Behavioural Profiling
I’d always thought that behavioural profiling involved fat policemen deciding that the mirror smasher murderer had a hair lip, or semi-crazed loons looking at Rorschach dots saying “It looks like butterflies in a field of daisies” when in fact he sees Mummy crying after Daddy came home ANGRY and DRUNK and JUST FOR ONCE WANTED THINGS TO BE RIGHT.
The Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) doesn’t tell if you’re psycho but, rather, it creates a profile of each respondent assigning them a four letter type, using results from the 80 plus questions of the MBTI test. This helps finding out how you really are (”when you are at your most relaxed”, as Michael Thomas put it, the Economist Group’s training and development director, who explained the results to us).
But it is also useful to find out the strengths and weaknesses of a team. If you combine all the results, the Red Stripe team is I or E, N, T and J. What does this mean?
On the whole it’s a good thing, since INTJs “have orginal minds and great drive for their own ideas and purposes”, whereas ENTJs “Develop and implement comprehensive systems designed to solve organisational problems”.
We are strongly T (Thinking) so are fairly logical, but our weak F (Feeling) could mean that we will have difficulty thinking about how other people will react (who cares about them anyway?). Similarly our heavy N (iNtuition) means we’re great at seeing the big picture, less good on detail: so expect a groundbreaking site that doesn’t load well.
The bottom line: The team is more Judging than Perceiving, making us good planners. But we’ll have to make sure that we remember the details and people. Other than that, the omens are good.
February 9th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Interesting MB comments. As an INTJ myself, I recall it to be one of the “rare” types. Intriguing to get a whole group tending this direction… and probably begging for occassional outside review of activities from folks with different profile perspectives.
February 16th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
ENTJs are very forceful, decisive individuals. They make decisions quickly, and are quick to verbalise their opinions and decisions to the rest of the world. The ENTJ who has not developed their Intuition will make decisions too hastily, without understanding all of the issues and possible solutions. On the other hand, an ENTJ who has not developed their Thinking side will have difficulty applying logic to their insights, and will often make poor decisions.
Despite the Myers-Briggs ubiquitous nature the profile outcomes of individuals are liable to change over time and under pressure. How far does the Red Stripe group see themselves into the traditional (Bruce Tuckman’s) Norming, Storming, Performing…? From my reading the group has a remit to provide an undetermined result but I think that ENTJ’s will eventually put pressure on themselves to want to be seen as a success or to have achieved. Another tool you may find useful is the PI or Predictive Index it can offer strengths andd weaknesses but also offers appropriate management strategies for individuals.