On Nov. 25, the Periclean class of 2016 received the results of the Myers Briggs test it took back in late October. Jason Springer came to our class to explain what the results meant and how we can use those results to our advantage. But there are some challenges that we as a class will have to overcome because of the different MBTI personalities that exist within our cohort of 34 students.
According to Springer, the overwhelming majority of our class is extroverted. Contrary to what many believe, extroversion vs. introversion has nothing to do with being outgoing or shy. It refers to where you draw your energy from. Extroverts gain their energy from large crowds and socializing. Introverts are the opposite. When they spend a lot of time with people, they feel exhausted and need to recharge by having some alone time.
What this means for our class: Since our class is overwhelmingly extroverted, the extroverts need to speak up less and encourage those who don’t contribute often to voice their thoughts. Introverts need to throw themselves into a conversation, with or without an invitation.
The second letter in the Myers Briggs personality stands for Sensing (S) or Intuition (N). This refers to how you gather information. Sensors follow a pattern. They enjoy following a step-by-step process. Intuitive personalities like finding unique, original ways to get to an answer.
What this means for our class: We are pretty split in this category. We will have to negotiate on how to do projects, find partners, fundraise, etc.
In the last two categories, Thinking or Feeling and Judging and Perceiving, our class is also split. Thinkers follow logic while feelers follow their gut feeling. Those with judging personalities are organized. They like things in the right places and may lack spontaneity. Perceiving personalities do not like as much organization–they find it confining.
What this means for our class: We have a lot of negotiating to do between these two personalities. It is hard to get Ts and Fs on the same page. And Js and Ps will have to meet in the middle on organization, like duties and committees.
Out of all of these, Thinking and Feeling will affect our class the most. It involves decision making. Some of us use our hearts to decide what is right or wrong, or what we want. Others think through the consequences and possible successes of certain decisions. We have come to several conclusions as a class after learning our personalities:
1. We need to acknowledge the different personalities in our class.
2. We need to spend more time discussing what we want to do, not the process to get there.
3. We need to become comfortable with a decision-making process or timeline.
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