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Subject:Re: Careers For People Who Don't Like People From:Phil03 <philstokes03 -at- googlemail -dot- com> To:Julie Stickler <jstickler -at- gmail -dot- com> Date:Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:03:27 +0700
On 18 Jul 2012, at 21:11, Julie Stickler <jstickler -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> Phil claims that psychological models are a fad. I thought fads were
> supposed to be short lived? And it's clear from your comment that
> you've never read Covey's 7 Habit….
Hmm. That judgement seems a bit uncalled for, so let me just say my views about this are based on a background of having two degrees in philosophy (specialising in the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind), I teach in a university Psychology department, and I have extensive background working in a multinational business environment. I'm also currently doing an MA in Technical Communication which covers, among other things, interpersonal relationships.
Indeed, I have read Covey's book, it is basically Aristotelian ethics dressed up in business language. In so far as it introduces an Aristotelian view of human beings to an audience that would never otherwise be exposed to it, it is a good thing. In that it was the 'darling' book of business managers sometime in the 90s, generated a lot of discourse (popularly known as "hot air") in management circles and made virtually no impact on the reality of most people's daily practice, it is/was, one of the things I mean by a 'fad'.
As for personality typing, yes its been around for a few decades in its current formation(s) and will continue to morph into others. It is nothing more than a 20th century Astrology without the stars. The voodoo of planetary motions has been replaced by the shuffling of numbers on Likert scale surveys and given the descriptor 'statistical' to lend it an air of credibility. It has its value for HR folks. It leaves a paper-trail, can tick a few boxes, looks like "Things Are Being Done".
Does it describe truths about you or your teams? No it doesn't. It builds a narrative that you and your team can buy into, consciously identify with and try to follow. Just like people who say they are a Virgo and are therefore like this…and so will do that…..
If you read a little more around psychology, you'll find that the concept of "personality" itself is not so easy to tie down, let alone what would count as (or cement someone into) a "personality type" or even "personality vector". If you read a little bit more about qualitative research methods and how to conduct good surveys that are both reliable and valid, you'll quickly find that those interviews they conduct and little questionnaires they get you to fill in on personality tests fall oh-so-far short of the mark its laughable.
And with that I leave this discussion alone because to continue arguing about it will take us (or at least you) into the realms of academic Psychology, and that's something I'm not teaching till August (and then only for a sum).
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