It all started in the summer of 2017, while I was taking a training course at Harvard Extension School at United States of America. At the beginning of the course, an assessment was given to each one of us, in which our personality type was revealed. I found it a bit odd honestly, what does a personality type assessment have to do with a Leadership Communication course!
That question never left my mind for a second during the eight-hour course. At the end of the day, while everyone was packing to leave, I rushed to the professor and queried on the personality type test and questioned on its relationship with the course, he replied with a short sentence ‘If one does not know his personality or the personalities of others how will one know how to deal with them?’. I thanked him and left the course heading to the hotel that night, it was an all-nighter for me, in where I read about this fascinating knowledge of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and how much insight these distinctions in personalities can reveal. Not only knowing your own personality type can help you understand your own behaviours and how you interact with others, it can also provide you with a lot of insight into your professional life and how to find a career that best aligns with your preferences.
I decided to bring this enthralling discovery back with me. I started right away with giving one on one consultation with my clients. Afterwards, post the massive demand from people around me, I shifted into giving a one-day workshop in Kuwait and then expanded to the entire Gulf Region.
In a nutshell, here is how the Myers Briggs Type Indicator works. Once done with the assessment, which takes no more than 12 minutes, a person is identified as having one of 16 personality types, which is listed by its four-letter code:
ISTJ – The Inspector
ISTP – The Crafter
ISFJ – The Protector
ISFP – The Artist
INFJ – The Advocate
INFP – The Mediator
INTJ – The Architect
INTP – The Thinker
ESTP – The Persuader
ESTJ – The Director
ESFP – The Performer
ESFJ – The Caregiver
ENFP – The Champion
ENFJ – The Giver
ENTP – The Debater
ENTJ – The Commander
One must keep in mind that no personality is better than the other, there is no right or wrong, and it’s just how one receives information as well as gets one’s energy. It can provide a lot of insight into his/her behaviour. For example, it will advise one for which career path is ideal, as well as point out the strengths and weaknesses. Once done that, a client is recommended to seek out a life coach and work on the results. As life coaches, we try to eliminate the weaknesses as much as we can and emphasise on the strengths. Also, we underline the career that best works for the client and try to shift the path if it’s not suitable.
Frankly, over the years, I’ve seen tremendous progress in my clients’ lives, in where quarrels have been solved, marriages have been fixed, parenthood has become more enjoyable, and careers have succeeded. Finally, I do encourage everyone to take a few minutes of their lives and take the MBTI assessment, which I promise will tremendously change lives to the better!
* The author is a consultant in Public Relations and Personality Types. Instagram: @Tipsbyhalahill
Hala Bader al-Humaidhi
