The change issue
Welcome to the latest issue of OPPinions. There is far less certainty these days in everyone's working life, and as we turn the corner in a new quarter - and Spring - we've been thinking about how to build greater receptivity to constant change in individuals and organisations. L&D and HR people have a unique role to play in helping their people cope better with the 'unknown unknowns'. Seeking something positive from change is essential, and in 'Dealing with change: the new business as usual', we talk about how the MBTI® can give managers vital insight into what their team needs from them in unprecedented situations.
As stories of car industry woes abound and change accelerates in the industry, we speak to one of our blue-chip clients about how they use 16PF to predict success of their staff working in their dealership franchises.
Leadership development can seem like a low priority in times of turbulence, and our article 'Leadership development: a dispensable expense?' explores how self-awareness becomes a truly indispensable asset right now.
Self-awareness is certainly something we feel is lacking from the latest suited-and-stillettoed batch of Apprentices . Read what we have to say on the matter in our new 'OPPrentice' blog. Perhaps some of the candidates would surely benefit from the MBTI Career Report after their shot at 5 minutes of fame on the show.
Enjoy this issue and keep the feedback coming!
Lucy McGee, Head of Marketing
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Dealing with change: the new business as usual
Seeking something positive out of change is essential in preparing for a tougher working environment, but equally in laying the groundwork for better days. To do this you need the whole team on board - regardless of their preferences.
Once again, the MBTI® instrument can provide vital clues for managers in knowing what their team needs from them, as a group and as individuals. MBTI gurus Nancy Barger and Linda Kirby have put together a summary of what workshop participants of different types replied when asked "What do you need during times of change?" This can be used to frame responses to change when communicating with employees.
Read the results of the survey > >
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Special expert seminar: Type tools for taking charge of decision-making
OPP invites MBTI practitioners to join Katherine Hirsh, international MBTI consultant and author of several titles in the Introduction to Type series, and Betsy Kendall, Head of Training at OPP, at an interactive seminar on this topic. The seminars will be held in Dublin on 26 May 2009, and in London on 28 May 2009.
Come expecting to reflect actively on your assumptions about decision-making and leave with hands-on strategies for enhancing the decision-making process, tailored to the personality preferences of those you lead or coach.
The seminar in Dublin will cost €100 (£90 if booked in the UK). The seminar in London will cost £110.
To find out more or to book on to this seminar, email marketing@opp.eu.com or call Shelley Abitabile on 01865 404565.
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Case study: Predicting success with the 16PF® in the automotive industry
 We spoke to one of our blue-chip clients about their experience of working with OPP to develop a set of bespoke 16PF reports based on their own competency framework.
The company's aim was to ensure that staff working in and managing their network of franchised car dealerships continued to be of the highest calibre, so as to accurately and consistently represent their leading-edge products and brand. They decided to introduce the 16PF into their recruitment process in order to ensure robustness and fairness across their network.
The company worked in collaboration with OPP to understand how its existing competencies and values could be consolidated with OPP's library of pre-purposed report content in order to produce directed, relevant and tailored competency reports. The reports were implemented quickly and efficiently to fit with the company's planned roll-out, and to start making use of the competency reports to bring immediate benefits.
Read the full case study > > [pdf]
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Featured book for dealing with change: Introduction to Type® and Change
This book provides a more in-depth analysis of each MBTI type's response to change and preferences for dealing with it, with a whole page of information on each individual type. It also gives an excellent background to theories on change responses, including the grieving cycle and Bridges' transition model, and constantly applies these theories to an understanding of type so that they really resonate.
This book is suitable for use with clients new to the MBTI instrument as well as providing a wealth of information for practitioners on using the tool for this highly relevant application.
Shop for this and more online > >
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Leadership development: a dispensable expense?
Why is it still important to invest in leadership development, even in a crisis?
'Self-awareness in leadership development: is it where you start from or where you're going?'
Leadership development can seem like a low priority in times of turbulence, when all hands need to be on deck sorting out immediate problems. But can you really afford to scrimp on ensuring that those in the positions of control and responsibility are doing their jobs in the most effective way?
It is likely that revenue generation is your top priority at the moment, but this depends on maintaining productivity, which in turn is directly related to morale. Keeping spirits up in teams affected by redundancy or restructuring often falls to leaders, whose understanding and support can help team members remain productive, even if motivation is low.
Read the white paper on this topic > >
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New this month: MBTI European Data Supplements
OPP's Research and Development team have written two new valuable resources for MBTI users, which act as a one-stop-shop for all of the available technical data on the MBTI Step I and Step II instruments in Europe.
Each supplement contains a comprehensive summary of the research data gathered for each of the European language versions of the questionnaire. This reconciles the latest research carried out in new and existing territories with data that was already available in the MBTI Manual Supplement, organised by language.
Below is a summary of the contents of each of the supplements.
|
Type of information |
Languages covered |
| MBTI Step I European Data Supplement |
Type distributions, reliability, best-fit validity and group differences |
Danish, Dutch, European English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish |
| MBTI Step II European Data Supplement |
Step II facet score distributions, facet intercorrelations, correlations with MBTI Step I, out-of-preference scores frequencies, reliability and group differences |
Danish, Dutch, European English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish |
These publications represent the results of a large amount of research effort invested in the MBTI instrument, and vividly demonstrate the instrument's applicability across Europe. They can be downloaded for free online and replace the MBTI Step I UK Manual Supplement (MB0308).
Download the new Step I European Data Supplement > > [pdf]
Download the new Step II European Data Supplement > > [pdf]
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Upcoming webinar: How can psychometrics support career decisions?
With increasing numbers of employees facing the prospect of leaving their current organisation and having to search for work, this upcoming webinar explores how psychometric tools can provide a wealth of insight to support your career counselling or outplacement work.
Join us in May for this useful webinar - more details coming soon!
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Featured report: MBTI Step I Career Report
At a time when career changes might be high on the agenda, MBTI practitioners can use their type expertise to help colleagues and clients through career transition with the help of the MBTI Step I Career Report.
This extensive and targeted report is designed to help individuals think about their career in the context of their MBTI type, giving details about the nature of the work and working environment that most naturally suits each type, as well as advice on how specific type preferences affect a person's attitude to job hunting and the likely evolution of their career development activities. There are tips and action points tailored to the person's psychological type throughout, followed by a list of job families and specific occupations that most suit their natural preferences.
The report also acknowledges that some individuals may be in occupations that are 'atypical' for their MBTI preferences, and gives advice on succeeding in those atypical working environments.
You can order this report through the OPP Scoring Bureau simply by providing a best-fit type. Call 0845 603 9958 to order.
See a sample report online > > [pdf]
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OPPassessment quick tip
Did you know you can use OPPassessment to email messages and updates quickly to one or more respondents in a campaign?
From the Campaign details page, select the respondent/s you wish to email by ticking the box next to their name. Click on the "Send email" button at the bottom of the page and you are taken to a new page where you can compose and send your message.
Read the OPPassessment user guide > > [pdf]
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