My Myers-Briggs tells me I'm not the most organized and planful person. And I'm not. This is one of the not-so-pretty things I've come to accept about myself and my personality as I've gotten a bit older.
I'm a serious P – meaning, in part, that I kind of like distractions and I don't like being forced into rigid routines or making plans too far in advance.
This isn't a particularly adaptive characteristic as it relates to work and organizational life. So, I was glad to be reminded by a colleague of mine – also co-author of this book on generational issues in the workplace - that I shouldn't allow myself to be victim to my "P-ness."
It's true. She said that. Jokingly, of course, and in the context of the story where she accidently made this remark in the middle of an MBTI workshop.
And she's right. Despite my natural tendency to be a lame-ass when it comes to planning and project management, I can do better.
So can you. Carl Jung, according to my colleague, described personality types like the Myers Briggs types as rooms in a house. "Your type" is simply the room in which you feel most comfortable. "Maturity," then, according to Jung, was the process of becoming more comfortable in all of the various rooms of the house. Sage advice.
You know who else liked to use the analogy of rooms in a house? Cicero. But instead of using those rooms to expand your horizons, he used them to remember his arguments as to why someone should be punished, or closing horizons, I guess you could say. How ironic?
[...] Don’t Fall Victim to Your P-Ness: Mike Shoemakes not just making a good point about personality types, preferences and working styles, but demonstrating a real talent for the arresting headline. Just because we’ve passed judgment doesn’t mean we have P-Ness Envy issues, Mike, we just like your style … [...]