The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was extrapolated Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers from a theory proposed by Carl Gustav Jung on human psychological traits. Jung developed psychological types based on four functions: Feeling, Thinking, iNtuition, and Sensing, and two attitudes: Extraversion and Introversion. Myers-Briggs combined and perfected Jung’s theory to make more comprehensive yet practical taxonomy of human psychological traits.

There are several psychometric tools out there, such as HEXACON and The Big Five Model. However, MBTI is one of the most popular because it is easy to understand yet quiet comprehensive to explain someone’s psychological preferences in how people perceive their surrounding and make decisions. Some experts opined that The Big Five Model is the most reliable and consistent of all because it has more empirical basis than any other tools, yet it has problem in its implementation on HRD purpose due to its bluntness and counter productiveness. To sum it up, it is considered as “undiplomatic and unpractical”. The Big Five Model will tell you that you are close minded person. But MBTI will tell you that you “upheld tradition” instead. The packaging of MBTI has evolved years from its birth to make it has more positive outcome at the end, and will tell you (In a politically correct way) to “adjust” your behavior a little bit.

Its popularity proven by the fact that 89 companies on the Fortune 100 Companies list use it for their HRD purpose. Even in well-respected consulting firm such as McKinsey & Company, the staff casually used MBTI as basis when judging their colleague’s behavior. Like horoscope of Javanese Primbon, yet far more accurate. The conversation like “No wonder she is so pushy, typical ENTJ (Extravertion, iNtuition, Thinking, Judging)” would often occurs in McKinsey. It is actually a good thing though, since at least their staffs grasp the concept of MBTI, so they can treat and respond to their peers behavior diplomatically. It will solve day to day simple miscommunication problem, like when the more extraverted staff will not misjudged their introverted colleague as having personal problem with them when that particular person is being silent in front of computer all day long.

The problem is this kind of tools is not yet familiar in bureaucracy. Some top-notch central government institution has already use more reliable tools than MBTI in their HRD Division ivory tower, but their staffs are often unaware, or do not have sufficient curiosity to study the more complicated psychometric tools than MBTI. The result is their HRD Division has an outlook of their employees (yet often ignores it in their decision making process), but their staffs can not use it as a diplomacy weapon on socializing and coordinating with their peers.

In  less sophisticated government institution, including local government, they do not have any psychometric tools to place the right man on the right place. Thus, the placement of the employees is completely subjective and often ignores certain prerequisite skills and psychological traits, for example placing a very extroverted staff in IT Department. It might work if the staff is skillful enough, but why don’t they place a more introverted individual with similar set of skills instead? The individual will (theoritically) be happier in such place since it has minimum human interaction. In these kind of instituion, the implementation of MBTI would be even more adequate, since they are lacking of research and development resources to implement a more complicated tools.

Sure every individuals is unique (who doesn’t want to regard themselves as “unique”, it has nice ring in it right? It has been widely perceived as having association with the word “smart”). Usually these “unique and smart” employees disliked being classified into some not-so-empirical psychological traits, whether because it is “beneath” them or simply because they are too traditional to use some cold-hearted psychometric tools to measures human soul.

But we can always alter their way on seeing things with some training and daily use of MBTI in conversation among peers. If McKinsey’s staffs can use it casually, I bet Government’s Official can do it too. MBTI is not only a tool for the management board, but also a tool for better diplomacy between peers.

Timothee Kencono Malye