How can you design a team workshop that aligns with your team's personality types?

1 What is the MBTI?

The MBTI is a questionnaire that assesses how people perceive the world and make decisions. It assigns one of 16 personality types based on four dimensions: extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving. Each type has its own strengths, weaknesses, and preferences for communication, learning, and working.

2 Why use the MBTI for team workshops?

The MBTI can be an invaluable tool for designing a team workshop that aligns with your team's personality types. It can help you identify common and diverse traits, provide insights into how team members prefer to interact, communicate, and solve problems, and suggest activities, methods, and formats that suit their learning styles and motivations. By using the MBTI, you can also help your team become more aware of each other's differences and similarities, leading to greater understanding and appreciation.

3 How to use the MBTI for team workshops?

The first step is to have your team members complete the MBTI questionnaire and share their results with each other. You can use online tools or hire a certified practitioner to administer the test and interpret the results. The second step is to analyze the results and look for patterns, gaps, and opportunities for improvement. You can use online resources or consult a facilitator to help you with this step. The third step is to plan your workshop based on the findings and recommendations from the previous steps. You can use the following tips to guide you:

4 Tips for designing a workshop based on the MBTI

When considering the balance of extraverts and introverts, sensors and intuitives, thinkers and feelers, and judgers and perceivers in your team, it's important to provide enough space and time for both types of activities. You should also include both types of information and examples, criteria and perspectives, expectations and outcomes. Additionally, it's important to respect both types of judgments and decisions as well as allow for both types of adjustments and changes. This way, you can ensure that everyone on your team can contribute in a meaningful way.

5 How to evaluate a workshop based on the MBTI

The final step is to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of your workshop based on the MBTI. You can use surveys, interviews, or observations to collect and analyze feedback from your team members. To guide you, consider questions such as: How well did the workshop meet the needs and preferences of each personality type? How well did the team members interact, communicate, and collaborate with each other? How much did the team members learn, create, and achieve? And how much did they appreciate, understand, and respect each other's differences and similarities after the workshop? By using the MBTI as a tool to design and evaluate your team workshop, you can create a more engaging, productive, and enjoyable experience. Additionally, it can foster a more cohesive, diverse, and effective team culture that capitalizes on the strengths of each personality type.