What is the Difference Between Myers Briggs and Insights Discovery?
In the realm of personality assessments, two names often stand out: Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Insights Discovery. Both are widely used in various sectors, including business, education, and personal development. However, despite their shared goal of understanding human behaviour and personality traits, they differ significantly in their approach and methodology. The latest article from Spirit Resilience, leadership consultant in Hampshire, I will explain the differences.
Understanding Myers Briggs
The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of the most popular personality assessment tools worldwide. Developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, it is based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types. The MBTI identifies 16 distinct personality types based on four dichotomies: Extraversion vs Introversion (E/I), Sensing vs Intuition (S/N), Thinking vs Feeling (T/F), and Judging vs Perceiving (J/P).
Each individual is classified into one of these 16 types based on their preferences in each category. For instance, an individual could be an ESTJ (Extraverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging) or an INFP (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving). The MBTI provides insight into how individuals perceive the world and make decisions.
Exploring Insights Discovery
Insights Discovery takes a different approach to understanding personalities. This system uses a colour model to represent four key aspects of personality: Cool Blue (analytical and precise), Earth Green (caring and encouraging), Sunshine Yellow (dynamic and demonstrative), and Fiery Red (strong-willed and purposeful).
The Insight Discovery model suggests that everyone has elements of all four colours within them; however, one or two colours may be more dominant than others. This tool provides a unique perspective on how individuals behave under different circumstances – whether they are at work or in their personal lives.
Key Differences Between Myers Briggs And Insights Discovery
1. Basis for Personality Types
Both aim to understand human behaviour better, basing their classifications on Carl Jung’s psychological types theory that focuses cognitive functions such as thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuition. Insights Discovery uses an immediately understandable and therefore accessible colour model that represents a person’s combination of these as observable behaviour rather than the cognitive functions represented by MBTI.
2. Number of Personality Types:
Myers Briggs identifies 16 distinct personality types based on combinations of four dichotomies. In contrast, Insights Discovery does not limit its classifications to a specific number but instead describes personalities as unique combinations of the four colour energies.
3. Focus Areas:
MBTI primarily focuses on how individuals perceive the world around them and make decisions based on those perceptions. It provides insight into an individual’s thought processes but may not necessarily predict behaviour under varying circumstances.
Insights Discovery focuses more directly on behaviour – how we act or react under different situations – making it particularly useful for team building and growing emotional intelligence where understanding interpersonal dynamics is crucial.
4. Flexibility:
Insights Discovery acknowledges that our behaviours can change depending upon our circumstances – we can dial up or down our colour energies as needed – suggesting a more fluid understanding of personality than MBTI’s relatively fixed type categories.
Both the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and Insights Discovery offer valuable insights into human behaviour from slightly different perspectives – cognitive functions versus observable behaviours respectively. Understanding these differences can help you choose the right tool for your specific needs – whether it’s personal development or improving team dynamics at work. Insights has always been my preferred method, focussing on improving communication, building self awareness, conflict resolution, improving leadership skills, and enhancing problem solving.
Remember that while these tools provide useful frameworks for understanding ourselves better they do not define us completely; our personalities are complex, influenced by numerous factors beyond what any single tool can capture.
If you would like to know more about how Insights Discovery training can help you, your team and your overall business, then get in touch