Like several others, I have found the Meyers Briggs test to be very helpful as a manager. Our office does this test for all employees, and it helps me understand why people react the way they do and why this person isn't really driving me nuts on purpose but instead it's how they process the world around them.

Maybe the online version is not very accurate. You get what you pay for. Our family has taken them in professional settings for one reason or another and they are pretty accurate. Some people are more analytical others are more intuitive. Some people lead and make decisions quickly others are the opposite. Not everyone is the same.

Many years ago I took one of these tests that related to determining your management style. I found it very helpful in teaching me that people can have very different styles and if you listen carefully you can determine someone else’s style and that can really help in how you work with them.

I don't see Meyers Briggs as the gospel truth, but the analysis has been very useful to me in helping to understand some family members and acquaintances - just a bit more insight into why they might be seeing things or reacting to situations the way that they do.

Like many others, I've taken the test several times online and came out as several different types. However, when I took the Meyers Briggs through work, it turns out that I was right on the line on a couple of parameters - E/I, for example. (This makes sense - I am an ambivert). So it's not surprising that my 'type' comes out slightly differently depending on what day I took the online test.

Meyers Briggs definitely has limitations, and it's not fair to pigeonhole someone based on their personality assessment.....but it's a tool, and one that I've found to be helpful in a number of relationships.

Many employers use them. I personally believe they are a waste of money.

It’s not exactly what you might call scientific. Here’s a quick history https://youtu.be/_NQqSnkI32A

I’ll speak up in defense of Myers-Briggs. I found it very helpful, as someone else noted, for understanding how people are different than you and appreciating the value of those differences. For me, the biggest example is Judging vs. Perceiving. Generally, judgers want to make a decision, while perceivers want to take in more information and leave their options open. I am a nearly off the charts J. I find 95% of the time when someone in a professional setting rubs me the wrong way, they are wanting to push a decision to the next meeting, play something by ear, or something similar. In those cases, it’s helpful to me to think to myself “okay, they are probably a P. I should listen to what they are saying carefully, as often waiting IS the right move, but it’s not my instinct.”

I find it's useful, especially when I've taken them with coworkers and we get to see why someone may act the way they do, or at least their tendencies.

Is it scientific? No, but the tests do provide some insight.

Anonymous wrote:I believe in the accuracy of the Harry Potter house-sorting hat more than the Meyers Briggs test.

Well of course. Hogwarts is sound science.

I think there is a tendency to treat the results as gospel, which I think is ridiculous. Might it help point out some tendencies or preferences? Sure. Does it reveal the inner secrets of your core being? No.

Choose which one you prefer: concrete or abstract. Well, are we talking about concrete and abstract in the idea sense, or are we talking about concrete sidewalks and abstract art? I love sidewalks because they're incredibly useful! I hate abstract art. I dislike concrete ways of thinking and strongly prefer abstract, conceptual discussions. How I happen to recognize, define and consider those terms on the day I take the Meyers Briggs informs where my personality type lands. Ergo, it's hooey.

I also hold the probably very snobby and unpopular opinion that "personality tests" or various other "inventories" don't do a good job of testing populations that are highly intelligent or consider nuance in responses. Another example from yet another personality test I was obligated to take: if someone cuts in front of you in a department store line, will you object and demand the person honor your place in line, or allow the person to go ahead of you? Per my results on this particular test, I was told I was conflict averse (because in the majority of situations, I'd let the line-cutting slide because in doing the mental math I'm likely to get out of there faster if I don't have to deal with an argument over line placement, and I have better things to do with my time). In real life, I'm a dog with a bone and do not shy away from conflict when the issue at hand is meaningful.

Nuance matters. These tests are ridiculously blunt instruments lacking any nuance.

I find the one that scored me ISTJ (Meyer Briggs?) to be rather consistent over the past 20 years and the description sounds most like me vs the other types.

My results on the Meyers-Briggs type tests are surprisingly consistent, and have been over the years.

I'm not sure what people are debating about--it's helpful to know if you're and introvert or extravert or thinking vs judging etc. It can help you navigate both your strengths and weaknesses in addition to helping you understand others. What's the problem with that?

Not at ALL. I've gotten wildly different results by taking it when I'm in different moods. Sometimes I'm fairly hopeful and decently happy and other times I'm all doom and gloom.

I played a sport in college and my coach had us take this test for fun and then assigned our away game hotel roommates based on it. It worked out surprisingly well. So having seen it in action I’m a believer. I’ve taken it again since then just to see how I would score and I got the same result.

Anonymous wrote:Accuracy aside, what’s the relevance of these tests?

It made me understand why I react the way I do. For example I am very thin skinned and tend to take things personally. I have a high sense of urgency and get frustrated when others don't have the same urgency. Knowing that I am an outlier on those two, for example, made me recognize the behavior and adapt. And recognize that others don't react the same way.