).
The outworld of extrovert or or inner of introvert? Focus on Sensing or Intuition information? Making decisions, are you thinking or feeling? Structure can be defined by judging or perceiving. Knowing what makes you operate helps understand your world better!
Myers Briggs Foundation. “Type Use For Everyday Life – Personality and Careers.” The Myers & Briggs Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2013. .