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MBTI Step II and Leadership Development

We are delighted to bring you a case study sent in by Niels-Peter Thoms, independent business consultant. Niels-Peter has been working with the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) for more than ten years, and has developed several applications such as 1:1 coaching programmes and 360 degree feedback systems.

He has worked with organisations such as Ford Europe, Scandanavian Airlines, and Unibank/ Nordea on projects covering organisational and managerial development.

This case study looks at the MBTI® Step II and why it was suitable for a management group who were looking to develop their leadership and the conditions for practising leadership in their organisation.

MBTI® Step II in Denmark
Background
Introducing Step II
Benefits for the consultant
Why Step II is a good idea
Enclosure

MBTI® Step II in Denmark

'...An ENFP is like all other ENFPs , they are like some other ENFPs and like no other ENFPs’
Mary McCaulley

Do you need more possibilities as an MBTI® practitioner? Then you will benefit from continuing your reading. Having worked some time with the MBTI most practitioners become aware of the need for expressing the slight differences within a certain type, e.g. with group members who share the same four letter type.

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Background

My colleague and I were working on a development program designed for several levels. The aim was to contribute to strategic business development, including development of the organisation and its leaders. The project was based on the principle that everything depends on everything and everything has an impact on everything.

The groups in the development program consisted of 12 members who worked together over a year. Besides the work in the course group, the participants worked with their own business units and management groups in a kind of cascade, first training in the course group, and then application in their own management group.

As a supplement to the group level each participant went through personal training in coaching including 360 degree feedback, MBTI Step I and a number of other instruments.

Processed from
Michael I. Harrison 'Diagnosing Organizations' Sage Publications 1994

Example

A management group had decided to work with leadership development and the conditions for practising leadership in their company. So far the group had worked through a strategic analysis and prepared a business plan for the following period. The group had been working together for quite some time and were very much looking forward to the introduction of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in connection with the development of the individual leader roles of each of the eight members of the group. When the group had taken the MBTI questionnaire and received feedback, they found that four of the members of the group had the same type. One of the members of the group said, "I am definitely not like NN even if we have the same four letter type. I think everyone in this group will vouch for that."

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Introducing Step II

Faced with this challenge, we, as consultants and facilitators decided to use the Step II application in this group. The most important thing for us was to find an instrument which could add to the information which the client had received already, so that no time would be wasted in introducing a new language with the clients.

The basis of Step II is the four well known dichotomies. Under each dichotomy are 5 subscales or facets. There are a total of 20 subscales. The facets indicate slight differences under each dichotomy; differences that provide a self-understanding for the individual and explain the difference in comparison with other group members.

As mentioned at the beginning, there are features which relate to me and the others; features which are different from the others of my type and finally features which are completely unique for me.

'Those who know much about others may be smart, but those who understand themselves are even wiser. Those who control many may be powerful, but those who have mastered themselves are more powerful still'
Lao Tsu

In short, the benefits for the customer are these:

• a known basis from Step I – Jung’s typology, the four dichotomies
  
• added knowledge about differences and similarities
  
• the possibility of using the competencies of others more efficiently

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Benefits for the Consultant

The task of the consultant is to help and support the client to obtain a valuable understanding which the consultant can continue to use in order to achieve better results; communication, understanding, quality of life. The consultant should be humble and not proceed faster than the capability of the client allows. In our activities we have seen clients working with the MBTI Step I understanding themselves and experiencing great practical value becoming more curious and interested in getting to know more. "More wants more", as we say. The initial level of the client is higher and the resistance is considerably less.

The benefits of this are obvious. It is essential that the consultant develops and professionalizes his tool box. In a continued project running over a period of time there will be a need to bring in additional instruments to throw light over special dimensions or capabilities. As mentioned already the consultant can introduce another concept which might involve a new language and a longer period of time before the goals are reached.

From the consultant's point of view we see the following benefits:

• the possibility of helping the client understand the differences in spite of similarity in type
  
• an additional instrument in the arsenal.

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Why Step II is a good idea

The business of consultants is known for fast solutions which are not always carefully thought out; at least not always from the client's perspective. We have a saying that the road is formed when you walk it, but after all...

Myers-Briggs Step II is a good solution for qualified development of the consultant as Step II contains many clever facilities both in structure and contents. The consultant is forced to focus and concentrate in order to develop and qualify himself.

In our business we have learned that there is substantial knowledge and a lot of information to be gained from the MBTI Step II. A useful approach has proved to be a process with at least two sessions to provide the client with the best possibilities to obtain an understanding of the Step II instrument and benefit from the value of it (see enclosure).

Enjoy yourselves with the Step II.

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Enclosure

Step II Outline

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For further information on the Step II instrument contact our Client Support Team on 0845 603 9958 or via email at orders@opp.eu.com

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