Personality typing systems are maps to the complex differences among humanity.
While such systems as Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram are often dismissed as pseudo-science on par with astrology, I find them useful to remember that other people aren’t like me. We often assume that everybody sees the world exactly the same way we do, and are motivated by the same things we are. And that’s just not true.
Different people react differently. They are energized and drained by different things. They have different fears, different desires, different emotional motivations.
I see the personality typing systems as maps to that complex territory of humanity. Like all maps, they are simplifications of reality, and don’t cover all situations. And if the person in front of you doesn’t behave as their type says they “should”, believe what you observe, just as you wouldn’t drive into a river just because you were following a GPS map.
In other words, I don’t use personality types as classification systems where somebody is this and not that, and can never change. I use them as maps describing how people might be responding differently to a situation than what I expect, and as guides to interact with them more effectively.
More at this week’s newsletter, which you can read at https://lnkd.in/eGjinzPR
What do you think of such systems? Do you have a favorite?
#personality #leadership #management