Emotional intelligence is a key component in team cohesion. Emotional intelligence is defined by Thompson as, “The ability to recognize emotions in ourselves and others and to use emotional knowledge in a productive fashion” (2015, p.114). Through the study of our own personal preference and those of our peers, we are better able to assimilate and be more effective teams. By understanding basic personality tendencies, individuals can more effectively adapt and adjust to any situation. “The four basic preferences are: an attitude to the world of extraversion or introversion; a function of gathering information by sensing or intuition; a function of deciding by thinking or feeling; and a style of living in the world …show more content…
This means that we have another extroverted team member. In a team environment, I feel that this will be a positive attribute of our group. There will be no extra time or effort spent drawing content from a person who would rather not share. Next, Mindy’s personality favors the intuition trait. She and I will likely tend to work to the impressionistic side and Jessica will be able to support us with the details. Mindy, like Jessica, is non-confrontational by nature. This could be one of our team’s major weaknesses. There will inevitably be differences of opinion throughout our process. With individuals who avoid conflict, those opinions may not be articulated and, instead, withheld. Finally, Mindy favors the perceiving trait that allows for more flexibility. (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2015) This, again, is similar to my own preference. In this case, I believe that our team will be successful despite the potential conflict of interest due to the built in deadlines of our …show more content…
In doing so, I can better compromise my desires or ask for a concession when a conflict or decision point arises. Additionally, being aware of these preferences will help with motivation and drive. There is a great deal of knowledge gained by raising awareness of personal preferences. This awareness provides access to potential strengths and weaknesses for improvement opportunities. “Individuals can focus on developing behaviors relating to their less dominant functions. It may therefore be helpful to use MBTI as an element of a development process, which will support the development of their EI” (Higgs, 2001, p. 518).
Our team, specifically, can be described as an outgoing group of women who are very ambitious. Our problem solving approaches are very different from one another. With open communication, however, we will find that we are able to successfully manage through our differences. Additionally, our similarities will not compete for resources or overwhelm the team dynamic. Over time, I have confidence that we will each find ways to compliment each other’s preferences.