Case study two: Facilitation

Facilitation of five Myers-Briggs group feedback sessions for a utility company as part of its leadership development programme

Each session lasted half a day and a total of 36 delegates attended. A key objective was to ensure that everyone left the sessions with not only a greater appreciation of their personality preferences, but also an understanding of how they could start applying this knowledge in the workplace.

The sessions began with an explanation of the purpose of the Myers-Briggs instrument, the history and research behind it, ethical considerations and potential applications. This was followed by an introduction to the concept of ‘preferences’ and the four preference pairs, giving participants the opportunity to explore their own preferences by considering specific work and non-work scenarios.

Variety was introduced to the sessions by inviting participants to get involved in ice-breaker exercises, giving them time to reflect quietly on their own, exploring preferences in small groups and getting involved in facilitated discussions with the whole group.

After considering all four preference pairs, individual reports were handed out allowing everyone to compare their ‘self-assessed’ type with their ‘reported’ type. Everyone also received an Introduction to Type booklet, providing them with more detailed descriptions of their personality type.

Everyone left the sessions having created a personal action plan. These plans outlined how they would make changes to some of their working habits and behaviours in order to work more effectively and get the best out of their teams. In addition, their increased self-awareness and appreciation of the positive implications of their differences meant they were better equipped to develop their coaching style of leadership, which was an approach being encouraged by the organisation.