Myers‐Briggs and psychological type and change style for hospital executives

Abstract

This research explored psychological type and change style for hospital executives and the implications for leading organizational change using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Form Q and the Change Style Indicator. As societal demands increase for hospitals to transform, it becomes vital for executives to understand their own needs, responses, and strengths during organizational change and those of their followers. Forty-fi ve hospital executives participated in this study. The descriptive statistics for psychological type MBTI were ISTJ (20%), followed by ENTP (17.8%) and ISFJ (13.3%). The most frequently reported CSI style was Originator (40.7%), followed by Conserver (31.2%) and Pragmatist (28.9%). Results indicated that ENTP type was overrepresented at a statistically significant level of .001 in comparison to the CPP Healthcare Sample (2006) and the CAPT Healthcare Administrator Sample (1986). CSI styles were not overrepresented at a statistically signifi cant level. There were statistically signifi cant associations between MBTI type and CSI Originator style, MBTI preferences and the CSI Originator style, specifi c MBTI preferences, and the CSI Conserver style. MBTI and CSI tools help hospital executives understand and manage the effect of their psychological type and change style when leading organizational change. The study provides baseline information for a more informed and fl exible approach to organizational change using psychological type in conjunction with change style.