Manager Personality Types
Does personality have an effect on who becomes a manager? Yes. While there are some features which generally cater better to a career in management, all types are capable of success through training. Take a free Myer Briggs Type Indicator to discover your personality type. Alternatively, Personality Pathways contains side-by-side letter comparisons.
Note: The Myer Briggs personality test may be less accurate when the test taker is under stress or other conditions that may affect how the test questions are answered. One way to likely gather a more reliable result is to complete the test upon waking in the morning. Wait a few days, and then once more take the test during the evening. Ultimately, you probably know your personality characteristics better than any test will, though the MBTI may serve to be quite accurate. After discovering your type, you may find it beneficial to carfully examine the strengths and weaknesses of your personality. By doing so, you might begin to understand which types of jobs your natural skills aid, as well as allowing you to implement solutions to further develop potential weak spots.
| Unites States | Canada | Mexico | England | Average Percent | |
| ISTJ | 17 | 21.9 | 28.9 | 23.8 | 22.9 |
| ESTJ | 15.8 | 15.5 | 36.3 | 20.7 | 22.075 |
| ENTJ | 13.1 | 10 | 9 | 8.8 | 10.225 |
| INTJ | 10 | 11.8 | 8.3 | 6.5 | 9.15 |
| ENTP | 8.1 | 6.7 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 5.775 |
| INTP | 6.6 | 8.3 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 5.25 |
| ISTP | 3.4 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.15 |
| ESTP | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.875 |
| ISFJ | 3.4 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 6.5 | 3.275 |
| ENFP | 5.1 | 3.6 | 0.1 | 2.9 | 2.925 |
| ESFJ | 3.6 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 5.9 | 2.925 |
| INFP | 2.7 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 3.1 | 2.075 |
| ENFJ | 3.4 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| INFJ | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 1.55 |
| ESFP | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.975 |
| ISFP | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 0.925 |
As displayed in the table above, the most common manager MBTI type is the ISTJ. In fact, those who have a preference for thinking and judging tend to be better represented among managers. On the other hand, feelers were found to be least common. The ISFP seems to be the least frequently found management personality type.
So what does this mean?
In the sample, those individuals who tend to base their decisions upon facts and logic accounted for 79.25% of managers, as well as representing above all feelers; those who base their decisions primarily upon how they feel.
People who have a tendency towards structure and organization represented about 74% of managers, and the 4 most likely MBTI management types.
Introverts represented about 49.275% of managers, with 41.45% of them within the 8 most frequently found MBTI types for management. Extraverts, on the other hand, represented 41.95% within the top 8. This leads us to the conclusion that there is essentially no difference between the proportions of introverted vs. extroverted managers.