Newsletter #36

In this issue:

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and Communicating with ESTJs

About the Strong Interest Inventory®: Education Levels

About the FIRO-B™: Team Development – Need for Affection

The 16PF®– The 16 Personality Factors: Factor G – Rule Consciousness

Communicating with ESTJs

Our friends the ESTJs are commonly described as people who prefer communication that is precise, detailed, and direct. They frequently enjoy following established rules, so those who respect and follow the rules, structure, and hierarchy will have an advantage dealing with ESTJs. Likewise, ESTJs prefer people who follow through on their commitments, stick to timelines, schedules, and deadlines, as well those who proceed in a systematic fashion. ESTJs respect authority and experience, so it will help if you do so as well. Further, they trust the known, the tried-and-true methods, and standard operating procedures. Finally, ESTJs like people who are responsible, and who know their role in an organization, and who support established goals or plans.

Conversely, things ESTJs tend to dislike include those who challenge or question rules or procedures, as well as those who want to change just for the sake of change, without any real reason or supporting data. ESTJs rarely enjoy discussing theory, models, or anything untested. They do not like people who are vague, who equivocate, or who take things personally. Small talk is not something most ESTJs enjoy, particularly if it means less work gets done. They do not like it when people wander about the office having personal chats with everyone. ESTJs are usually decisive, and dislike it when people take too long to decide. What is too long? For some ESTJs, that's anything longer than "immediately." Finally, spending too much time on personal matters during work time is seen by many ESTJs as wasting time.

About the Strong Interest Inventory: Education Levels

One interesting thing about the theme codes on the Strong is how they can predict how much education a person pursues. As with all statistics, these studies describe groups, and cannot predict how any one individual in a group will behave. So if you're a highly educated person with interests that are at the lower end of the scales, that's okay. It doesn't mean the statistics are incorrect or there's something wrong with you. It means simply that many people in a group will tend to follow the pattern.

So which types have the highest educational aspirations? Generally speaking, from high to low, it's Investigative, Social, Artistic, Conventional, Enterprising, and Realistic types . This holds true the greater a person's similarity to one personality type is. For example, if your pattern is clearly Social, it's more likely you'll match the group's tendencies. Again, this is not mandatory, merely a common pattern.

Educational achievement follows the same groupings: Investigative, Social, Artistic, Conventional, Enterprising and Realistic. This would make sense, as many Realistic jobs, for example, have limited formal education requirements, while Investigative jobs, such as scientist, require quite rigorous academic preparation.

As is true with other topics related to the Strong, students usually do better with a teaching style that matches their personalities. For example, Social students will probably do better with teachers who also have that style and teach those kinds of classes. Once again, it comes down to alignment between interests and activities.

The FIRO-B: Team Development – Need for Affection

Most teams follow predictable patterns of development that are related to the FIRO-B. In some cases, the need for Affection is the first need to be addressed by the group. As the team begins to form, there are typical questions and issues you might have to deal with.

When Affection is the most important stage of a team's development, some common issues that can arise include wondering why there is a lack of trust, trying to establish personal relationships, learning who is most helpful and supportive among the team members, and deciding how to resolve differences. Others might question how long the group can function as a team, or if the team members are truly being open and honest in their communications.

Some ways to address these concerns include spending more time in meetings to get to know each other, or participating as a group in a team development workshop, or making an effort to get to know one team member very well before concentrating on others. You can also offer your assistance to the person you know best to help build a solid foundation. The team can celebrate its accomplishments so far, which will help bond the group together.

The 16 Personality Factors: Factor G – Rule Consciousness

The next 16PF scale for discussion is the Factor "G" scale, which is Rule Consciousness. What exactly does this scale measure?

Generally, this scale measures how much cultural standards of right and wrong are internalized and used to control one's behavior. People with high scores tend to see themselves as strict followers of manners, rules, and principles. Some compare this with Freud’s concept of superego, which controls the impulses of the id. Those who are Rule Conscious tend to accept the importance of obeying rules, and see themselves as conscientious and persevering. Others might see high scorers as dogmatic, inflexible, self-righteous, or staid. In contrast, low scorers can either have a poorly developed sense of right and wrong, or have non-conformist or unconventional beliefs.

High scorers often report they carefully consider what's proper and right when making a decision. They feel having good manners, strict adherence to moral standards, and respect for rules is more important than being able to do whatever one wants.

On the other side, low scorers often believe most rules can be broken, particularly when there are good reasons. They can get annoyed when forced to follow rules that make no sense to them, or when their freedom to act as they please is curtailed. These people often have a strong need for autonomy, play, and flexibility, and can struggle a great deal when forced to conform to strict rules or regulations.