Personality Type Biases Lead to Missed Opportunities

Hiring pros often rely on the MBTI to assess candidate fit, but misconceptions regarding what a personality type really means can drive bad hiring decisions. Of the many biases in the world, one that quite often leads to lost opportunity is the idea that certain personality types are suited for some types of work and not others.

For example, those who know me outside of work are often surprised to learn I'm in front of groups of people (large and small) almost every day. I deliver single-day and week-long workshops in every industry at every organizational level. I love what I do, but conventional wisdom says I shouldn't — because I also have a preference for introversion.

Outside of work, that preference is usually obvious. When I tell people what I do, I get a double take and questions like, "Isn't that exhausting for you?" When I say, "Not really" — again, I love what I do — people look surprised.

Many assume only those who prefer extraversion are cut out for presenting, selling, talking to customers, and so on, while those who prefer introversion are only meant for less social, less people-facing careers. I'm here to tell you this bias is simply not accurate.

Any Type Can Do Anything

Our personality preferences shouldn't be used to limit us. While The Myers-Briggs Company has data that shows certain personality types are attracted to certain careers, that doesn't mean they perform better in those careers. Any personality type can do anything.

From time to time, I work with people interested in exploring careers in which their personality types are underrepresented. I encourage these people to continue exploring those careers while also giving them a dose of reality by letting them know there may not be a lot of people like them in that line of work. "Is being different something you can handle on a daily basis? Can you thrive in an environment like that?" I'll ask.

Certain personality types are attracted to certain careers, but that doesn't mean they perform better in those careers.

I then help these people explore how their differences might drive innovation the field is missing. I'm reminded of a nuclear engineer with, in Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) terms, preferences for ENTP (extraversion, intuition, thinking, perceiving). He works mostly with people with E or I STJ (sensing, thinking, judging) preferences. This person certainly has a different work style from his colleagues, and at times his coworkers don't get his "let's look for new, innovative ways to change the system" approach. However, his colleagues will also tell you that he pushes them to think outside the box and explore new ideas that might improve processes and safety.

There Is No Such Thing as an 'Introvert'

Ultimately, what engages us in work does not have to do with whether we prefer extraversion or introversion. You may notice that I'm not saying "extravert" or "introvert." I don't use either word because I don't believe there is a "true" version of either.

Imagine if you lived in a world that was exclusively either extraverted or introverted. Carl Jung — the psychiatrist on whose work the MBTI is based — believed that would be a problem. Only living in the extraverted world or being an "extravert" would eventually feel overwhelming for a person and annoying to the people around them. Only living in the introverted world or being an "introvert" would eventually feel underwhelming and make a person seem absent to others.

I think it's more useful to consider having a preference for extraversion or introversion. This understanding does away with labels that can limit us, and it helps us see that we all have parts of our personalities we use in the extraverted world and other parts we use in the introverted world. We just prefer one world (E or I) over the other.

Extraversion and Introversion: Two Worlds Intertwined

We can better understand what personality preferences tell us about ourselves by looking beyond the first letter of our four-letter type (E or I). We need to also consider the middle two letters (S or N and T or F processes), and how the last letter (J or P) orients or directs its energy to the outer world.

If a person prefers judging (J), they'll usually "extravert" their judging process (T or F). If a person prefers perceiving (P), they'll usually extravert their perceiving process (S or N). For balance, the other process in their four-letter type will be used in the introverted world.

This may all seem a bit complicated, but it helps us understand so much more about ourselves. For example, my preferences are INFP. Because I prefer perceiving (my last letter), I extravert intuition (S and N are perceiving processes), and for balance I introvert feeling (T and F are judging processes). So, you see, there is really no complete "extravert" or "introvert." When I'm taking in information using intuition, I do that in the extraverted world. However, when I make decisions using feeling, I need space to do that in the introverted world.

The 'Introverted' Trainer

While my overall preference is for introversion, I hope I've made it clear that not only is there no such thing as an introvert, but there's also no such thing as a truly introverted trainer. While I need to reenergize after using extraverted energy all day, if I'm in a place that allows me to use the extraverted side of my personality type — intuition — I feel more, not less, energized by the end of the day.

If, during my programs and workshops, I can work with people to explore possibilities around change, conflict, and communication, I can't wait to do that again the next day.

Alternatively, if I need to make decisions on the spot in that extraverted world, I can do it, but I find those days draining. As noted above, I use feeling to make decisions, and I need introverted space to do so most effectively.

Remember: All people who prefer introversion have a side that is extraverted, and all people who prefer extraversion have a side that is introverted.

The 'Introverted' Employee Bias

You work with, report to, or have reporting to you many people who prefer introversion. The 2018 MBTI Manual for the Global Step I and II Assessments notes that people who prefer introversion represent 56.8 percent of the population. People who prefer introversion are everywhere — and yet, time and again, they are overlooked. According to Myers-Briggs Company data, people who prefer extraversion are almost twice as likely to be promoted to leadership positions as those who prefer introversion — but there is no data that shows one preference is better than the other when it comes to performing the duties of a leadership role.

We all have gifts and blind spots, but it can be all too easy to see the blind spots of people who are different from us.

What engages us at work does not have to do with whether we prefer extraversion or introversion.

Biases limit our perceptions and cloud our judgments — which makes them especially damaging to the hiring process, which requires some degree of objectivity for the best results.

Instead of dismissing someone because they don’t fit a traditional mold, stay open to what they might bring to your organization.

MBTI co-creator Isabel Briggs Myers once wrote, "By developing individual strengths, guarding against weaknesses, and appreciating the strengths of other types, life will be more amusing, more interesting, and more of a daily adventure than it could possibly be if everyone were alike."

If you're looking to transform your organization, the key may just be looking past biases and being open to others' gifts. You may be surprised by what you find.

Michael Segovia is the lead trainer for The Myers-Briggs Company's MBTI certification programs.