P versus J.

And I've finally got around to it! Whew. Taken my time. Anyway, let's get into it.

This post is looking at the difference between people who, according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, are either Perceiving or Judging (I'm the former, as an aside).

The basics aren't too complicated. Someone who is P is more open to receiving information, is a bit more casual about things, and isn't so focussed on making decisions. Someone who is J is quite focussed on getting things done, making decisions, planning, being task oriented, etc.

Now, of course, each of these have their own advantages.

For example, a good boss will almost always be J. They're decisive, making the big calls and such. And if they're not, chances are they have a partner/adviser who is. (And v.v., often.) They're also quite handy when it comes to getting work done, of course. Assignments, tasks, plans - that's their language, their bread and butter. That's how they like it to function, and they're pretty good at it.

However, a good listener will usually be P. They're willing to listen to different points of view, open to alternative options, able to step outside what they think - suspend judgement; sometimes avoid it altogether. Loath to judge others, they can be good at conflict resolution, able to see both parties' arguments without having pre-judgements. They like to be more flexible, just doing it as they go.

The disadvantages? Well, each is not that great at the other one. Ps can tend to fall down on planning, structure and task-oriented work; Js can find it difficult to not make a decision, be flexible and accommodate different - perhaps contrasting - viewpoints.

Both are important in our world, and it's important that they work together - without each other, neither is really complete.