Dr. Jung mentioned that the INFP type is often referred to as the Healer—and Mitch might be trying to heal a wound in Frank that he had helped to create! Mitch might even find that he is bumping up against Frank’s judgmental rigidity, while aligning with the open, perceiving preference of Gwen, his strategic strategist. It will be tempting for Mitch to take sides against Frank. This could eventually be a source of regret for Mitch. Mitch softly states: “Hell, this might already be a source of regret . . .”
Dr. Jung closes the session by giving Mitch another homework assignment. Mitch is to take a few minutes and produce a list of words that he thinks employees in his newspaper organization would use to describe him, especially in his role as leader. Dr. Jung referred to his notes and remarked that Mitch indicated right off the bat during the first session that he wanted to be “more open and more relaxed as a leader.” Dr. Jung set down his pad of paper and asked Mitch: “Does this mean that people with whom you work would describe you as ‘closed’, ‘rigid’, or unwilling to entertain new ideas?” Mitch left with thoughts and feelings swirling around his head (and heart) regarding how other people view him:
. . . And how does Joan see me? The descriptions of both ENFP and INFP refer to a preference for authentic relationships. Am I being authentic with other people, or am I just faking it? And do I really want to be more open and relaxed? Or is that just what the books on effective management are telling me? And what does it mean to be not just a good manager, but also a good leader? How is management different from leadership? A lot to consider . . . and both ENFP and INFP indicate that I like to be reflective about abstract ideas such as the difference between management and leadership. And here I am pondering this difference! Perhaps personality inventories do offer some insights. . . .”
As Mitch enters the bustling streets of Zurich, he pauses and looks at the people passing by him. He wonders what their personality type might be.
Session Three
Mitch enters Dr. Jung’s office with a carefully and thoughtfully prepared list of words and phrases that he thinks other people in his organization would use to describe him. Mitch has created a bit in that he asked his wife to provide her own list of words that employees would use to describe him. Her list contained nothing but positive attributes, while Mitch’s list was full of negative attributes. He didn’t tell Dr. Jung that Joan helped prepare the list that Mitch brought to this session with Dr. Jung.
How People See Me
Dr. Jung invited Mitch to read some of the words on his life. Before reading his list, Mitch mentioned that he had come up with several different lists (some including items from his wife’s list). In completing the homework assignment, Mitch began to recognize that he is probably seen quite differently by employees in different divisions of his organization. While this is not a big organization (less than 50 employees), there are silos, with barriers in the communication between operations of his newspaper enterprise.
Mitch reads from the list that he thinks would be composed by members of the production unit (under Frank): “hard driving”, “stubborn”, ‘enamored with new technologies”, “dedicated” (from his wife’s list), and “committed to welfare of newspaper.” He then turns to the list predicting how his Sales and Marketing employees would see him: “stressed”, “bottom-line driven”, “demanding”, “visionary” (from his wife’s list). The list for his editorial staff differs quite a bit from the other two: “supportive”, “hands-off”, “dedicated” and “clear vision” (from his wife’s list). Member of the Finance Department would probably prepare a list, according to Mitch, that includes: “uninvolved”, “numbers-phobic”, “just-in-time review”, and “vison-beyond-dollars” (from his wife’s list: both positive and negative). Finally, there is the list prepared by his Strategic Planning team: “great collaborator”, “open-minded”, “careful-when-appropriate” and “innovative” (from his wife’s list).
