The Type Blog!

Welcome to our new website and the first ever edition of The Type Blog!

We are excited to be rolling out a site that is informative, energetic and interactive.  I hope you like what you see!

I want to start by giving you a quote (you will see that I love quotes) that succinctly expresses why I love Jungian psychological type theory (also referred to as ‘personality type’, ‘typology’, or just ‘type’).

Kurt Lewin’s quote captures why we use Jungian typology as the foundation of what we do at The People Skills Group.  It’s a good theory, and if you know even the basics of type, you can see it in action – if you are looking.  And when the theory is ethically applied, it works – it’s practical.

Myers-Briggs practitioners use the MBTI assessment to help people understand who they are from the lens of psychological type theory.  Experienced and knowledgeable practitioners don’t just give people their type and walk away, they help people who have learned about their type apply it to resolve issues or problems, or simply to help them understand and appreciate differences. They help people apply it in real-world settings.  Practical applications of type exist in a myriad of settings including education, career counseling, counseling and psychotherapy, and organizations.  Organizational consultants, including our team at The People Skills Group, use type theory to enhance communication, resolve conflict, manage work-related stress, increase team productivity and effectiveness, manage change and develop individuals and leaders.

The MBTI is administered and applied over 2 million times per-year.  It has helped an untold number of people really understand themselves and others better.  We have seen the theory and its practical application transform organizations into happier, healthier places to work.

At this point, you may be asking how one theory can have so many practical applications that actually work in so many settings?  I have already stated that it is a good theory!  Jungian psychological type is not about individual traits or behaviors (what we do or don’t do), aptitude, vocational interest, or achievement, and the MBTI does not measure any of those things.

The MBTI is one way to enable us to understand and embrace our typology.  Jungian type is holistic – it’s about human consciousness and how it works, how we see the world, how we are energized – and it informs us about what excites us, and what drains us, and along those same lines, how and why we might be out-of-balance.  And, even better, it provides us with a built-in path for transformation that extends to our relationships, our teams and our leaders.

Type theory is practical and it works because it is a system of energy; it is personality in motion.  Each of the 16 personality types is a different system of energy, with its own natural way of adapting and adjusting to the world and its own path for development; and we can claim one of those as our own.  We have a home in our type, but we can choose to adapt and direct our energy in different directions – directions that may be more appropriate for the situations we are facing – even though it is not our natural inclination to do so.

And herein lays the overarching theme of The Type Blog.  I will be writing from the vantage point of Jungian typology as system of energy, a dynamic theory of personality that looks at the whole person and enables people to embrace their own path for movement, change and adaptability to accommodate dynamic team and organizational cultures.  We are not static as humans, and we can choose to adapt our natural way of approaching the world to accommodate and help us more effectively operate in our dynamic environment.

Perhaps I can even win over some of you who may be more skeptical of the power of psychological type to transform individuals, teams and leaders.  I hope that you find The Type Blog intriguing enough to stop by every so often to see what I mean…

As a post script, I would like to thank those that contributed to making our new site a reality:

Chanin Milnazik of Brown Dog Design for her graphic design expertise in creating my logo and website template which set the tone for our new look and feel; Jessica Reilley of A Mix of Pixels for her expertise, enthusiasm and great patience in creating and refining the website design; and the website expertise of the project team at Philly Marketing Labs, including Project Manager Edward Bershad and SEO Expert Adam Cirlincione.  Thanks also to Kimberle Levin, whose extensive network put me in touch with Chanin and Jessica, and who directed me to set a deadline for the site roll out!