Difference between Jigsaw & MBTI
How Does Jigsaw Discovery Tool Differ From MBTI?
A question that is often asked by learning and development practitioners and commissioning managers is “How does the Jigsaw Discovery Tool differ from MBTI?” or “If my clients have already completed a MBTI what will they gain from the Jigsaw Discovery Tool?”
Unlike MBTI and many other profiling tools, generating a Jigsaw Discovery Tool profile does not involve answering pages and pages of questions or indicating your preference when faced with either/or statements. Not only does this mean that generating a Jigsaw Discovery Tool engages the learner and is enjoyable to complete but learners do not have to choose between two contradictory behaviours. The Jigsaw Discovery Tool recognises that behaviour is not an “either or” it is possible to have a preference for two contrasting behaviours and enables learners to build their profile to reflect the dichotomies of behaviour.
The Jigsaw Discovery Tool, does not rely upon third party computer generated reports. Learners are engaged and involved at all stages of the profiling activity This means that the words chosen are owned by the learners and the behavioural maps they create generate learning which is easily absorbed and committed to memory as it is personalised and meaningful to the individual learner.
The Jigsaw Discovery Tool identifies behavioural preferences unlike MBTI and other traditional tools which measure personality. In 1968 Walter Mischel, looked at the Correlation between personality and behaviour and found that behaviour depends on the situation itself, rather than on long-held characteristic personality styles which are believed to be consistently displayed no matter what the situation. Another prominent researcher, Richard Nisbett (2001)sited that an upper limit of only 16% of a person’s behaviour can be explained by personality and so supporting Mischel’s work that personality doesn’t explain much of behaviour and most importantly that a person’s behaviour changes as the situation changes. The relevance of the Jigsaw Discovery Tool focusing upon behaviours rather than personality is that in the workplace a person’s abilities and capabilities, which are key indicators in a person’s likely success within a role, are measured through the behaviours they demonstrate rather than their personality or DNA.
Unlike MBTI and other more traditional tools, the Jigsaw Discovery Tool acknowledges that behaviour is not a fixed position, which is why learners create their personalised behavioural map to enable them to increase their awareness of their home base, and learn how to navigate around their map to increase their personal effectiveness and build strong relationships.
Jigsaw Discovery Tool
The Jigsaw Discovery Tool provides learners with a “live” “present time” snapshot of their behavioural preferences at this point in their lives. However due to the plasticity of the brain, this is not a fixed position and their behavioural preferences can change to a greater or lesser extent over a period of time. MBTI tends to favour a more fixed position, although some MBTI practitioners accept emerging neuroscience research in that the brain generates 10,000 new brain cells everyday which enable the creation of new neural pathways and the strengthening of existing pathways. Which enable new behaviours to be displayed and existing behaviours to be further developed.
The Jigsaw Discovery Tool has been designed to support the development of a more mindful and focused way of working. Involving learners in the creation of their personal behavioural maps encourages learners to be present and have focused attention upon the words they select to be included in the building of their maps. The learning from a Jigsaw Discovery Experience, helps learners to make better informed choices moment by moment, and by referring to their behavioural maps learners can understand what is truly taking place in the present and are better able to refocus their attention to achieve a more effective outcome.
MBTI is a complex profiling tool which identifies 16 types which we can belong to. The Jigsaw Discovery Tool is based upon the 4 basic types and can be divided out into 8 types if required. This means that the Jigsaw Discovery Tool is easy to remember and easily applied in everyday life at work and at home. There are two main challenges which learners have to overcome if they want to apply MBTI to everyday life:
Remembering which of the 16 types they belong to dentifying the preferences of others when there are 16 types to choose between
The most common feedback clients give about the Jigsaw Discovery Tool is that it answers the “So what?” Learners leave the workshop with very clear ideas and practical things they can do to enhance their personal effectiveness, improve communication and build stronger relationships and teams. The reason we get this feedback is two-fold:
The behavioural framework is simple and easy to remember and apply. The Jigsaw Discovery Tool is delivered as a learning experience where the learner is totally emerged and involved in the learning from the beginning and continues back into the workplace with practical strategies and tools which the learners start to implement and commit to long-term memory even before leaving the workshop, meaning that recall in the workplace is greatly increased.
Jigsaw Discovery Tool
The Jigsaw Discovery Tool is outwardly focused, whilst MBTI is inwardly focused. If a detailed profile report about an individual is required then MBTI or similar tools should be recommended, however if the requirement is for a practical, easily accessible and memorable framework to support team development, communication, personal effectiveness, engagement, leadership, and relationship building then the outwardly focused Jigsaw Discovery Tool is the answer.
MBTI and The Jigsaw Discovery Tool can be used very successfully alongside one another within an organisation. The Jigsaw Discovery Tool provides learners with increased awareness of self and others and provides practical insights and strategies to enhance both the way they manage themselves and their relationships with others. The Jigsaw Discovery Tool works across all four of Daniel Golmans model of Emotional Intelligence. MBTI can then be used with learners who wish to deepen their inward focus upon self and provides an additional dimension of awareness and understanding of self.
As a generalisation, MBTI tends to be delivered to managers within an organisation rather than across the whole of the organisation, where as The Jigsaw Discovery Tool is designed to be delivered to everyone within an organisation. This means that it becomes the language of the organisation and becomes embedded into the culture. Organisations have reported that it opens up previously blocked communication channels, conflicts are reduced as team members understand why managers perceive things differently and vice versa, time is saved as people understand and appreciate the needs of their colleagues and adapt their actions / responses accordingly increasing the overall efficiency of teams, departments and organisations.
Finally, MBTI was created in the 20th Century where as the Jigsaw Discovery Tool was created in the 21st Century and has been designed to enable and support learners in a 21st Century organisation.
