Do you know your personality type?

This week a friend of mine told me he had come up with a new business idea and he wanted to run it by me. It was a "fantastic idea", he told me, and there was a "real market for it"! I smiled to myself, knowing this was about the 9th business idea he had mentioned to me over the last 12 months.

Why are some people good at generating ideas but may never actually implement them, while others may find it difficult to think of new ideas but are very good at implementing other people's ideas?

One tool that may help explain this behaviour is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, the most widely used personality assessment in the world. The Myers Briggs assesses your preferences based on the following four scales:

Extraversion (E) - Introversion (I)

Extraversion - Your attention is focused outwardly on people, things and action
Introversion - Your attention is focused inwardly on thoughts, feelings and reflections

Sensing (S) - Intuiting (N)

Sensing - You enjoy doing practical, hands-on things and working with details
Intuiting - You enjoy coming up with new ideas and being creative and imaginative

Thinking (T) - Feeling (F)

Thinking - You make decisions based on logic and facts
Feeling - You make decisions based on your personal likes and dislikes

Judging (J) - Perceiving (P)

Judging - Your lifestyle is planned, orderly and decisive
Perceiving - Your lifestyle is casual, flexible and spontaneous


The Myers Briggs is often used in career counseling to help people choose a career that matches their personality type.

For example, extraverts may prefer a lot of contact with people in their job, while introverts may prefer longer periods of time by themselves.

'Sensors' may prefer to work with facts and details and implement other people's ideas, while 'Intuitives' may prefer to work in a creative job, generating new ideas or devising new programs or strategies.

'Thinkers' may prefer to spend their time analysing and solving problems, while 'Feelers' may prefer to work in a job helping others or work in an industry they feel passionate about.

'Judgers' may prefer to plan ahead and organise things, while 'Perceivers' may prefer to work in an unstructured environment that allows them to be flexible and spontaneous.

My friend with the new business idea has now completed the Myers Briggs. He has discovered he is an INTP (Introverted, Intuiting, Thinking, Perceiving), which might explain why he is always generating ideas but never gets around to implementing them! Perhaps he should go into business with an ESFJ...

We have recently added the Myers Briggs to our website, allowing you to complete the assessment online. After completing the assessment, you will receive a report containing your results and feedback on your personality type. 


Take the Myers Briggs Personality Test

 Career Advice, Career Change, Career Counselling