Personality type is not essential, it is just very helpful.
Personality typing is my preferred coaching instrument as it cannot be used to judge or assess your capability or your suitability for a particular kind of work. It does help point to your likely strengths and for most of us our strengths when overused become our weaknesses.
So knowing what your preferences are (your personality type) is helpful to the coach and to you to get your coaching sessions off to a quick and productive start and to be able to address you on your own preferred terms. It also helps to identify why you might find some situations challenging and others relatively easy.
So personality typing is a neutral way of getting to further understand yourself, your fellow professionals and possibly your boss. It simply helps to identify how you prefer to give meaning to situations and how you set about making decisions. It will help you identify what kinds of work you are likely to enjoy and how people with different preferences can relate to one another and contribute to society.
In a sense there is no natural you, there is the person that you’re most practised at being, I trust this makes sense. Personality type gives some insight into what you have practised most and if you want to make adjustments then what to practice so that it will be as natural as what came before.
You are also encouraged to bring any other instruments you have completed in the last five years. If you’ve had 360° feedback that can also very helpful.
The instruments used are
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- Majors Personality Type Inventory – Majors PTI™