Myers-Briggs Personality Types: 1. Introversion/Extraversion: relates to how a person is oriented, where he/she focuses more easily; within oneself or on other people and the surrounding environment. This dimension is coded I or E respectively. 2. Intuition/Sensing: relates to two different ways of perceiving, of taking in information. An intuitive person focuses on new possibilities, hidden meanings, and perceived patterns. A sensing person focuses on the real, tangible, and factual aspects. Thus a sensing person can be described as being more practical, whereas an intuitive is more imaginary. Sensing/Intuition: The clear distinction here is “reality thinking” vs. “possibility thinking.” This dimension is coded N for Intuitive and S for Sensing. 3. Thinking/Feeling: relates to how a person comes to conclusions, how a person normally prefers to make judgments. A thinking person employs logical analysis, using objective and impersonal criteria to make decisions. A feeling person, on the other hand, uses person-centered values and motives to make decisions. This dimension is coded T for Thinking and F for Feeling. Feelers may become prominent IS “politicians” who can forge effective relationships with others in organizations. They can also contribute innovatively and effectively in development of training materials and in the training process itself. As systems move towards integration of a variety of communication modes through multimedia and Internet access, the contribution of artistically minded feelers will be increasingly desirable. It is worth pointing out that an “F” is a person who prefers to decide from personal values, but he/she may be more capable or less so in exercising the logical thinking function when it is called for. Most Fs in IT, however, would need to possess a well-developed capacity for thinking. Lyons’ study showed an overwhelming proportion (80.9%) of thinking types. 4. Judging/Perceiving: relates to two essential attitudes of dealing with one’s environment. A judging person prefers to make judgments, or come to conclusions about what one encounters in one’s outer environment. A perceiving person prefers to notice one’s outer environment, while not coming to conclusions or judgments about it. This dimension is coded J for Judging and P for Perceiving. Most Frequently Occurring Personalities: ISTJ : 22.6% INTJ : 15.5% INTP : 12.1% ESTJ : 9.3% ENTJ : 8.4% Least Frequent: ISFP : 1.5% ESFP : 1.5% ESFJ : 1.0% INTJ: Usually have original minds and great drive for their own ideas and purposes. Skeptical, critical, independent, determined, often stubborn. INFJ: Succeed by perseverance, originality, and desire to do whatever is needed, wanted. Quietly forceful; concerned for others. Respected for their firm principles. In order to see a clearer relationship between Myers-Briggs types and systems development activities, we examine some relationships among the second (S,N) and third (T,F) MBTI preferences. These preferences are referred to as functions. For each type, one of these four functions has the role of dominant function. It “takes the lead.” The dominant function is used in the outside world by extraverts and in the inside world by introverts. The other function, that is, the other of the middle two letters for a given type, is called the auxiliary function; it supports the dominant function. Moreover, the dominant and auxiliary functions are used in opposite worlds. If the dominant function is extraverted, the auxiliary one will be introverted, and vice versa. The third or tertiary function is the opposite of the auxiliary. and the fourth or inferior function is the opposite of the dominant. Of the four functions (four possible middle letters), the dominant is the most preferred and the inferior is least preferred. Also, the letters for the dominant and secondary function appear (in the second and third positions) among the four letters of a particular type, the letters for the tertiary and inferior function will not appear in the type code. We also need to keep in mind that there are two possible perceiving functions: sensing and intuition, and two possible judging functions, thinking and feeling. INTJ: If the last letter is a J, this means that the extraverted function is the judging one. Here the judging function is T. If T is extraverted (shown to others), then the other of the middle two letters, N, is introverted. Since the first letter is I, the dominant function is introverted, thus the dominant function must be N, and the auxiliary function T. As a corollary, the tertiary function is F (opposite of auxiliary) and the inferior function is S (opposite of the dominant N). Note, as indicated previously, that the tertiary and inferior function code letters do not appear in the type code (F and S do not appear in INTJ). The order of preference for this type is therefore intuition, thinking, feeling, sensing. Temperament: Psychologist David Keirsey (1978) identified four temperaments that can be derived from the 16 MBTI types: Promethean (Rational)—NT; Apollonian (Idealist)—NF; Epimethean (Guardian)—SJ; and Dionysian (Artisan)—SP. Thus, each of the 16 types belongs to one and only one temperament. There are specific life attitudes particular to each temperament and, of course, these attitudes are carried into the work environment. The Guardian comprises about 38% of the U.S. population. A person of this type longs for duty and exists primarily to be useful to society. The SJ must belong, and this belonging has to be earned. He has a belief in and a desire for hierarchy. The SJ is “the foundation, cornerstone, flywheel, and stabilizer of society.” This is the conservative traditionalist. As we have seen earlier, SJs make up the largest fraction of IS professionals. The Rational is found in about 12% of the U.S. population. The NT values competence and loves intelligence. He wants to be able to understand, control, predict, and explore realities. He often seeks to study the sciences, mathematics, and engineering—what is complicated and exacting. NTs tend to live in their work and to focus on the future, having a gift for the abstract. They have the capacity to think strategically and to develop visions of the future. They work on ideas with ingenuity and logic. They can be self-critical, perfectionistic, and can become tense and compulsive when under too much stress. The Artisan is found in about 38% of the U.S. population. She is impulsive, living for the moment, wishing to be free, not tied down or confined. She has a hunger for action in the here and now. SPs are spontaneous, optimistic, and cheerful. They thrive on variety, and can be easily bored with the status quo. They also have a remarkable ability to survive setbacks. The Idealist is found in about 12% of the U.S. population. She is the deepest feeling person of all types and values deep meaning in life. The main need of this type is authenticity to one’s deepest self. NFs speak and write fluently, often with poetic flair. They seek interaction and relationships. They enjoy bringing out the best in other people. NFs work towards a vision of perfection and can be unreasonably demanding on themselves and others. --- --- --- Rational-NT: The strength of the NTs is competence, abstraction, highlevel vision. Their strengths are particularly desirable in systems planning, process redesign, and high-level modeling. NTs excel at applying logic to new possibilities, often in a creative manner. They can also abstract away and model essential elements of a business process and can identify, with thoroughness, inter-process connections. Thus, in Table 10, NTs are linked with tasks such as project scoping, system planning, establishing business policy, and data and process modeling. Such types are valuable in business process re-engineering. The introverted NTs will tend to think about business processes and future supporting systems differently from current consideration. Extraverted NTs will actually take the lead in carrying out change. They can be instrumental in planning and initiating systems projects at a high level. With the immediate future of information systems focusing on large- scale enterprise resource planning systems and on innovative Internet based e-commerce applications, the contribution of NTs will be invaluable and requirements for such strengths will likely increase. To carry out such work without the NT may cause unnecessary risks. The SJ will lack the visionary, abstract orientation and could tend to focus excessively on details. The SP would likely find such long-term planning and modeling work as lacking spontaneity, action, and immediate realism. To the NF, extended hours of abstract logic without a human, relational focus might be draining and unsatisfying. --- --- --- Enneagram Personalities Type One - The Perfectionist This type of person sees himself as “OK” when his work as well as other major aspects of his life follow high principles and are “perfect” or nearly so. His underlying assumption is, “If you are perfect, then you will survive and be loved.” The driving emotion is anger. It is said that a One, in his upbringing, was accepted and esteemed for his performance rather than for himself. A One, thus has a compulsion to “do what is right” and may often suppress his real feelings by focusing on what should be done. Such suppression generates anger, which drives the One further towards his compulsion. This type’s false claim is, “I know the right way.” He is principled, orderly, but often also perfectionistic (“picky”) and self-righteous. By looking at the Enneagram (diagram), we notice that a One may have a 9-wing or a 2-wing. The One with a 2-wing is more helpful to others in striving to achieve the ideal; he may also be more controlling. The One with a 9-wing may be more relaxed in pursuing perfection; he may also be more detached. Most Ones, like the other eight types, do not exhibit primarily the noble traits of this type, particularly under stress. Unless a person has done considerable personal growth (e.g., such as that suggested in the diagram itself), he will exhibit both positive and less desirable traits that arise out of limited awareness. While Ones at work can be principled, ethical, fair, and conscientious, they can also often be critical, controlling, inflexible, non-adaptable, and obsessive. They may work hard but may not “work smart.” Perfectionists are likely to be attracted to computing, because of the inherent structure, order, and a “right way,” with easily assessable, tangible results. Thus it is likely to find a number of Ones among professional programmers. The area seems to “feed” their compulsion. Moreover, it is quite possible that in programming or other strictly technical areas of IT, the strengths of a One will indeed be desirable, whereas his weaknesses may not become as apparent. # He may not be as tolerant of learning curves, inevitable human errors, and systems failures. The arrow out of the One points to Seven. This is the direction of integration for the One type. The arrow into One comes from Type Four; for a One to move into the psychological space of a Four is a direction of disintegration according to the Enneagram theory. Thus, when a One is “on top” of his work and his other life aspects, he will naturally tend to move to the Seven space, that of the fun seeker and innovator. If, however, the One is under considerable stress (and feels incapable of being perfect), if he is unaware otherwise, he will naturally move towards Four, that is , in the direction of disintegration. For a One this means he will become excessively melancholic and introspective. He will generate feelings that his structural perfectionistic world view will likely have difficulty handling. This may yield to an escalation of stress, which may culminate in a serious emotional breakdown. If we examine the Enneagram itself more carefully, we notice a triangle (with numbers 6, 9, and 3) and a six-pointed figure (with numbers 1, 7, 5, 8, 2, and 4, which points back to 1). This diagram is intended to identify stages in personal (and professional) growth for each of the nine types. For example, a One at the start may be, at best, average in his perfectionism, leaving him “unfree” and functioning sub-optimally in many areas of life and work. The indicated growth path for the One is: 1-7-5-8-2-4-1, from the diagram. This path would be used for each type except Three, Six, and Nine, but the starting point on the path for each type would be different. For the One, the first move is to a Seven (Fun Seeker); he must “loosen up” before any other growth can occur. After this stage, he should progress towards Five (Knowledge Seeker). The fun and loosening will have awakened the desire to explore, to innovate, to go beyond prescriptions; now the One is ready to learn for the sake of learning, for the sake of deeper understanding. With enough thorough knowledge, the One at Five is ready to move to Eight (Power Seeker). To grow at this point, he should use his capacity for lightness and openness (7), and his gained knowledge (5) to initiate change and to make a difference in the environment, in an independent way. A One at Eight is now challenged to move towards Two (helper). He is free and capable enough to use power and knowledge; now he is invited to add the use of his emotions, for the assistance of others. Once a One at Two type has progressed this far, he is finally ready to move towards Four (Artist), where he can focus on his own inner feelings, unblocking areas that still make him less than optimal. Following this step, the diagram returns to One, indicating that the path through the indicated points has now resulted in an integrated, balanced, and optimally functioning “healthy One.” Thus, we have seen how the Enneagram typing system contains an inherent prescription for growth for each of the types. For the One in IT, the key is to recognize one’s limiting behavior as a result of the compulsion to perfectionism, without diminishing one’s already positive behaviors associated with this type. Then must come the desire to “outgrow oneself,” starting with the move towards fun, imagination, and “loosening the reins.” The One must affirm to himself: “I am adequate with all my imperfections.” --- --- --- Type Two - The Helper The Helper sees herself as “OK” when she is helping others and expressing positive feelings towards them. She is a heart person and relates to others personally and individually. Her underlying assumption is, “You will survive and be loved when you are helpful”—that is, meeting the needs of others. The underlying emotion is pride. The Two often feels that she is indispensable to the success or happiness of another, that she knows another’s needs better than the other person. Twos are rarely “bookish” and may seem lightweight where significant linear thinking is required, but they carry considerable weight in accomplishment through people. --- --- --- Type Three - The Status Seeker The Status Seeker (Performer) sees himself as “OK” if his image is one of a successful person. His underlying assumption is “being successful and achieving allows you to survive and be loved.” The Three’s underlying emotion is deceit. Threes have a compulsion to always achieve and to be seen as a success. Their motto is, “If I appear to be successful to important others, then I am successful” (who I am is who I appear to be). It is said that in a Three’s childhood, achievement (for the sake of image) was valued over everything else. Parents may have shown little, if any interest in accompanying them emotionally. Thus, perhaps subconsciously, Threes believe they have little or no intrinsic worth. They will work long and hard in order to achieve a high score in the report card of success. A Three’s false claim is, “I do not fail, I always get the job done.” He is a pragmatist who invests considerable energy in the workplace so as to accumulate achievements and the accompanying respect. Some textbooks differentiate between two types of Threes, those who genuinely drive themselves to succeed, forcefully but fairly, and those who are so image-conscious that they will allow themselves behavior of questionable ethics so long as their image is highly acceptable. --- --- --- Type Four - The Artist The Artist (Individualist) sees herself and her life as “OK “if she is continually able to be “unique” and able to continue expressing this uniqueness. The Four dreads being ordinary; many of this type strongly object to the idea of personality typing, insisting they are “unique, individual, and unrepeatable.” The Four’s underlying assumption is that “to survive and experience love and meaning, they must be unique and special.” The Four craves emotional authenticity—to be true to her deep self. Her underlying emotion, however, is envy, as she is often melancholic about not being understood enough or unique enough in her emotional life. She then sees other types having “happier” lives, which she envies. The Four has a compulsion for being “different.” I once had a student in business computing who wore one green sneaker and one red one to class; he was also the only male of a project team of eight not to wear a jacket and tie during the final presentation day for a systems development project. This was, undoubtedly, a classic Four. It is said that many Fours experienced a “devastating dispossession” in childhood after a period of fulfillment. This sense of loss is said to have triggered this focusing on their deep feelings more than any other type. A Four’s false claim is, “I am not ordinary.” In Myers-Briggs/Keirsey terms, a Four may correspond to the NF temperament. She works mainly from the depth of her feelings, and she is gifted with deep emotional sensitivity and insight. She can gift her environment with creativity, often in a dramatic style. --- --- --- Type Five - The Knowledge Seeker (Thinker) The Knowledge Seeker (Thinker) sees his life as “OK” when he is able to comprehend as much as possible in his environment, so as not to become overwhelmed by it. The Five’s underlying assumption is that “being knowledgeable allows you to survive and be loved.” The Five is the thinker, the theorist, the model builder, the detached observer. The driving emotion of a Five is greed, not usually for material possessions, but for increasingly more knowledge. In growing up, the Five may have developed intellectual capacities as a defense against the intrusion of others. Parents may have been overly attentive or possibly non-supporting; the child retreated into a world of knowledge, largely withdrawing from feelings and relationships. A Five lives largely in his mind, and protects his mental space and his privacy with strong boundaries. He is very protective of his time and energy, and wary of the intrusion of others. A Five is very stingy with his time for others. The compulsion of a Five is to learn, to gather information, and to understand in depth. A Five friend once told me, “One of the few true joys of my life comes from really comprehending something.” The false claim of this type is, “I know all about it.” Fives excel at developing theories and long-range planning. They prefer to be observers and analysts rather than active players. Many of the seminal advances in pure and applied computing largely originated with Fives. The Five is thoughtful, thorough, knowledgeable, perceptive, innovative, and self-reliant, but may also be detached, distant, too abstract, and self-absorbed. It is likely that the Fives correspond mainly to Myers-Briggs/Keirsey’s NTs, perhaps even more to the introverted kind. Fives at work can be brilliant visionaries, strategic planners, high-level analysts and conceptual modelers, researchers, and architects. These are the people who conceive and propose new paradigms with intellectual depth and rigor. However, the drawbacks of a Five at work relate largely to his infrequent access to emotions. He does not focus on “people issues” to any significant degree; to him, doing so may disrupt the clarity of his intellectual vision. A Five’s intense desire for privacy might make him seem cold, inaccessible, and unresponsive. Fives are known for not answering messages and calls. Also, they often tend to ignore standard operating procedures and administrative “red tape,” which they view largely as nuisances and distractions from “the real work.” Fives may also show a disdain for people they consider intellectually inferior and may not recognize the wealth of other skills such people offer to the workplace. A Five with a 4-wing (Artist) is more creative, sensitive, but self-absorbed; a Five with a 6-wing (Loyalist) may be more loyal and hard working, yet anxious and cautious. --- --- --- Type Six - The Loyalist (Trooper) The Loyalist (Trooper) sees herself as “OK” when obeying the rules of the environment and serving loyally in an environment created by others. Her perceived self-worth and her feeling of safety come largely from adhering to clearly defined rules. The underlying assumption of a Six is, “Being obedient and loyal allows you to survive and be loved.” The often hidden, but driving emotion of the Six is fear. Consequently, worry and anxiety are constant companions of a Six. The Six craves safety and emotional security. It is believed that, as a child, this type could not show openly what she really felt or thought. She did not experience adequate, open relationships with caregivers. Upon opening up, she may have been judged or ignored (an indirect judgment). Thus, the ability to experience oneself as intrinsically valuable was hampered. In parallel, obedience was likely demanded and loyalty exalted. The inner security of such a type, therefore, depends largely on satisfying the requirements of one’s environment dutifully and loyally. Such a type will “dot all i’s and cross all t’s”; she is probably the least likely to ignore brackets and commas in a computer program! For Sixes, opening up with feelings or unique, deep ideas may be especially frightening—they cannot trust easily that others would accept them. However, being seen by others (and by oneself) as a “loyal trooper” following clearly defined, unambiguous rules is much safer. Even then, many Sixes may still experience a nagging anxiety regarding being acceptable, especially by authority figures, whom they may have difficulty trusting. --- --- --- Type Seven - The Fun Seeker (Enthusiast) The Fun Seeker (Enthusiast) sees himself as “OK” when he is not dealing with seriously painful situations and he is “having fun,” enthusiastically looking at and promoting the bright side of life. His underlying assumption is that “being happy and connecting with many external stimuli that give an experience of ‘fun’ makes life worth living.” The driving emotion of a Seven is gluttony, not specifically for food, but for more and more “fun” experiences. It is believed that in childhood, a Seven was, at first, quite happy. Then an event or series of events may have occurred where the world was becoming too painful to handle. The Seven simply denied this emerging reality, went back to “play and fun,” and has remained in this orientation ever since. Thus, a Seven lacks interiority—the deeper, “soulful” self (which is the natural domain of the Four). The Seven type is the eternal optimist, getting involved in increasingly new endeavors in order to “have fun.” His compulsion is to avoid pain and boredom in life, which often results in avoiding serious responsibility and pressure. The false claim of a Seven is, “I am always happy.” An average functioning Seven is enthusiastic, exuberant, spontaneous, playful, and lively, but can also be hyperactive, superficial, escapist, and unfocused. --- --- --- Type Eight - The Power Seeker (Boss) The Power Seeker (Boss) sees herself as “OK” when she is strong and in control. She believes that “having power and never showing vulnerability allows one to survive in the world.” The driving emotion of an Eight is lust, in the sense of taking what you want, of immediate gratification on a grand scale, of craving for satisfaction. The Eight needs experiences of higher intensity than other types in order to feel alive. Eights are not driven as much by achievements as by “potency”; they enjoy the exercise of power. They like to be respected for their significant position of power, and are not afraid to take on considerable responsibilities. Eights emanate a “raw” direct energy and can be quite impulsive. It is believed that, while growing up, the Eight had to struggle against injustice and possibly abuse; to survive, she had to fight back, repressing her sensitivities. Thus, she got to see the world as a game of power. Often she may use the power to right legitimate injustices. The false claim of an Eight is, “I am always powerful and in charge,” and the compulsion is to be independent and in control. An Eight is powerful, strong, determined, confident, and forceful, but may also be intimidating, excessively controlling, confrontational, explosive, and vengeful. At work the Eight type excels at entrepreneurship and “empire building.” She finds it difficult to work in moderation, working mostly in “high gear.” The Eight prefers to make gut-level decisions, not taking much time for formal analysis; she usually manages by decree. --- --- --- Type Nine - The Peace Maker (Conflict Avoider, Mediator) The Peace Maker (Mediator) feels “OK” when he is peaceful and not involved in conflict. His underlying assumption is, “Always being peaceful and not rocking the boat allows you to survive and be loved.” He displays a laid-back attitude, not investing intense emotional energy for a particular outcome. For him, it is easier to adapt to a not-so-desired outcome rather than to expend considerable energy trying to ensure the desirable outcome. The Nine suppresses his feeling of desire, often using phrases such as “it’s only life” or “it doesn’t much matter.” The driving emotion of a Nine is sloth. It is believed that, in childhood, a Nine needed to compromise his own desires excessively in order to stay connected to important others. He may have been caught between warring parties or felt overlooked. To avoid conflict from wanting his own way, a Nine learned to give in to others who may have had differing views not only from the Nine, but from each other. As a result, a Nine has superior abilities in mediation between conflicting parties, since he is interested primarily in achieving conflict-free consensus rather than in a particular outcome. However, a Nine, by placing avoidance of conflict as the main priority, has often given up his own views, strong feelings, and plans; in essence, he has given up himself to make peace with others. Yet, in this, a certain essential life energy has been blocked. A Nine’s false claim is, “I am always easygoing and content.” His compulsion is to be calm and relaxed. --- --- --- Learning Styles and Personality The Diverger prefers concrete experience with relative observation. Divergers’ greatest strength is in imaginative ability and awareness of meanings and values. They view a concrete situation from many perspectives. The name “diverger” results from the particular ability to generate alternative ideas such as in “brainstorming.” The Assimilator prefers reflective observation, then abstract conceptualization. The greatest strength of this style is inductive reasoning and the ability to create theoretical models. Individuals with this style assimilate disparate observations into an integrated explanation. They focus more on abstract concepts than on people, and judge ideas by sound logic and precision rather than practicality. The Converger prefers to employ abstract conceptualizations in order to carry out active experimentation. Convergers’ greatest strength lies in problem solving and practical application of ideas. People with this style do best in situations where there is one correct or at least preferred answer, to which they “converge.” Usually, convergers are rather controlled in their expression of emotion and prefer dealing with technical tasks. The Accommodator emphasizes concrete experience and active experimentation. Accommodators’ greatest strength lies in doing things. They seek opportunities and take risks. Where theories don’t fit the facts, accommodators will likely discard the theory. They are called as such since they accommodatingly adapt themselves to changing immediate circumstances. People with an accommodating style tend to solve problems in an intuitive, trial-and-error way. A connection of the MBTI-related styles of McCaulley and Natter with KLSI styles would likely result in the following correspondence: IN—Assimilator EN—Diverger IS—Converger ES—Accommodator Table 14: KLSI and the Enneagram Enneagram Type KLSI Style(s) 1- Perfectionist; Converger 2- Helper; Accommodator 3- Status Seeker; Accommodator 4- Artist; Diverger 5- Knowledge seeker; Assimilator 6- Loyalist; Converger 7- Fun Seeker; Accommodator, Diverger 8- Power Seeker; Accommodator, Diverger 9- Peace Maker; Diverger, Assimilator --- --- --- “Individuals seek satisfaction for a core need: i) to better understand the meaning and significance of one’s life, ii) to seek mastery and to become universally knowledgeable and competent in whatever one undertakes, iii) to seek membership or belonging to a group and to fulfill responsibilities and duties for the group, and iv) to have the freedom to act according to the needs of the moment so as to make a unique impact on others or the situation.” It may be easy to see that the four needs correspond to the NF, NT, SJ, and SP Keirsey temperaments derived from MBTI. As well, the less connected a person is to the deepest core energy, the more acute such needs are likely to be. Ref: Managing Psychological Factors in Information Systems Work (Eugene Kaluzniacky)
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