“I love group projects!” said no student, ever. In school, group projects are a rite of passage—an initiation into the baffling array of human work styles. (And a twisted game of homework “chicken” that forces more diligent students to discover how much of someone else’s work they will do to save their own grade. But I digress...)
Fortunately, professional collaborations tend to be a lot more fun and rewarding. Yet even highly talented and motivated individuals can find themselves frustrated or stressed out by teammates who think, process and problem-solve differently than they do.
As part of Interrupt’s ongoing teambuilding efforts, we recently took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test to learn more about ourselves and get even better at working together. Here’s what we found.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of the most well-known personality assessments in the world. First developed during World War II by Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Meyer, the mother-daughter team believed that when people understand each other better, they can work together better and with less conflict. Motivated by the desire to make the post-war world a better place, Myers spent the next 20 years developing, testing and validating a way for people to determine their psychological type. First published in 1962, the assessment has been translated and updated over the decades and remains a popular tool in many professional and educational institutions around the world.
Based on Carl Jung’s theories of psychological type, the test defines 16 personality types, based on a person’s natural tendencies in four areas:
Extraversion vs. Introversion (E-I) - How you receive and direct energy
Sensing vs. Intuition (S-N) - How you take in information
Thinking vs. Feeling (T-F) - How you make decisions
Judging vs. Perceiving (J-P) - How you approach the world
The assessment includes a series of questions related to each of the four areas, where participants must choose between two opposite-sounding terms. In the end, it provides a four-letter combination attached to your personality type.
Several of us found the assessment to be challenging. Choosing one word with little or no context can feel limiting, inaccurate or even unfair. (Am I decisive or flexible? Do I follow facts or intuition?) Most of us employ some mix of both, leaning one way or the other depending on the situation. We may also perceive certain words to have positive or negative connotations, so it’s easy to get in your head about what your answers might be saying about you.
The test tries to ease those concerns, acknowledging that these are not strict labels but merely a way to identify natural tendencies. (An effective illustration: Fold your arms. Notice which arm is on top. Now fold them the opposite way. It takes a more focused effort, right? It’s not that you can’t do it, but it’s not your natural default. That’s what the test is designed to identify.) Still, many found it challenging and noted that some of the same terms came up multiple times (we assumed, most likely to fine-tune the score, or to understand the dynamics may vary across the four areas of the assessment.)
Every four-letter combination also included a short descriptor name summarizing that personality type. Not surprisingly, the creative team tended to fall into categories like INFJ (insightful visionary) or ENTP (enterprising explorer) while account leads and project managers leaned toward ENTJ (decisive strategist) and ESTJ (efficient organizer). It was reassuring to see how well the descriptions of each personality type fit their roles in the company. And while some predictable patterns emerged, the real value came in understanding how to leverage our differences.
Through the online assessment, we each got individualized courses based on the strengths and challenges of our type, a team table showing our collective results, and a comparison tool to help apply the results to our one-on-one relationships.
To help keep our strengths and differences top of mind, our creative team even designed customized personality-type posters for each of us to display in our workspace.
Seeing each of our key traits and tendencies clearly spelled out makes it easier to see where frustrations could creep in. The structured process one person craves feels overly restrictive and limiting to another. The iterative approach I find energizing can be a source of stress for someone else. Knowing each other’s tendencies and triggers can help us head off potential issues and be better teammates.
Learning about MBTI was such a valuable experience. Not just in understanding how I think and work, but in appreciating the diverse ways others process the world. It was a great reminder that different personalities don't just coexist—they complement each other and make the work stronger. While some of the insights confirmed what I’ve come to know and love from working closely with the team at Interrupt, it also gave me a deeper understanding of newer teammates and helped build patience, empathy and appreciation for the diverse strengths we all bring to the table.
This was the third time I’ve done one. The eeriness of how well they capture my style always impresses me. There are nuances obviously, but as a whole, it’s a good method for letting people know my style and more importantly weaknesses—knowing where people can help me or what to take into consideration.
Personally, the MBTI experience was enlightening. As a very matter-of-fact person who likes structure, detail and organization, the MBTI experience helped me to understand how I can be a better project manager by recognizing how different people process information and how we can better work together.
I believe successful companies have three things in common: They recognize people as the company’s most valuable asset. They leverage communication and collaboration to drive extraordinary execution. And they create a strong culture that enables engagement and retention. Going through the MBTI process and putting those insights to work every day supports all three of these critical success factors.
Wondering how individual personalities shape your team dynamics? Whether using the MBTI or another assessment, keep the following tips in mind:
Set clear goals: Make sure everyone understands why you’re taking the test.
(Spoiler alert: it’s not just for fun.)
Foster open dialogue: Use the results as a starting point for meaningful discussions—not as something to label people or box them in.
Apply the insights: Find ways to turn those lightbulb moments into actionable changes.
When we take the time to understand how each of us operates, we can collaborate more effectively and adapt to one another’s needs. The Myers-Briggs assessment isn’t a magic bullet, but it certainly is a valuable tool when you make a point of applying what you’ve learned. In fact, you may even think of the MBTI as “Making Better Teams Intentionally.”
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