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Facebook had a quiz that dubbed itself an MBTI quiz going the rounds and it spread like wild fire. These things are fun in a way but they have two problems. One is they aren’t tested validated instruments and second they turn this valuable tool into a parlour game.

CPP the official publishers of the tried and true Myers Briggs Type Indicator has addressed this in a rather inspired fashion. Until the end of November they are offering a very sweet price to allow people to experience the real deal.

If you took a faux version of the MBTI on Facebook or elsewhere on the web I encourage you to invest $19.95 for a $40 savings and a solid result.

If you are a coach, personality type practitioner, a consultant in leadership development or a leader wanting to step into new levels of excellence, you get tons of invitations to trainings and seminars. Right? Some are tempting and you want to do them but there is often a BUT… It might mean traveling to another city for a conference, you don’t have the time or you aren’t certain if this is the right thing right now. Well Kris Kiler of TypeLabs has brought together a program that is a “no brainer” for anyone wanting to refresh and reenergize their work.

Learn from the learners and innovators in the field of personality typology
When I saw the list of experts that Kris has brought together I was so excited. I know the work of five of the eight and two of these people were the ones who I did my first MBTI training with so I can personally vouch for the impact that they have made in my life. Imagine having an opportunity to learn from them again without having to get on a plane. That works for me!

As I looked over this list these folks have all continued to learn and develop their knowledge and use of type – no one here is resting on their laurels or repackaging old material. This is new thinking with new approaches that will inspire and inform how you work with others as well as enhance your own leadership capacity. The focus with all eight of these experts is on application. This will be so much more than learning for learning sake. That is part of what makes this line-up so exciting.

A Stellar Line – Up

Marci Segal: Language to Leverage for Creative Thinking

Dario Nardi: 8 Keys to Self-Leadership

Peter Geyer: Psychological Type: Interpretation and Development from Jung to Today

Daniel Liew: Cross Cultural Communication and Psychological Type

Scott Campbell: Using Social Styles to Be a Better Leader

Hile Rutledge: Making Type Training Experiential

Pam Fox Rollin: Coaching People Through Type-related Blindspots

Susan Gerke: Driving Team Performance from the Inside Out

The Whole Menu or Skip Right to Dessert

Kris has set this program so that you can sample from this great menu or enjoy the whole feast at a special discounted rate. These experts represent the best leaders in their field from Canada, the US, the UK, Malaysia and Australia. Type professionals and others who are passionately interested in using the latest thinking in creating workplaces that actually work for people will be on these calls. This will truly be a global conversation.

Run don’t walk to sign up now by clicking on the link below. I will see you there.

Type Practitioner Blueprint
Get training from 8 international psychological type experts

My experience is that the Enneagram provides richness and depth and that, in fact, it demands a deeper commitment than the MBTI. So why bother?

Somewhere along the career path some folks run into territory where a mechanistic or tactical approach simply won’t provide any answers. What to do next becomes a spiritual journey. When that happens the Enneagram offers a window to an uncannily accurate look at who you are and how your worldview shapes your reality.

It requires some work to have this kind of conversation – even if it’s with yourself.

In case I have scared you off completely, the Enneagram can also be viewed on a simple practical level and can work well in conjunction with the MBTI. For example, my Enneagram type six is sometimes referred to as the Loyal Skeptic. My worldview is that the world isn’t always what it seems on the surface. The quest of the six is searching for certainty. The point of growth is in recognizing that certainty doesn’t exist. The other part of the path of growth for the six is to learn to trust that no matter what the circumstances they will be able to handle what comes their way.

In a real work situation my style is to “be prepared” beyond what might be required so that I can have the flexibility in the moment to throw it all away and respond to the needs of the people in the room.

I also have a strong influence from the Enneagram type seven that is aligned with the optimistic, cheerleader aspects of my MBTI ENFP preferences. The Enneagram helped me to understand the fear and doubt that often runs silently below the surface of my enthusiasm.

Curious about yourself? Want to see more of the model? If you want to take a cool quiz scroll down to the bottom of the page on the previous link (quiz).

I am always available for coaching in order to help you apply what you understand about your type to your work/life situation.

P.S. I’d love to hear what type you are – both your Enneagram type and your MBTI

This map mimics a subway map and shows places where the 16 types converge and where they are on separate tracks. Not only does this map have strong appealing graphics but also a wealth of relevant details presented in a concise readily accessible manner. Decidedly delicious… Check it out.

NOTE: The above link was working when I posted this but seems to be down currently. I will leave this item as it is just in case this error is temporary and the link is back up. Sorry for any inconvenience.

To this end Kris is beginning to realize his vision by developing Typexperience and Typexchange. Typexperience is the first video sharing community for personality type. This is definitely a bonus for type professionals to be able to find interesting and valuable material in one place. It is also a great invitation to become part of the community that Kris is building for Type Practitioners.

Kris contacted me about Typexchange the site where he offers digital Personality Type Resources for the global community of type practitioners. This site has audio, ebooks, graphic files and other training materials from a variety of well respected sources. Kris will soon be adding a powerpoint introduction to the MBTI based on my paintings of the Myers Briggs preferences and the 16 types.

This is exciting news for me. My mantra is to do what is in alignment with your natural strengths and sales and marketing are energy draining activities for me – not only that but I don’t seem to have the DNA for this part of the creative cycle. I loved acting on my idea to portray the MBTI through art, I loved collaborating with clients to use their impressions of their type as images and I absolutely was thrilled by the art gallery showing of these 33 paintings that became an interactive learning environment.

However like many creative people putting my work out into the world presents totally foreign territory. Enter Kris – his ISFP preferences predispose him to being a man of action. The process was easy -two steps – “yes I am interested in your work and when can you get it to me?” What I also gleaned from my conversations with Kris is that he shares other aspects of the ISFP which are captured in his Facebook profile.

Our success is measured by the integrity of our relationships, commitment to our values, impact of our technologies, and contribution to our communities.

I couldn’t have designed a better collaboration. I get to coach and paint which is what I do best and Kris gets to introduce my work to the marketplace which is his particular genius. I will let you know when the Inner Landscapes II powerpoint is available. In the meantime please visit Kris’s sites to see how you might get involved.

Early in January I posted a question on Twitter, a microblogging site, about sources of inspiration for writing. This question arose from a conversation with someone who was contemplating whether a blog would be of benefit for her business. One of her concerns was the relentlessness of the pressure to make regular posts. I was curious how other people managed to maintain their inspiration so I asked the question below and had an almost immediate response.

Any tips for blog writing for someone who is better at responding to a direct question than writing when staring at a blank screen? 8:04 PM Jan 4th from web

TammyRedmon @sandymcmullen Try this, type out the question you are going to answer on paper 2 start the dialog. It’s no different on paper vs. 1 on 1 10:18 PM Jan 4th from TweetDeck in reply to SandyMcMullen

Ramona_W @sandymcmullen Writing Fix has lots of tools including writing prompts. Writingfix.org? 8:33 PM Jan 4th from mobile web in reply to SandyMcMullen

coffee_offline @sandymcmullen In your writing respond to questions, such as those you find on Twitter or in your inbox, and voila, 2 birds 1 stone. 8:30 PM Jan 4th from web in reply to SandyMcMullen

shannoncherry @sandymcmullen blog a question, then answer it. 8:17 PM Jan 4th from twitterrific in reply to SandyMcMullen

shellykfleming @sandymcmullen I strongly recommend reading blogs of @problogger & @chrisbrogan. they give freely lots of tips for blogging and other pearls 11:02 PM Jan 4th from web in reply to SandyMcMullen

Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff of the Blog Squad talk about Twitter as being like having an online Rolodex. People have different strategies and approaches to social media with some people focusing on following others who might be experts in their field and/or in their target market while others are open to following people with a wide diversity of interests and experience. In either case, but especially if you cast your net wide, any request for help is going to get you answers from sources that you wouldn’t have access to otherwise. Part of why and how this works is that as a general principle Social media sites are built on the premis of participation and giving… first be of service and provide information so that you build your reputation.

Many of the conferences that I attend and courses that I take in the area of coaching and leadership seem to have a high percentage of people with a preference for Intuition. Answers to questions from people with different preferences help to give me a perspective that includes aspects that I might be blind to. An ISTJ, for instance,  will help me stay with the specifics and the steps involved to get a result before going on to something else that is also on my mind.

Twitter is the home of SEO experts, moms who are yoga queens, athletes, astronauts, poets, painters, internet marketers, foodies and seekers to name but a few. Now that’s a rolodex that is a great resource. What is the best tip or advice that you have received by reaching out on Twitter?