Encyclopedia of Leadership

14.7

PERSONAL PREFERENCES: CAPITALIZING

ON INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Inspired by Isabel Briggs-Myers, David Keirsey, Otto Kroeger, Janet Thuesen, Marilyn Bates, and Carl Jung.

You may have wondered why your leadership approach works well in some situations and fails

miserably in others; why you click with some people, yet find others impossible to work with;

why some relationships seem so easy and comfortable, while others are a continual struggle.

Throughout the ages, people have wondered about their similarities and differences. The goal

of this tool is not psychological analysis; rather, it’s to help you deal more effectively with

human differences. This tool will help you gain a better understanding of yourself and your own

preferences, as well as those of other people, leading to more effective leadership interactions.

A century ago, philosopher and psychologist Carl Jung devised a way of grouping human

similarities and differences into four categories of pairs, thereby describing the built-in, and

natural preferences of individual ways of being in the world. These four categories of pairs or

preferences are:

Introversion (I) or Extroversion (E)

Intuitive (N) or Sensing (S)

Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)

Perceiving (P) or Judging (J)

To help you understand and use these sets of preferences, the descriptions in this table

accentuate the extremes of each set of preferences. There is no right or wrong set of prefer-

ences, and it is okay notto have a strong personal inclination toward either pole in any pair.

SECTION 14 TOOLS FORLEARNING 447

Comparison of Introversion and Extroversion

I _______________________________________ E

Introversion Extroversion

Drained by people Charged up by people

Thinks alone Thinks by talking

One-on-one or a few Groups

Small, close network Broad network

Depth of contact Breadth of contacts

Act after thinking Act first, think after

Comparison of Thinking and Feeling

T _______________________________________ F

Thinking Feeling

Rationally correct Feels right

Weight of evidence Impact on people

Based on logic Based on commitment

Critique Appreciate

Consistent with principlesConsistent with values

Find rules, laws, models Find and build commitment

Comparison of Intuitive and Sensing

N_______________________________________ S

Intuitive Sensing

What could be The actual, what is

Innovation, change Practicality

Big picture Stick to facts

Options, more options Make it work

Strategic Worked in the past

Patient with complexity Patient with details

Comparison of Perceiving and Judging

P_______________________________________ J

Perceiving Judging

Open to possibilities Keeping on track

Open to more data Deciding

Flexible Planned

Spontaneous Order

Adapt Anticipate

Open-ended Concluded, closed