Workshop 2: MBTI workshop

This workshop was centred around the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and analysing the personality types and how that impacts upon you as an LIS professional.

For my personality test I scored an ‘ENFP’, a person who usually watches in teams and takes inspiration from intuition. Apparently, ENFP also have above average social skills. In some situations I can see this happening. I get along well with people in a social context, although at times I also disagree with ENFP’s overall statement that ENFP people are extraverted as a matter of course. Typically I withdraw within myself in many social situations, despite being able to put on a face that seems social. At some social events I am asked why I’m being so quiet by people who are used to me being very social at other events, and that’s because being introverted is actually how I normally am.

Are these personality types worth looking into? This was brought up in the workshop and the idea that they’re fluid and subject to change as life changes. None of these personality types should be given as something you’ll have on your tombstone. What’s mildly depressing about ENFP is the potential for projects to be dropped because an ENFP becomes excited by something else. This definitely applies to me. I’ve found many points in life where I will drop something because I lose interest in it quickly. Any time I’ve tried to make the transition from short stories to novels, even up to 40,000 words in, I lose interest in the project and fall out of love with my work.

How does this impact on me as an LIS professional? In social situations I see myself being able to do well, however adapting to routine may be difficult. Already I’ve had experiences where a 9-5 job has been difficult for me to maintain focus and energy for an entire working day. As such, I’ll need to discipline myself to stick to job choices and not fall behind on my LIS path.