What MBTI® can do and where Insights® Discovery goes one step further

MBTI®, Myer-Briggs Type Indicator, is a psychological test that sorts people into one of 16 personality types. Each type has its strengths, blind spots and distinct traits. Gaining knowledge of which category you fall into can help with personal development, improving communication and understanding team dynamics in the workplace. Similar to Insights® Discovery, the MBTI® framework is based on the work of psychologist Carl Gustav Jung. 

Many people now ask, what’s the difference between the two? When would you choose one over the other? In this article, we’ll run through what MBTI can do and where Insights goes one step further. We include thoughts from one of Tree Trunk’s managing partners, David, who is a licensed trainer in both MBTI® and Insights® Discovery.

The Myer-Briggs Type Indicator is a self-report questionnaire used to determine a person’s personality type. Each question has two opposing answers and the participant must choose the one that is most suited to them. The test can have from 93 to 144 questions. These collated answers categorize the individual into one of 16 personality types and a generic report explaining the traits of that type is generated. 

The theory behind the types is based on three preference pairs which are derived from Carl Jung’s theory of personality. The fourth was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs:

1. Energy: introversion (I) or extraversion(E)
2. Information: sensing (S) or intuition (N)
3. Decisions: thinking (T) or feeling (F)
4. Structure: judging (J) or perceiving (P)

The 16 personality types are each represented by a four letter combination. For example, INTJ is characterized by someone who is logical, creative and analytical.

More information on our MBTI page.

• The questions in the MBTI test are quicker and easier to answer, due to the simple two-choice system.
• Due to its close affinity with Jungian psychology, the theory behind the MBTI system can be easily researched. If you discover your personality type, the material – in books and online – that can dissect the psychology behind that type is abundant. 
• Given the longevity of the model, there is a wide range of publications which provide information on the personality type preferences, discerning results, how to improve your weaker traits, careers or working methods you’re best suited to. 
• Affiliated with the previous point, MBTI is well-suited to in-depth individual coaching. For longer term one-to-one partnerships that involve continuous development, there is a vast amount of data and examples accessible for MBTI.

There are many publicly available materials that provide a deep dive into the meaning of an individual’s MBTI type in the context of specific situations and topics. These include teamwork, leadership, managing conflict, decision-making, communication, change management, and career development.

Insights® Discovery is a psychometric tool, also based on the work of psychologist C.G. Jung. It uses a simple four colour model that helps individuals understand more about themselves, those around them and how they can tap into their strengths within the workplace.

There are four colour energies: fiery red, sunshine yellow, earth green and cool blue. Individuals tend to have a strong preference towards the attributes common to one or two of these colours. 

Insights is a licensed product with training carried out by a qualified practitioner such as those at Tree Trunk Partners. Sessions can be done for both groups and individuals. Each person participates in an online questionnaire in advance of their workshop. The answers to each of the 25 questions must be ranked on a scale from ‘most like me’ to ‘least like me’. This allows for measuring intensities of traits.

The Insights® Discovery evaluator generates a comprehensive, personalized Insights® Discovery profile explaining a person’s colour energy preferences, working style and more. The subsequent workshop or debriefing discussion includes an overview of the methodology behind the Insights tool, interactive exercises and facilitated discussions based on workplace scenarios. For more details on what happens during an Insights Discovery workshop, read our full guide here.

 I consider the Insights model to be slightly more accessible and memorable than the Myers-Briggs model, even though it is based on the same foundations as MBTI—namely, the ideas of Jung’s type theory.

• The four-colour model is user-friendly, memorable and easy to digest. Even years after a workshop, we find our clients remember their preferred colour energies. The MBTI four letter framework is harder to remember if not regularly reinforced.
• Although not open source, there are many useful articles available on the Insights website that offer further reading and tips to support what you learn in your personal profile.
• This training is well-suited to those with a limited time frame and preferable for teams. The four-colour model makes it easy to compare and understand colleagues’ working preferences. The team wheel provides an easy visual reference to demonstrate strengths and gaps in a team’s composition.

I believe the Insights model is more memorable in a team setting, especially because of the use of colours and the so-called Insights Wheel, from which the Insights Team Wheel is derived. 

MBTI has a similar idea with its grid of 16 types. However, this is more challenging for teams to remember and more difficult to use in a workshop.

With Insights, we use a large, three-metre-by-three-metre Insights mat, which we place on the floor. With an MBTI workshop, we try to do something similar by building the 16-box grid on the floor using colourful marking tape. However, it is still less immediately obvious where the similarities and differences are between the people standing on the grid, and what this means for the team.

• Every participant receives an Insights® Discovery personal profile which provides a great deal of individualized detail, as opposed to a generic description of a singular personality type. An example of an Insights® personal profile can be found on our website here. This also requires less self-research after participation.
• The graded questionnaire enables the measurement of the degrees to which a person exhibits characteristic traits. This can also be done with MBTI but isn’t demonstrated in a single visual representation. It involves manually taking your 16-type result and looking at the numerical values for each of the four preference pairs. 
• Insights have built many easy-to-understand tools off the back of Jungian analytical psychology. The system has a plug-in for Microsoft Teams and offers other instruments such as the Insights® Explore digital tool and the feedback resource Insights® Discovery Full Circle.

As a licensed practitioner for both MBTI and Insights Discovery in Switzerland, Tree Trunk Partners has spent over a decade helping individuals and teams understand and value their unique styles, and implement strategies for realizing their full potential.

Sources:

https://www.myersbriggs.org/

https://www.themyersbriggs.com/

https://treetrunk.ch