One of the keys to building a successful team is creating psychologically safe spaces, so team members feel comfortable taking risks and being vulnerable with each other. Our job as leaders is to figure out how to maintain psychologically safe spaces and build authentic trust among our teams, to maximize performance and foster strong relationships. This authentic trust also creates a sense of belonging, which is a deep human need for all of us.
One tool to create psychologically safe spaces is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI® ). I have used this tool as a certified trainer for 10 years as a manager and to support teams and organizations. The results I’ve experienced and witnessed have been life changing. The MBTI® tool has helped me increase self-awareness through understanding my type’s preferences, energizers, and stressors, which has also enabled me to create a common language with my teammates.
Digging into my MBTI® results has also become a key way that I proactively and reactively recover from stress. For instance, as an ENTP, I know that I need to have time to brainstorm and externally process to feel at my best. When I spend too much time on my own and out of preference, without opportunities to talk my thoughts out, I become more stressed and withdrawn from loved ones. Having a deeper understanding of my preferences, and clear ways to express them to myself and others, has helped me set healthy boundaries, be more resilient, and more quickly identify what I need.
Using the MBTI® tool with teammates helps to increase our understanding of each other as well, providing a small window into how others see the world. When we use the common language of MBTI to identify each other's preferences, it is not used to put us in a box, but to increase awareness of a variety of working styles, and to co-create safe spaces for each other to authentically show up in ways that feel comfortable.
If you are interested in learning how to leverage the MBTI® tool to create more psychologically safe spaces, check out my online course Type: Beyond the Letters or contact me at katie@kjconsultinggroup.com to learn more about 1x1 and group coaching opportunities.
