MBTI personality test for entrepreneurs

If you are interested in this searchA good tool to get to know your personality and that of your team is the MBTI Test will help you to know yourself and you can also use it to choose a suitable partner or employee for the job.

To ensure that the whole team of promoters and employees of the new company complement each other, The ideal is to look for different personality profiles and for each of these to be in line with their responsibilities and complementary to each other. 

Jung classifies people into two main groups: introverts and extroverts.

This division, together with the irrational functions (perceive and intuit) and rational (thinking and feeling) of the human being, allows the construction of the 16 personality types that are the basis of the MBTI tests. 

In order to find out exactly what the personality of the person who has taken the test is, there are four groups of qualifiers, with two adjectives each:

• Extroverts (E) and Introverts (I)
• Common Sense (S) or Intuitive (N)
• Thinkers (T) or Feelers (F)
• Judicious (J) or Perceptive (P)

After taking the test, It is already possible to know the person's attitude to a decision or to find out how he or she will interact with the rest of the team.

However, Which personality profiles fit which positions within a start-up?

• Personality profiles for the CEO (managers and executives):

Such people are capable of make practical decisions quickly, They are also born leaders, value their responsibilities and commitments. -S-J

Logical, analytical and good at devising a strategy. -N-J

Architect INTJ / Executive ESTJ / Commander ENTJ 

• Personality profiles for the CTO / COO (programmers, engineers and researchers):

Independent and creative to solve problems that need to be Theoretical and precise. -N-P for managers and decision-makers. -STJ

Logical INTP / Innovative ENTP / Logistician ISTJ / Executive ESTJ

• Personality profiles for CMO (marketing, design and creativity)

In this group of people are those who have creative or pragmatic personalities. -S-P

Adventurer ISFP / Virtuoso ISTP / Entertainer ESFP / Innovator ENTP / Activist ENFP

• Personality profiles for CFO (finance, accounting, administration)

Individuals practical and fact-focused, whose reliability cannot be doubted.

Logista ISTJ / Virtuoso ISTP

• Human Resources CHO:

This personality type reflects a innate vocation to help others, therefore performs well roles that make other people feel good. -SFJ

Mediator INFP / Consul ESFJ / Ombudsman ISFJ

• Sales / Customer service:

This personality type reflects a innate vocation to help others, therefore perform well in roles that require commitment to others and a willingness to compromise. -SFJ

ESFJ Consul / ISFJ Ombudsman

Now you know the profiles and their suitability for the job. During the interview, try to get them to take a validated personality test such as those you can easily find on the internet. and that, in addition, are free of charge and remember that this is only an approximation, Almost all the profiles recommended in this article are oriented towards leadership and strategic management.

Profiles for the management of day-to-day tasks do not necessarily correspond to -NT- (analysts).

On the other hand, if you are a CEO and you have the profile Entrepreneur ESTP, do not panic, you have a lower predisposition to planning or analysis, but your ability to communicate and link people to your project will help you to find those profiles that complement you.

The MBTI personality test (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) is a tool for classifying the different personality types of people and is widely used in the field of psychology and coaching.

PIt provides insight into a person's dominant psychological traits and is mainly used for self-knowledge, to better understand interpersonal relationships and as reinforcement for certain professional positions.

What is personality?

Personality is defined as the set of specific character traits that make up a person's individuality: emotions, attitude, behaviour, etc.

It is a rather stable core in the person, even if he or she changes environment or social circle. 

Our personality would be innate in a 50% (we are talking about temperament), acquired in the family environment in a 10% (we are talking about character), and is made up in a 40% of unexplained factors.

Our personality is what makes us unique and the diversity of these personalities is what enriches humanity and produces the beauty of our interactions.

But this diversity is not always evident because interacting with so many personalities on a daily basis, with family, among friends or at work, is not an easy task.

Our personality affects our attitudes and behaviour and is what defines us in relation to ourselves but also in relation to others and our environment.

Our characters and temperaments are all different, but the results of numerous scientific studies show that personalities can be grouped into 16 personality types.

Basic concept of the MBTI test

It is based on the conceptual theory of Carl Gustav Jung.

According to him, human beings sense the world through four main psychological functions, one of which predominates for most of life.

Jung's theories state that there is a sequence of four cognitive functions (thinking, feeling, sensing and intuition), each of which is oriented towards one pole (extraversion or introversion), thus offering a total of four cognitive functions (thinking, feeling, sensing and intuition), each of which is oriented towards one pole (extraversion or introversion). eight dominant functions.

The Myers and Briggs MBTI is based on these eight dominant functions, with certain differences in relation to Jung's model:

Structured or projective personality assessment: The MBTI uses a so-called structured approach to assessing personality, i.e. the answers are closed.

In contrast, Jung's method gives more value to open-ended responses by studying them in the overall context of the person, rather than according to a preconceived theory and concept.

Judgement and perception: Myers and Briggs indicate that adding a person's extraversion variable to Judgement or Perception (J or P) would thus be the dominant function for an extraverted type. In the case of an introverted type, it would be the auxiliary function.

Orientation of the tertiary function: For Jung, the dominant function of a subject acts only in his or her favourite environment (the outside for extroverts, the inside for introverts).

According to him, the remaining three functions operate together in an opposite orientation. 

Many practitioners question this concept, demonstrating its lack of empirical evidence, even though it forms part of the theoretical basis of the MBTI by Myers and Briggs.

For them, if the dominant cognitive function is introversion, the other functions will be extroverted and vice versa.

The MBTI has been created to normal populations and appreciates the importance of natural differences.

It is based on the fact that we all have specific preferences in the way we construct our experiences and that these predict our centres of interest, values and motivation.

How does the MBTI work?

At the origin of the MBTI test, we find the existence of two pairs of opposing cognitive functions, originally developed in the theories of psychological types by Jung:

• Rational functions (judgement): thinking and feeling.
• The irrational functions (perception): sensation and intuition.

For Carl Gustav Jung, each function is first expressed either extraverted or introverted. From this concept, Myers and Briggs developed their own theory of psychological types, on which the MBTI is based.

Jung states that just as we are right-handed or left-handed, we are born with or develop privileged ways of perceiving the world and making decisions.

The MBTI classifies some of these psychological differences into four opposing pairs, called dichotomies, resulting in 16 possible psychological types.

No personality type is better or worse than any other.

However, Myers and Briggs theorised that individuals innately prefer an overall mix: just as it is difficult to write left-handed if you are right-handed, it is difficult to use psychological preferences which are the opposite of our own, although they can help us to acquire more competences (and thus become more flexible in our behaviour) through practice and development.

The MBTI allows the determination of the dominant and auxiliary function of each subject, and highlights preferences along four axes:

• Introversion (I) and Extraversion (E), energy orientation:

It is the auxiliary function of the subject (be careful, it is not a question of being open or shy, but of having the outside world or the inner world as a source of energy).

• Sensoriality (S) and Intuition (N), information gathering:

It is the way in which the subject prioritises information gathering. It will always have a dominant and an auxiliary function.

• Rationality (T) and Emotion (F), decision making:

It is the way in which the subject deals with information. Here again, there will be a dominant and an auxiliary function.

• Judgement (J) and Perception (P), mode of action:

It is the main function of the subject. This axis is always extraverted.

To refine personalities and understand the most powerful functions (perception or judgement), Myers and Briggs have added the Judgement-Perception dichotomy based on Jung's work on rational (judgement) and irrational (perception) types.

Jung states that perception (Sensation or Intuition) is extraverted in irrational types, while judgement (Thought or Feeling) is extraverted in rational types.

Thus, the MBTI test allows 16 personality types to be identified from the two opposite poles on the four preceding axes.

We can determine our personality type thanks to a personality test that gives the result of four letters, the initials of which reflect each of the four types of preferences.

To be more precise:

• The first letter indicates whether the subject's main function is rather I or E (introvert or extravert).
• The fourth letter indicates the extraverted function: P or J (perception or judgement).
• If the subject has the result of type ExxP or IxxJ, the dominant function will be that of the second letter.
• If the subject has the result of type IxxP or ExxJ, the dominant function will be that of the third letter.

The MBTI thus makes it possible to determine:

• A dominant function and an auxiliary function.
• A tertiary function (complementary to the auxiliary function) and a lower function (complementary to the dominant function).

Example: if a subject has an INTP personality type, his extraverted axis (the fourth letter) is perception (P), his main function will be introverted (I) and will be that of intuition (N) with the third letter oriented towards thinking (T).

For a more accurate resultwe can apply the orientations of the energy (E and I) on the four mental processes.

According to Jung, we can thus identify eight cognitive functions (four extraverted and four introverted).

These functions are combined in different ways according to each person, but we all have a preference for one of them, which will be the most important and will structure us. This is called the dominant function.

These functions are:

• Extraverted Sensoriality (Se).
• Introverted Sensoriality (Yes).
• Extraverted Intuition (Ne).
• Introverted Intuition (Ni).
• Extraverted Emotion (Fe).
• Introverted Emotion (Fi).
• Extraverted Rationality (Te).
• Introverted Rationality (Ti).

What are the 16 personality types?

Marilyn Bates and Katharine Cook Briggs divided the 16 personalities into four temperaments, regrouping eight psychological functions:

• Rationals: are those who seek knowledge.

• Engineers:

The inventor: ENTP (Extraversion, Intuition, Rationality, Perception)

The architect: INTP (Introversion, Intuition, Rationality, Perception)

• The Coordinators:

The marshal: ENTJ (Extraversion, Intuition, Rationality, Judgement)

The mastermind: INTJ (Introversion, Intuition, Rationality, Judgement)

• The idealists

They are the identity seekers:

• Lawyers:

The champion: ENFP (Extraversion, Intuition, Emotion, Perception)

The healer: INFP (Introversion, Intuition, Intuition, Emotion, Perception)

• The Mentors:

The Professor: ENFJ (Extraversion, Intuition, Emotion, Judgement)

The Councillor: INFJ (Introversion, Intuition, Intuition, Emotion, Judgement)

• The Sentinels: son those seeking security.

• • Protectors:

The supplier: ESFJ (Extraversion, Sensoriality, Emotion, Judgement)

The protector: ISFJ (Introversion, Sensoriality, Emotion, Judgement)

• • The Managers:

The Supervisor: ESTJ (Extraversion, Sensoriality, Rationality, Judgement)

The Inspector: ISTJ (Introversion, Sensoriality, Rationality, Judgement)

• Artisans: sfor those in search of sensations. 

• • The Pranksters

The Artist: ESFP (Extraversion, Sensoriality, Emotion, Perception).

The Composer: ISFP (Introversion, Sensoriality, Emotion, Perception).

The Promoter: ESTP (Extraversion, Sensoriality, Rationality, Perception).

The Artisan: ISTP (Introversion, Sensoriality, Rationality, Perception).

To underline that the different personality types are not evenly distributed in the population: certain types are more common, others less so.

What is the MBTI for?

It is a fantastic tool that allows you to better understand the diversity of human nature.

It is often used during coaching sessions and teaches us to value the "other" for their personality, not in spite of it.

It allows us to put into words the things we often feel without being able to express them and to learn how to better manage interpersonal relationships according to the different personalities we meet along the way.

In the work area, it is an excellent help to better manage teams and work according to each person's character.

Discover how to recognise and respect different personalities.

Energy orientation: Introvert/Extravert (I/E)

An extravert feeds on the energy of the outside world, while an introvert uses the energy of his or her inner world.

Extroverts project their energy onto the world and the people around them: they are sociable, active and expressive.

Introverts have an energy concentrated on themselves, related to thoughts, emotions and actions: they are reserved, discreet and reflective.

An extrovert person is:

• dynamic, sociable, active, has a good energy circulation
• Can talk excessively, lacks listening skills, talks without thinking
• Respect an extraverted person by giving them attention cues, doing activities with them, don't interrupt them when they talk and understand that they may need to be with other friends.

An introvert is:

• Concentrated, reflective, calm, attentive.
• Lack of expression or reaction, may appear distant, cold and inhibited.
• Respect an introvert by giving her time, understanding her need to be alone, without forcing her to socialise, to go out or to tell details of her private life.

Data collection: Sensory/Intuition (Y/N)

We use the term "sensoriality" to refer to a person who gathers information about their environment through their five senses. (facts, practice)and the term "intuition" for a person who uses their instinct, their sixth sense. (imagination, insight/olfaction).

Sensory information is concrete and responding does not involve judgements or evaluations: sensitives are practical and Cartesian.

On the contrary, Intuition allows us to receive abstract information: Intuitives are imaginative and creative.

A sensory person is:

• Precise, rigorous, realistic, with a great practical sense.
• Difficult to change, perfectionist, very detail oriented, with a need to perpetuate traditions.
• Be precise and factual when talking to a sensitive person, value their way forward through their realism and explain things to them in stages. Do sensitive activities with them (gardening, sport, etc.).

An intuitive person is:

• Imaginative, with an ability to think long term and globally, understands relationships
• In the clouds, abstract, difficult to act and always in need of change.
• Appreciate the imagination and ingenuity of an intuitive person, listen to them and engage with them when they propose an idea. Trust them without trying to figure out how they know things if they can't explain them.

Decision-making: Rationality/Emotion (T/F)

Rationality is related to thinking, whereas emotions relate to our references, to our heart.

Rationality means observing the facts and making a judgement based on objective criteria, enabling decisions to be made on the basis of logical rules and values.

Emotion places personal values, morals, ethics, subjective criteria at the centre, making decisions taking into account harmony, empathy or sensitivity.

A rational person is:

• Objective, logical and rigorous, she knows how to distance herself.
• Cold, difficult to discern feelings, can be aggressive.
• Respect a rational person by appreciating their insight, asking for advice without questioning their personal life, agreeing to debate without being defensive and understanding that the other accepts your point of view.

An emotional person is:

• understanding, empathetic, listening, with a sense of values
• He finds it difficult to distance himself, he puts his personal considerations before everything else, he lacks rigour.
• Respect an emotional person by acknowledging their ability to help others, avoiding telling them that they lack logic or are too emotional, having personal conversations and appreciating their compassion.

Mode of action: Judgement/Perception (J/P)

Judgement values control and mastery, while perception emphasises flexibility.

A judge is organised, likes to make decisions and live in an environment where he can control everything.

A perceiver is open to change, curious and non-conformist.

A judgmental person is:

• Methodical, organised, respects deadlines.
• Rigid (can be considered manic), bureaucratic, has an exaggerated sense of duty.
• Respect the person judging by understanding their need to be methodical and organised, respecting your commitments to them (such as being punctual for an appointment) and their organisation.

An insightful person is:

• Reactive, spontaneous, she knows how to improvise without making decisions in a hurry.
• She has difficulty meeting deadlines, is late, is untidy and has difficulty dealing with authority.
• He respects the perceiver by understanding his flexibility, his need to ask questions before making a decision, without imposing a useless burden and by being very insistent when he has to respect a deadline or a commitment.

Is the MBTI test really effective?

It is effective in many areas, as the professional since, allows for a better understanding of interpersonal dynamics through one's personality as well as where it can help to find the career path that suits us best.

But let us not forget that is only an indicator: the 16 personality types do not always fully fit their descriptions, as we all live a history that shapes us.

There is an MBTI level II test, which can be done with a qualified professional and gives a better understanding of the results obtained in the first test.