Using the MBTI® and 16PF® instruments together in career counselling:
Two Case Studies
Lynne Hindmarch
Background
MBTI Assessment
16PF5 Assessment
Using the two assessments in combination
Outcomes
About the author
Background
Jack
Jack was a fund manager with an investment bank who had recently been made redundant. As part of his redundancy package he was entitled to career counselling with an outplacement organisation, which is where I met him.
Jack saw himself as having been in a "comfort zone", and regarded the redundancy as an opportunity to do something different. He was considering a number of options, but was strongly attracted to the idea of setting up his own fund management business.
He was quite reserved during our initial meeting, and it was difficult to get him to open up. However, when we met for the feedback session he was more relaxed and friendly, and seemed more prepared to share his feelings. He admitted to being nervous about the financial risks in setting up his own business, and also felt significant pressure from his family to make a success of his future work role.
I asked Jack to complete the MBTI and the 16PF5 to help him to look at career options including self-employment.
Mary
Mary had recently lost her job as a legal advisor with a local council. She was offered, and accepted career counselling as a part of her leaving package. Following our first meeting I asked her to complete both the 16PF5 and the MBTI instruments.
Early in our conversations it became clear that she was having some difficulty accepting what had happened to her. Although she had officially been made redundant, she felt that she had really been "disposed of" because she had voiced her disagreement with a number of decisions made by senior members of the organisation. She said she had some difficulties in her job: several people had been fired on rather dubious grounds and she had offered her legal opinion that the grounds for dismissal were tenuous.
She was divorced, with 2 children both in local schools, and needed to work close to home in order to be with her children in the evenings. There were few opportunities for legal work in the area, which meant that her job with the local council was particularly valuable to her.
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MBTI Assessment
Jack
Jack's reported Type was ENTJ (with a preference score of 15 on Extraversion). He self-assessed as an INTJ, and decided this was his 'best fit'. Although he identified with a number of the behaviours associated with the Extravert preference, he felt that he derived his energy from time on his own for reflection on his ideas and experiences. He enjoyed hobbies he could pursue alone, and he liked his work because he could do it on his own.
Jack had the INTJ's love of complex problems, which attracted him to the challenging and intellectually demanding world of investment banking. One of his interests outside work was in quantitative mathematics. His work was future-oriented and wide-ranging, focusing on shifts in the stock markets, and identifying patterns and connections on which to make investment decisions. He had the calm demeanour typical of an INTJ, and on first meeting him I found him cool, somewhat distant, and reluctant to discuss how he felt about the uncertainties of his situation.
Mary
Mary's profile was ENFJ and this manifested itself in several ways. She had a strong sense of there being a "right way to do things", and of people’s responsibilities towards each other. This was very clear in her view of family life – she felt it was of paramount importance that she kept a stable environment for her children and was unwilling to consider moving or changing her child care arrangements in order to look for work options further a field.
The FJ characteristics of valuing integrity and expecting people to show responsibility to others were also reflected in another way: whilst working out her notice at the council she had made numerous approaches to her bosses, saying that she was willing to accept redeployment and not make a fuss about the dubious decisions which had been made previously. She found it difficult to understand why these approaches were not accepted since she genuinely meant what she said and felt that the organisation had a responsibility to her.
She felt she was under pressure but that she was managing it well, and she did not feel that she was "in the grip." However, she did feel that she was over-emphasising her dominant Feeling preference and that this was expressed in her focus on how things should be.
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16PF5 assessment
Jack
Jack's 16PF5 Global Extraversion was mid-range, but closer analysis confirmed Jack's self-assessed type preference for Introversion, despite the reported Extraversion preference from the MBTI questionnaire.
Of the 5 factors which load onto Global Extraversion, 4 were mid-range or in the Extraverted direction. However, his Q2 (Self Reliance) was high, indicating a strong need for self-sufficiency and individualism, as opposed to needing to belong and be part of a group. This is the factor that perhaps comes closest to the central characteristic of the Jungian Extraversion – Introversion dichotomy, and confirmed that Jack needed a lot of time on his own so that he could focus his energy internally.
His 16PF5 confirmed a number of other aspects of his INTJ Type. His high M (Abstractedness) and Q1 (Openness to Change) scores, with mid-range scores on A (Warmth) and I (Sensitivity), confirmed the NT preferences, though not strongly in the case of the T. His Judging preference was reflected to an extent in his mid-range scores on G (Rule-Consciousness) and Q3 (Perfectionism), although his low-average E (Dominance) score (with a sten of 4) indicated that he might want to avoid conflict, and could have difficulty making a decision.
Jack's Impression Management score was very low, indicating that he had emphasised some of the more negative aspects of his personality when he answered the questionnaire. A low IM score is often linked to high anxiety, and this was the case with Jack’s profile. His Global Anxiety score was high, and his L score (Vigilance) was very high. This result was interesting in the light of our first meeting, when I sensed his need to keep his distance. It could be linked to the critical detachment and emphasis on competence that can characterise an INTJ. He needed time to trust me, and assess whether I was up to the job, before he was prepared to open up to me. Once trust was established, his low N (Privateness) score in the 16PF5 enabled him to talk freely about himself and his concerns. His high Q2 (Self Reliance) and Introversion preference meant that he liked the one-to-one interaction, which enabled him to build up a relationship over time with someone he trusted, but meant that he was less interested in networking and group events.
His high M (Abstractedness) and low-average C (Emotional Stability) scores were reflected in a tendency to create negative fantasies about the future, rather than positive outcomes.
Mary
There were several factors in Mary's 16PF5 profile which fitted well with the ENFJ profile. High A (Warmth) and I (Sensitivity) scores with low Q2 (Self Reliance), high Q1 (Openness to Change) and low L (Vigilance) and N (Privateness). Her midrange scores on G (Rule Consciousness), Q3 (Perfectionism) and E (Dominance) hinted at the FJ characteristics, but not strongly.
Her high Q1 (Openness to Change) and low L (Vigilance) scores might suggest that she had a tendency to support the underdog. In the work setting this could be the humble employee against the system. Also, her low L (Vigilance) and N (Privateness) scores together suggested that she was not good at office politics – being open with others and believing everyone to be nice and friendly. (Perhaps unusual characteristics for someone in the legal trade!) Her low Q2 (Self Reliance) suggested a need to belong, which the sudden change in her employment status had seriously affected.
The really interesting issues in the 16PF5 profile related to the stress factors. She scored extremely low on global anxiety – with high C (Emotional Stability), low L (Vigilance), mid to low O (Apprehension) and low Q4 (Tension). She recognised all these factors in herself and said that she had to keep things together because of her children. There was a history of stressful events in her life, to which she had always responded calmly. She never panicked or rushed and always took a considered approach.
However, her high Impression Management score suggested she may have over-emphasised some of her good points. In discussing this, she came to the realisation that perhaps she did not always handle stress that effectively. She felt that she had a tendency to deny it rather than deal with it – telling herself "I am coping well with it all" rather than addressing the issues.
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Using the two assessments in combination
Jack
The MBTI was useful in establishing that Jack's INTJ preferences were likely to fit very well with the kind of work he was doing. He had probably made a good choice in terms of his career. However, the 16PF5 gave additional information about Jack's anxiety level, and his style of interacting with others.
His high L (Vigilance) score indicated that it would take him time to establish trust. His future business plans involved working in partnership with someone he had known for a long time and trusted, but he began to see that his tendency to be overly suspicious of people could act as a barrier to other business relationships. He also accepted that it was possible that his strong need for independence (high Q2) might be partly linked to a fear of being let down by people, and could be a defensive behaviour.
He needed to draw on his Thinking preference to translate the options he was considering into an achievable result. His anxiety level was clouding logical analysis, and meant that at times he was considering taking the first job that came along, rather than pursuing what he really wanted to do.
He realised that he had a tendency to see himself in negative terms, and that this meant that he could undersell himself.
Mary
A complex picture of Mary's style and behaviour emerged from using the two assessments together. Either assessment on its own would have uncovered some of the issues but in less depth.
Mary had been focusing on trying to get her old job back. Having left the organisation she could see no other options and was doing very little in terms of seeking other work. She still expected her old employers to see the error of their ways in not supporting her and to offer her the old job.
She seemed to be in denial about the stress she was under and believed herself to be coping well with it. However, further discussion about stress and possible denial led to some insight on her part. She saw that she was being unrealistic in expecting her old job back, and that she needed to do more to seek other work opportunities. She realised that although she felt a strong sense of responsibility towards other people, not everyone felt this. She also recognised that it was important for her to work in an organisation where this sense of responsibility to others was a core value.
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Outcomes
Jack
As an INTJ, Jack's communication is rather sparse! However, when I last heard from him, he had decided to set up his own business and was looking for major investment from a venture capitalist.
He had also decided that he needed to have positive support around him whilst he was going through this important stage in his career. He was avoiding people who led him to question his self-belief, and had learned to challenge his own thinking if he slipped into negative fantasising.
It will take Jack some time to learn to trust people more, but he is now aware of the behaviours associated with high L (Vigilance), and how this may affect his relationships, both at work and in his private life.
Mary
Mary began seeking other work opportunities. Initially she looked only locally, but she kept mentioning a charity in another town whose values and style fitted very well with her own. Through her network she contacted the organisation and after a few meetings was invited for interview and was subsequently offered a job as a legal advisor. She was offered flexible working hours and allowed to work from home for some of the time.
She feels she now has a better understanding of her reaction to stress, and is aware of her tendency to deny it. She looks for the warning signs of lacking energy and of becoming extremely focused on responsibilities towards other people.
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About the authors
Lynne Hindmarch works as an organisational psychologist. She helps people who are experiencing transition in their working lives, either through redundancy or wanting to explore career options. She specialises in emotional intelligence, coaching both individuals and teams to become more effective in this area. She has her own company, and also works as an associate with other consultancies. You can contact her on: lhindmarch@obc.org.uk.
Rob McPherson is an occupational psychologist who works in career counselling, management development and assessment for selection, primarily helping organisations, teams and individuals to identify and achieve their aspirations. He has his own business and works as an associate for a number of occupational psychology and career counselling organisations. He can be contacted on: rob@mcphersonconsulting.co.uk.
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