MBTI — the four axes
- Extraversion / Introversion — how you re-energize.
- Sensing / Intuition — concrete details vs. patterns and possibilities.
- Thinking / Feeling — logic-based vs. people-based decisions.
- Judging / Perceiving — structured vs. flexible.
DISC — the four behavior styles
- Dominance — direct, decisive, results-oriented.
- Influence — outgoing, optimistic, people-oriented.
- Steadiness — patient, calm, supportive.
- Conscientiousness — analytical, accurate, careful.
↳ the validity problem
MBTI in particular has weak test-retest reliability — many people get different types when they retake the assessment. DISC is similarly limited. Neither predicts performance well. Treating either as a deep psychological truth — "I'm an INTJ" as a fixed identity — is bad practice.
Why they're useful anyway
As vocabulary, they let teams talk about working styles without making it personal. "I lean toward structure, this teammate leans toward flexibility — let's name that and design our handoffs around it." That conversation is hard to have without a shared framework. The framework is the value, not the diagnosis.
What to do instead
Larson's Elegant Puzzle recommends focusing on behaviors rather than types. "You tend to interrupt in meetings" is actionable; "You're an ENTP" is a label. Behavioral feedback changes; types stick.