THE SIXTEEN PROFILES AT WORK

Introduction

In our first book, Type Talk, we offered comprehensive profiles of the sixteen
personality types, detailing their behavior throughout their lives- as children, parents,
mates, even as senior citizens. The profiles that follow focus primarily on the
relationships and situations of the workplace.
Be careful: The danger in creating typological profiles is that they are usually
viewed as rigid boxes encompassing an unvarying and static set of characteristics. That
can make them more confining than liberating, ironically defeating the whole point of
Typewatching, which is to allow room for you to be yourself and for others to be
themselves. We do not intend these profiles to be the final statements; rather they are
intended as pints of reference for insight into yourself and others. Remember the Third
Commandment of Type watching: It is only a theory; it takes real life to validate it.
There are several ways to validate your profile. First and foremost is to highlight
those pats with which you agree and note the parts with which you disagree. Next, you
might consider soliciting feedback about your profile from those who know you well-
your mate, your staff, your co-workers, perhaps even your kids. These individuals will
confirm or counter what you saw about yourself in the profile; where they disagree with
you will provide the basis for a highly insightful discussion about others’ perceptions of
you. Furthermore, you might want to read the profile of your four-letter opposite – the
ENFJ profile, for example, if you are an ISTP. Such a reading should provide a sharp
contrast you your own preferences, helping to put your own profile into perspective.
Typological profiles have been accused from time to time of being like
astrological horoscopes: general statements broad enough to encompass everyone. That’s
simply not true. These profiles are based on sound theory and empirical observation of
human behavior.
Most typological profiles previously written have been more positive than
negative. This concurred with the affirming nature of Typewatching in general: I is a
psychological model based on oriented profiles n the following pages break that trend.
Because the workplace, with its stresses and demands, often engenders a variety of
behaviors that are not all positive, and because people often get tripped up by the
negative side of a boss describing the various weaknesses that can plague each type. We
believe it is important to know the potential stumbling pints if you are to be well
equipped to deal with the demands of the workplace.
Still, there are many strengths to be found in each profile. The more we can
integrate those strengths and recognize the shortfalls, the more we can live with-and even
prosper from- each other’s differences.

How to use the Profiles

The profiles below can be useful in several ways:

• First and most important, they can validate your own personality type.
Whether you have taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or simply
tentatively identified your four preferences from reading this book, the
profiles can substantiate your findings, showing how the four letters interact to
create a unique personality type. In reading your profile, if you find yourself
agreeing with the most of the statements, you have likely reported yourself
accurately. It may be helpful as you read the profile to underline and highlight
parts with which you strongly agree or disagree.
• Next consider sharing your profile with someone who knows you well,
perhaps a co-worker, boss, or subordinate. Consider asking that person to high
light the parts of your profile with which he or she strongly agree or disagrees.
That will give you some powerful feedback about whether others perceive you
as you perceive yourself.
• This exercise can also work in a group situation. Sharing profiles, and having
them available at crucial moments-before meetings, on deadline, during
crises-can help keep lines of communication open and allow each individual
to use his or her strengths an be mindful of particular weaknesses.
• Another possible use of the profiles is in coping with individuals who may be
giving you difficulty at work. If you know- or can at least guess- their four
preferences, reading their profiles may provide some insight into the source of
the problem. That can open the way to communication and resolution.