Personality Group Activities

[Sidd_Budd]

A few months ago, there was a thread/poll on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular personality test. The MBTI often is demonstrated in business settings using team-building exercises or group activities that show how different styles approach tasks differently.

If any folks have taken part in these group activities, could you briefly describe what you were asked to do, and whether you felt the activities were interesting? I do a similar exercise with my personality class (although I use a different personality measure), and I'd like to get more ideas for activities.

The activities don't have to use the MBTI and/or the workplace; any personality system given in a group setting will work, as long as you can remember what group differences were supposed to be observed.

[ElGuapo]

When I worked for IBM we did a big group personality/group thing. I think that one divided people into Type A, Type B, Type C, and Type D. The class was about 50/50 type A and B, with maybe 1 person in each other group.

We did this excercise that had to do with some big map in the middle of a table of 6 people, and solving some problem. I don't remember what the problem was, but there was a tiny bit of math and some stategy. It was some kind of simulation thing. We thought it was just a team building exercise at the time, but then they handed out questionares afterwards that had all these questions about the exercise. From that you derived your own type based on the answers they revealed on a powerpoint slide.

[Raife]

Pay someone to come in pretending to be a psychiatrist, and have all employees take the MMPI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Multiphasic_Personality_Inventory). Then have the fake psych meet with each employee to tell them that they are borderline crazy, and their only chance at recovery is to interact with and support their coworkers as much as possible.

Then personally tell each of them that you are covering their ass, and they should keep their test results quiet.

[fire]

In the orientation for my current company, we had to design and build something out of Legos. Half-way through the build stage, we would be given a new rule (e.g., "Don't use red legos") and would have to re-build using this rule. At the end, we had to choose someone to present our invention.

In my group, it was clear who was hired as a developer and who was going into a more public role.

[Sidd_Budd]

Looks like I overestimated how many folks had taken part in these activities. My thanks to those that replied; I may be able to tweak fire's suggestion to involve Tinkertoys.

[Jason McCullough]

Everyone in our group has done it for some reason; not sure what management is thinking. Based on the previous test results, they carved the team up into red(asshole)/blue(obsessive compulsive)/yellow(schmoozer)/green(happy friend of everyone) and had the teams design some product on a flipsheet. I don't remember the details, but that was about it.

It was an enormous waste of time IMHO. The only theory that makes any sense to me about why management wanted it done is that it's a non-confrontational way of telling assholes they're assholes. Whether that outweighs the people who say things like "you've read my mind!" like it's a magic test cult is unknown.