Analysis of MBTI Communication Style

Posted: February 21st, 2020

Full name

MBTI colleague/co-worker assignment

CJN 177 –

Personality Types

Analysis of MBTI Communication Style

According to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, my personality type is ENTP (extraverted, intuitive, thinking, perceiving). This personality types are energetic, enthusiastic, and confident. They are innovative and ingenious, and they rarely conform. This makes them open to new ideas. I am outspoken and resourceful at solving new problems. I am analytical when solving problems and I will think of various solutions to a single problem (Baron 110). This type also indicates my strengths in reading people. Naturally, I am able to interact well with others and initiate conversations. I always find imaginative and resourceful ways of dealing with people. I express myself convincingly especially if I am discussing something that I believe. This personality type thrives on reason and logic (Demarest 25). I have this need to ask questions and to insist on getting the information I need. I am willing to probe and get the required information so that I can understand a situation. This may mean engaging in meaningful debates and discussions. I am particularly good at convincing others to see my point of view regardless of whether they had opposite opinions of an issue.

I rarely do things the same way. I always look for different ways of perceptions and problems. I hate boredom and this means that I am willing to engage in anything interesting. This explains my need for adventure. Individuals with this personality types tend to make good leaders. This is because of their confidence, ability to solve problems, and the ability to think quickly (Demarest 25). They are also good communicators. However, any leadership qualities I exhibit tend to diminish whenever I am handling routine tasks. I am impatient when doing something and this means that in some cases, I do not get to complete some of the projects I start. I always look to do something interesting and I lose interest whenever a task takes long.

Analysis of Subject’s Communication Style

My friend at work is ISFP (introverted, sensing, feeling, perceiving). She is extremely quiet and she enjoys spending time alone. She rarely talks, unless she considers it extremely necessary. She prefers to think through everything she does. People with this personality type are more drawn to the arts. They find joy in creative expression and they are extremely engaged in their work. Their work forms part of their identity. People exhibiting this personality type tend to be dreamers and they have an uncanny ability to see what others do not see (Kroeger and Goldstein 120). I have seen this in my friend. She has the ability to notice things that I do not even see though we may be looking at the same thing. We often disagree concerning many issues. Although I am good at interacting with people, she is excellent at recognizing their potential (Baron 95). I may make many friends and associate with many people than she does, but she is best at retaining the few friends she has. People with this personality type tend to be more understanding towards others. I used to misunderstand her because, unlike me, she is not social or outgoing. I took this to mean that she did not like other people. However, the more I got to know her, the more I realized that we did share some strong qualities, such as the fact that we both hate to conform.  

Comparison of Communication Styles

I have known my friend for quite some time. During this time, we have become used to each other to the extent that we are no longer bothered by our differences. We have learnt how to accommodate each other. My friend and I are very different in terms of our personality. However, we both tend to avoid routine and mundane tasks. While I do not find them exciting in the least, my friend always says that she does not see the need of wasting time doing the same things. We hate doing things the same way and we like expressing our creativity even though we do so differently. Our differences are more visible. While I am more imaginative and intuitive, my friend tends to be more sensing. I also enjoy solving new problems, while this is not her thing at all. In fact, she avoids adventures because she hates encountering problems. My friends tend to be patient with details. This is clearly not my strong point. I often do not have the patience to learn anything to completion. I am more idea oriented, which means I enjoy coming up with new ideas regardless of whether I have realized the first ones. While I enjoy good debates, especially those that lead to the generation of ideas, my friend avoids them as much as she can. She does not enjoy any form of disagreement and she would rather agree with me than engage me in a meaningful discussion. I like inspiring people with my words. I will engage them with conversations just so that I can encourage them. My friend actually finds this annoying. This is mostly because people with her personality type prefer expressing their emotions, creativity, and feelings in their work.

Understanding each other’s preferences and personalities will lead to better relationships. For instance, I tend to think aloud and even involve others in my thought process. My friend is different. She prefers to think things through internally before sharing them with anyone. Sometimes, she does not even share her thoughts. She is not good at explaining facts or her reasoning and thought process. She will take a long time before sharing anything with anyone. I often find this frustrating. However, despite the obvious difference in communication styles we work well together in a team. She is keen when I am sharing ideas with her and she takes it upon herself to remind me of the first ideas. Despite coming up with many ideas at the same time, I often find that the team ends up taking the first idea I had. This is because she often thinks it over, analyses it, and comes up with ways of improving it.

Our leadership styles would differ considerably because of our different perceptions concerning people and relationship, as well as differing views on ideas and implementation. I am good at motivating and inspiring people, coming up with new ideas, and solving problems. I think that as a leader, my team would be highly energetic and loud (Hirsh and Kummerow 250). Although I have the ability to attract people and interact with them, I do not think that I would make all people feel included, especially those who have different personalities. My friend shuns the idea of leadership. However, I believe that she would make a good leader because of her ability to understand people. However, I believe that her dislike of arguments would make her compromise a lot (Hirsh and Kummerow 139). She would prefer agreeing with people all the time instead of voicing her opinions and concerns.

Works Cited:

Baron, Renee. What Type Am I?: Discover who You Really Are. New York: Penguin, 1998. Print

Demarest, Larry. Looking At Type in the Workplace. Gainesville: Center for Applications of Psychological Type, Inc., 1997. Print

Hirsh, Sandra K. and Jean, Kummerow M. Life Types. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1989. Print

Kroeger, Otto and David, Goldstein B. Creative You: Using Your Personality Types To Thrive. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013

Lawrence, Gordon, D. People Types and Tiger Stripes. Gainesville: Center for applications of psychological type, Inc., 1993. Print