A couple of years ago I ran a pre-conference workshop at the Columbus Chapter of APT.  I had wonderful hosts who not only afforded me every facility, but made it easy for me to come, go, relax, and enjoy the experience as I wished.  They were exemplar of the definition of hospitality that is 'giving your guests the right amount of time and space'.

One of their little touches was to place in the 'rest room' (as I believe my US friends call it?) a small selection of books that provided short bytes of entertainment during... er... one's leisure time.  One such book contained sayings attributed to Buddha, and one saying leapt out from the page to me:

It is not our preferences that cause problems but our attachment to them.

Synchronicity

This saying of Buddha was so striking because the workshop I was about to run contained a significant discussion of the tension there can be between individual Myers Briggs preferences and the type of behaviour that is required to succeed in a job.  It was synchronicity - a meaningful coincidence - because I was intending to discuss the difficulties I had in team building where individual members insisted on working to their preferences.

Give and Take

Most relationships and most team collaborations involve a degree of give and take.  Myers Briggs theory is used in team building to illustrate that we have different outlooks and approaches to our work, and on that basis we work out a compromise.  We respect our differences, but then thrash out a way of working together that meets both our needs.

Difficulties arise when we are lacking in flexibility, when we are too attached to our own preferences, when we want to 'take' much more than we are prepared to 'give'.  I must admit that my heart sinks when, on a team building workshop, I hear someone say "I've been like this for more than 40 years, so people will have to take me as I am".  This is often a euphemism for "I am so strongly attached to my own preferences that I can't accommodate other peoples preferences".

Impact on Teamwork

In these situations, tf the team is lucky, they can find an individual role for that team member that is a positive contribution to the team but doesn't have a negative impact on the work of other team members.  Or management recognise the problem and move the individual across or out to a place that is more productive for the team.  That is, the rest of the team and/or management find a way of dealing with the one team member's inflexibility.

If the team is unlucky, there is no such role and management are unable or unwilling to tackle the issue.  In that case, for the rest of the team it is like having a handicap and they fail to achieve anything near their full potential.  Other team members have to work around this individual, constantly worrying about how he/she will react, how to accommodate his/her preferences in decisions, or how to get the job done despite "them doing it their way".

Changing Gear

One analogy I use in the UK is that of driving a car.  Most people are right-handed (having a preference for their right hand).  But in the UK, when driving a car, you normally change gear (US: Shift stick? Automatic lever?) using your left hand.  If you insist on using your preferences - changing gear with your right hand - then you lose proper control of the car.  You would have to stretch across your chest to reach the gear stick and it is dangerous and illegal.

Conclusion

Whilst understanding of Myers Briggs can help build understanding, respect and appreciation of difference, an unhealthy over-attachment to our own Myers Briggs preferences can create unhelpful team dynamics.  It can result in an individual or team using behaviours that feel comfortable for them, but are counterproductive and/or uncomfortable for others.

This can be one of the reasons why, in the Team Dynamics Assessment, a team reports over or under use of particular team roles: they tend to overuse team roles that align with their preferences, and underuse team roles that are opposite to their preferences.

It's not our preferences that cause problems.  It's our attachment to them.