| Topic Name: |
Consultants and personality types - a clear pattern? |
| Message Name: |
it's about preference |
| Date Posted: |
04/03/2002 |
| 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E: extraverted (focused on the real world more than ideas, talkative as opposed to more withdrawn)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: |
from my point of view, the mbti is about preference, not ability. i am an enfj, but have been able to learn to balance my natural inclination towards "f" with practical understanding of when "t" is necessary.
although there are some stats that suggest some mbti profiles are more likely to succeed in consulting than others, i don't think the tool is best used to draw those lines. mbti is often used by the consulting firms during training to help people understand where their natural preferences are, and when they need to stretch themselves to be more effective. as such, an entj has to adapt quite often. for example, the "e" will need to know when to allow introverts to participate in a meeting or discussion, rather than follow the natural tendency to dominate a conversation. there is no "right" profile; rather, there are behavior targets that require different adjustments depending on your profile.
if you are a strong "f", think about consulting as an environment where you would be able to stretch yourself to use logic where appropriate, and focus your colleagues on people issues when necessary. if you find that the consulting environment is fundamentally at odds with your personality, then you have a problem. however, i would not walk away from recruiting because you think your profile is not a perfect fit; there is no perfect fit.
good luck.
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