| Topic Name: |
Consultants and personality types - a clear pattern? |
| Message Name: |
your hypothesis is accurate |
| Date Posted: |
03/26/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
Anyone know about Myers Briggs personality types? It seems to me that the typical consultant is an ENTJ type, or maybe INTJ or ENTP.
For the uninitiated, ENTJ =
E: extraverted (focused on the real world more than ideas, talkative as opposed to more withdrawn)
---> helps consultants with all their people interaction and the real world of business problems
N: intuitive (perceives the world through intuitions rather than relying on the 5 senses - concerned with possibilities rather than the present, often big picture rather than details
---> helps consultants analyse problems and look for solutions, as well as drive on towards career possibilities
T: thinking (makes decisions based on what is logical rational sensible, as opposed to making decisions based on how it might affect other people particularly their feelings)
---> helps consultants thrive on efficiency and loath incompetence, and enjoy problems that are based round "things" more than "people"
J: decisive (prefers decision making rather than perceiving, getting things finished and over with rather than contemplating the world)
---> helps consultants stay on top of their busy schedule
It seems the N and the T are crucial for consultants, particularly I'd suggest the T.
Why do I bring this up? Not because I'm a psychologist, but because I'm a recent graduate about to apply for McKinsey, and I'm an INFP....and I don't think I'd enjoy consulting because I'm strongly "F" not "T"
Any thoughts? Anyone want to prove my hypothesis wrong? :-) |
| Message: |
When we did Myers-Briggs, the types you mentioned were the most common. However, we had people of all 16 permutations, and some of the partners were some of the people with the "unusual" types. Don't read too much into MB. For one thing, these tests tend to measure what you *want* to be or what you perceive yourself to be, not what you are. Additionally, complementary (i.e. opposite) personalities sometimes work best together while similar personalities clash.
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