The LIFO Method vs. the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator 1

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1 The LIFO Method vs. the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator 1 Less Typecasting and More Behavioral Change Styles-based instruments are popular training tools because they reduce the complexities of human behavior down to a manageable number of "types" or "styles." They give people a feeling of quick insight into themselves and others. They provide a common language for talking about similarities and differences. Yet some of the best learning possibilities inherent in these instruments are often overlooked. And sometimes these instruments actually reinforce stereotypes that limit our understanding of people. Personality Types versus Strategies for Change Most styles-based instruments are based on the assumption that differences in behavior arise from different personality types. This belief can be a barrier to behavioral change because a personality "type" is fixed it is not subject to choice or change. People say to themselves, "If that is the way that I am, if that's me, why should I change?" They may even wonder, "How can I change?" Typing people provides them with information about who they are, but it does not offer them guidelines about how to improve their performance. LIFO Training takes a fundamentally different approach from typing or labeling. It holds that you are not one type or another: it demonstrates that people prefer some behavioral styles more than others. Though it begins with a styles-based instrument, it does not typecast people. The LIFO Survey describes differences in behavior, rather than perception and judgment as does the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI instrument). People are willing and able to change what they do. Perception and judgment are much less amenable to change. Changing what people do beats telling them who they are. To support the emphasis on behavioral change, the LIFO style labels end with the suffix, i-n-g. This suggest a process, not a fixed "product." For example, people are described as "preferring the Supporting Giving Style," or "acting in a Supporting Giving way." 1 LIFO and Life Orientations are registered trademarks of Business Consultants Network, Inc., in the United States and other countries. MBTI, Myers-Briggs, and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Trust in the United States and other countries. Copyright 2004 Business Consultants Network, Inc. Page 1

2 Preference not Competence The LIFO Styles also describe behavioral preferences, not competencies. Participants are not labeled, judged, or limited by their survey results. Labeling someone with a personality type can become an excuse for substandard performance. ("I'm no good at that I'm just not that type of person.") Freedom from Categorical Judgments In LIFO Training, differences in behavior are described quantitatively, not qualitatively. There is no reference to good or bad, right or wrong, strong or weak. Qualitative or categorical judgments often lead to oppositional thinking "my way" vs. "your way" which can promote conflict, impede teamwork, and make people less willing to change their behavior. The LIFO Survey identifies a person's relative preference for four basic behavioral styles or patterns. Everyone uses all four basic behavioral patterns. They just use them to varying degrees. Of the people taking the LIFO survey, 55% prefer using two styles regularly, while 31% use three styles and 5% use all four styles with about the same frequency. That leaves only 9% preferring to use just one style most of the time. We are not one style or another we prefer some styles more than others. The MBTI yields a single, four-word "personality type" label, which is a constructed by selecting one word from each of four word pairings for example, "Extroverted Sensing Thinking Judging." These labels are determined by a process of "semantic differential," in which one rates oneself on a scale with one word at one end of the scale and another word at the other end. MBTI results are represented in terms of the words at the extreme end of the scales, which form either/or categories (such as "introvert vs. extrovert"). The resulting "personality types" do not adequately express the wide range of behaviors in between the two extremes. This approach transforms quantitative differences into categorical differences. With enough training, labels such as these may help people understand themselves better. However, these labels still encourage people to think, "That's just how I am" reinforcing attitudes that can block real behavioral change. As a result, it can increase communication gaps between people instead of bridging them. A Quantitative View of Strength Leads to Greater Behavioral Change In contrast to the categorical labels of the MBTI approach, LIFO theory views behavior along a continuum, from "too little" at one end to "too much" on the other. The notion is that we all tend to underuse some strengths and overuse others. Either extreme can make us less effective and can be perceived by others as an irritating weakness. LIFO Training eliminates the concept of personal "weakness," which creates a defensive learning climate. What other people call weaknesses are seen simply as excesses, or Page 2

3 strengths carried too far. These excessive behaviors may be unproductive, but they are not "bad" they are just "too much of a good thing." So-called "weaknesses" are simply strengths pushed to excess too much of a good thing. For example, a person may overuse the strength of acting quickly and become impulsive. Another person may overdo the search for excellence and become perfectionistic. The LIFO approach to describing behavior in strength-based terms allows people to accept developmental goals and receive feedback with a minimum of defensiveness. LIFO developmental strategies help people identify which strengths they need to use less frequently and which to use more frequently. Workshop participants develop action plans for gradually changing their behavioral patterns so they display just the right amount of the appropriate strengths to accomplish what they want effectively and efficiently. Since almost everyone needs repeated practice to change established habits, this incremental approach makes it easier for participants to progressively master new ways of viewing and responding to people, problems, and situations. Any approach that is based on categories especially personality types makes it much harder for people to change their behavior. Personality theories propose that the way one behaves springs from who one "is." As a consequence, people are likely to feel that in order to change what they do, they have to change who they are. This of course is a recipe for failure. Strength-Based Feedback Is Easier to Accept A quantitative view of strength also makes it easier for people to give and to receive constructive feedback. When people are frustrated or irritated by others, they typically use pejorative terms to describe what bothers them: "Bill is domineering," "Sally is stubborn," or "Jeff is aimless." If these kinds of words are used when giving feedback, they trigger defensive reactions and create resistance to change. In LIFO workshops, participants learn to view unproductive behaviors as the excessive use of productive strengths. A person who comes across as domineering is simply being overly directing, someone who is acting stubbornly is being too steadfast, and someone who appears aimless is too experimental. With this understanding, people learn to give strength-based feedback, in which they recommend that others use a little bit less of some strengths and a little bit more of other strengths. This strength-based feedback is much more likely to be perceived as helpful and supportive. People are therefore more likely to accept and act upon it. Page 3

4 People learn to use a little bit more of some strengths and a little bit less of other strengths. Sixteen Types versus Four Styles There are sixteen different MBTI personality types. It can be difficult for workshop participants to remember the meaning of each type, let alone understand the differences between them. The complexity of the categories makes it hard for people to learn how to recognize other people's "types" and therefore determine the most effective communication strategies for influencing them. In contrast, there are just four basic LIFO behavior styles, or orientations to life, which are much easier to remember. This conceptual simplicity follows the psychologist George Kelly's "mini-max" principle: any behavioral construct should include the minimum number of concepts required to explain the maximum range of behaviors. The simplicity of LIFO theory does not oversimplify the diversity of human behavior. In fact, it does a far better job of explaining the extraordinary variety of ways that people behave. It does this by identifying a person's relative preference for the four basic LIFO categories under both favorable and unfavorable conditions. Yet the smaller number of concepts makes it easier for participants to learn, remember, and apply the information in practical ways that improve their performance. The simplicity of LIFO theory encompasses the extraordinary diversity of human behavior. LIFO Style Preferences are Situational The word pairs that form the MBTI semantic differentials are not presented in any context. You simply rate yourself in the abstract. In contrast, the LIFO Survey is highly contextual. When taking the survey, you are asked to think of yourself in a particular setting: at work, with your family, or as part of a specific group. The survey itself consists of a series of statements that describe different situations. After reading each statement, you rank four possible reactions according to how likely you are to act that way in that particular situation. The choices that you make are therefore much more concrete much more connected to how you actually see yourself responding to people, problems, and situations. People Behave Differently in Different Situations In contrast to the fixed labels of the MBTI approach, LIFO style preferences are not set in stone. They are dynamic. People use different styles in different contexts and in different relationships. For example, research shows that approximately 50% of the population changes their behavioral patterns in stressful situations. People may also use different styles at home and at work, or with their supervisors and with their coworkers. Any in- Page 4

5 strument that yields a single "personality type" is therefore inaccurate predictor of how most people will actually behave in the real world. Half the population behaves differently under stress. Beyond Diagnosis to Improving Performance LIFO workbooks, training materials, and performance support tools enable participants to link their LIFO Survey results to six performance improvement strategies to attain clearly defined development goals. These materials focus on applying information to improve performance, rather than on information for information's sake or, even worse, labeling people so that their behavior can be predicted. Predictions tend to be self-fulfilling, and once a person has been labeled, his or her options for behavioral change may actually be reduced instead of expanded. LIFO Training focuses on improving performance, not diagnosing patterns. Everyday Language, Practical Focus, and Ease of Administration LIFO Training uses everyday language, free of psychological terms and jargon, making the concepts easy to understand and to discuss. Contrast the LIFO style label "Supporting Giving" with the MBTI label "Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging." In LIFO workshops participants practice new skills that enhance productivity, communication, and teamwork, and they work together to develop practical action plans to use these skills to attack immediate, real-world problems. The LIFO instrument can be administered in just 15 to 20 minutes. Workshop participants can tabulate their results in about five minutes. The LIFO Survey can also be completed online in advance of a workshop and automatically tabulated, saving valuable classroom time. Because of its systematic structure and practical focus, LIFO Training is easily grasped and immediately useful. It provides a cognitive map for getting through, getting agreement, and getting action from others. Participants learn to give strength-based feedback about behavioral choices and their impact. They learn a language for discussing individual, interpersonal, and team performance issues while respecting diverse values, goals, strengths, and styles. Page 5

6 Proven Results with Worldwide Acceptance LIFO Training has benefited over eight million people in more than 20,000 organizations worldwide. It has proved itself to be a valuable part of management and supervisory development with target populations varying widely in educational background, work experience, and organizational position. Multiple Applications LIFO Training is used in numerous applications, including team building, management and supervisory development, leadership training, interpersonal communication, diversity training, and conflict resolution. The three most popular LIFO Training applications are: Break the Performance Barrier enables participants to: 1. Build confidence and self-esteem by understanding and appreciating their styles, strengths, and uniqueness. 2. Avoid overusing their most preferred strengths so they don't waste time and energy or have a negative impact on others. 3. Fill in their blind spots and provide a wider perspective in planning and solving problems. 4. Become more versatile in their approach to people and problems. Bridge the Communication Gap enables individuals and teams to: 1. Become more effective in getting through, getting agreement, and getting action when dealing with key people at home and at work. 2. Improve their communication with people who are different from them by matching their approach to the other people's most preferred ways of communicating. Build Collaborative Teamwork enables teams to: 1. Inventory team strengths. 2. Utilize individual differences for greater participation. 3. Control team excesses to avoid wasting time and resources. 4. Overcome team blind spots so the team can see all sides of problems and make unbiased decisions. For more information BCon LIFO International A Division of Business Consultants, Inc Center Drive, Suite 660 Los Angeles, CA (800) (310) info@bcon-lifo.com Page 6