Score one for those of use who are NT on the Myers-Briggs test. According to one study, we make better decisions than others.
We found that iNtuiting/Thinking managers used their intuition to make cognitive leaps based on objective information to craft more decisions of higher quality than other managers. In contrast, Sensing/Feeling types used time to seek socially acceptable decisions, which led to the lowest number of decisions and the lowest perceived effectiveness of all. We found no effect on decisiveness or perceived effectiveness based on a manager's preference for Perceiving or Judging. However, we found that others perceived Extraverted managers as being more effective than Introverted managers when, in fact, the Extraverts were no more decisive than Introverts. Thus, cognitive style influences actual decision outcomes as well as how others perceive one's decision performance.
So you ENT- types out there have a good chance of getting promoted. I'm an INTP, so I might perform as well as you, but no one will notice.
Sounds interesting–it’s extremely irritating that the actual study isn’t available (unless you pay $39) and I think it’s questionable whether this should be allowable for taxpayer-funded research.
I suspect that the personality type that works best for a decision depends on the kind of decision being made. It would be strange if, for example, a real-time decision by an air traffic controller favored the same personality type as a marketing decision on product packaging and color.
INTJ here and this is the second great article I’ve found about Introvert managers (of which I was one). To all of this ilk, I highly reccommend Laney’s “The Introvert Advantage”, which I review here:
http://successbooks.blogspot.com/2006/11/success-book-review-introvert.html
Rob
Virgo here, err… I mean another INTJ and I have to wonder why people place so much emphasis on Myers-Briggs typing. The first time I read my MBTI profile, I thought, “Yes, that’s me to a tee.” Later I realized I had the same reaction to both my horoscope and biorhythm readings when I was 10 or 11 years old. Okay, maybe it’s not that bad. Perhaps my skepticism lies in my personality type. From www,wikipedia.com – The INTJ mindset in regards to other people could be summed up as: “If you don’t want to be called an idiot, don’t do stupid things.”
Take care…
John
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John,
I don’t think people should place too much emphasis on MB. It helps make some sense of people, but I wouldn’t rely on it for hiring decisions. Too much bias and it ignores the “fundamental attribution error.”