Comparison: MBTI vs. EQ
The MBTI is a popular and simple tool that can raise awareness of self and others by categorising our personality into four areas: Introversion/extraversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving.
Simple vs Sophisticated
Whilst the MBTI is interesting and can encourage self-reflection, it doesn’t aim to either predict or measure behaviour or job performance. It’s more about understanding styles of working and communication.
It’s quite limited in its development potential, as these are fixed personality traits with only a few variables. In addition, there is limited evidence that it’s possible to develop these traits or that they correlate to important personal or work behaviours or goals. This could be said for other personality-based models, such as Insights profiling, which can be useful for raising awareness and creating interesting discussions but has similar limitations.
EQ, on the other hand, is scientifically backed, with normed populations to which people and teams can be directly compared. Its attributes are qualities that can all be developed. They can be correlated directly to behaviours, roles, and human performance as a whole. EQ is a holistic model, bringing about human success based around the most fundamental of human elements: our emotions. Hence, the attributes are interesting and important for everyone to understand.
To summarise:
• Development model
MBTI is not a development model. It tests personality, which is fixed. EQ is a development model. All attributes can be developed to varying degrees.
• Inclusive model
All EQ attributes are naturally occurring qualities by which everyone will be affected and, therefore, require mastery. It’s universally applicable and inclusive. Everyone needs to learn every skill.
• Breaking down belief systems
EQ challenges and breaks down beliefs, as beliefs often grow where emotions are not understood or managed well. Beliefs, by their very definition, distract us from the present and so undermine our ability to deal efficiently with it.
Like EQ, MBTI can encourage inclusion in the workplace and collaborative working, but MBTI may also install/harden beliefs by categorising people as types (implying fixed traits), which can encourage a more fixed view of self and others. This can create resistance to change, whereas EQ has elements of self-regulation and flexibility.
• Correlation to higher performance
No correlation exists between any specific MBTI type and higher performance. EQ skills are proven to correlate with higher performance, leadership skills, and well-being.
• Alignment to ‘what good looks like’ or specific work roles
MBTI traits do not describe or correlate to work roles, but EQ attributes can quite easily be aligned to roles and profiled to help recruit effectively for these specific roles.
EQ skills can uncover training needs and skills gaps for individuals and teams through EQ assessments, providing actionable insights into training needs and, in particular, leadership development.
• Practical work applications
By working together in workshops on EQ-shared attributes, we can create empathetic and collaborative behaviours.
• Alignment to inclusion and diversity
EQ attributes are core human needs and skills which naturally build balanced and empathic ways of seeing others fairly and communicating effectively. MBTI elements are not skills but styles.
• EQ is a positive psychological approach to human development – it encourages positive mindsets, behaviours, and language.
• Practical applications
EQ naturally deals with many of the typical personal, organisational, and cultural issues that hold back human development and performance: conflict resolution, collaboration, reading people and situations accurately, interpersonal dynamics, and stress management.
Sources:
• Myers, I. B., & Myers, P. B. (1995). Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type. Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing.
• Boyle, G. J., & Matthews, G. (1999). Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): Some Psychometric Limitations. Australian Psychologist, 34(3), 214-224.
• Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Bantam Books.
• O’Boyle Jr., E. H., Humphrey, R. H., Pollack, J. M., Hawver, T. H., & Story, P. A. (2011). The relation between emotional intelligence and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(5), 788-818.
