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Thread: MBTI at the NSA

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    Drommel's Avatar
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    Default MBTI at the NSA

    I was reading the book, "Body of Secrets," about the NSA and was surprised to find mentioned MBTI test results administered to the executives.

    The study, "Who Is NSA," was conducted as part of a program at the National War College. NSA granted Grantham access to the results of a test, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which was given to NSA senior executives and supervisors. The tests indicated that almost two-thirds of the officials were introverted in the way they dealt with "the outer world." "This contrasts markedly with the general population in the U.S.," said the study, "where extraverting [sic] types make up about 75 percent." NSA officials were also far more "thinking" oriented than the outside world, which was more "feeling" in its professional relationships. "The average NSA manager is more introverted than the general public, much more intuitive, more thinking, and more judging." "You can always tell an NSA extrovert," goes one old agency joke. "He looks at your shoe tips instead of his."

    "The great predominance of introverts (64%) means that most NSA managers have greater powers of concentration," the study concluded, "and go deeply into their work by focusing on the underlying concepts and ideas in the pursuit of real understanding. They may be reluctant to consider their work finished and get rid of it. They are not likely to be affected by a lack of praise or encouragement since their focus is on their inner world. If they assume that everyone around them has the same attitude about the world as they do, they may fail to recognize the needs of the extraverts around them for praise. By the same token, the introverts' inner-directed view of the world is often confusing to those around them, including other introverts."

    Finally, the study suggested a secret city run by a cold, aloof, detached management. "The predominance of thinking types among managers at NSA is significant in that their preferred way of judging is impersonal, logical, and analytic. While that approach is decidedly more useful in solving task-oriented problems, the people side of managing will suffer. Thinking types expect to be recognized for their competence. Their rewards are responsibility, titles, and raises. They may forget, or not be aware, that one-fourth of their subordinates are feeling types who occasionally need praise and need to be appreciated for who they are, doing a job. According to one observer, 'a "T" [thinking type] thinks that if you haven't been fired, you should know you are doing a good job.'

    "The overwhelming preference among NSA managers for judging reflects a choice for system and order. They are organizers who thrive on making decisions, schedules, and programs, and are disconcerted by disruptions or unplanned occurrences. They are less tolerant, less open-minded and less flexible than their perceptive co-workers who often put off making a decision because they are not sure they have enough information. The potential for conflict is great."

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    XoX's Avatar
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    Default Re: MBTI at the NSA

    NSA is run by....INTjs???

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    Default Re: MBTI at the NSA

    Quote Originally Posted by Drommel
    extraverting [sic] types make up about 75 percent.
    obsolete information, USA is really 51% I and 49% E (myersian)

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    Default Re: MBTI at the NSA

    Quote Originally Posted by machintruc
    Quote Originally Posted by Drommel
    extraverting [sic] types make up about 75 percent.
    obsolete information, USA is really 51% I and 49% E (myersian)
    anyone else want to pull stats out of their ass? i got a crowbar for the extra puzah
    INFp-Ni

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    Default Re: MBTI at the NSA

    Quote Originally Posted by misutii
    Quote Originally Posted by machintruc
    Quote Originally Posted by Drommel
    extraverting [sic] types make up about 75 percent.
    obsolete information, USA is really 51% I and 49% E (myersian)
    anyone else want to pull stats out of their ass? i got a crowbar for the extra puzah
    only 23% of statistics which claim that X% of statistics are extemporaneous are actually extemporaneous.

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    jughead's Avatar
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    According to William Benney the NSA is mostly ISTj. 85%. WOW.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-...b_7837806.html

    The question is what percent of this is socionically relevant; aka how much of these people are socionics LSI and how many are gaming the test etc.
    Any organization that is 85% percent one type is fated to have the obvious strengths and weakness of that type.
    Last edited by jughead; 11-15-2015 at 05:30 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jughead View Post
    According to William Benney the NSA is mostly ISTj. 85%. WOW.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-...b_7837806.html

    The question is what percent of this is socionically relevant; aka how much of these people are socionics LSI and how many are gaming the test etc.
    Any organization that is 85% percent one type is fated to have the obvious strengths and weakness of that type.
    Not surprised with the high # of ISTjs. It's what I would have guessed. And many of them are probably LSI, but there will also be SLIs in there as well as some LSEs that will all type as MBTI ISTj.

    The reason for this is that you're looking at people who are good at collecting, sorting, and analyzing large amounts of data for relevance. Plus it helps to have a dutiful mindset. Haven't read your link, but will now.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jughead View Post
    According to William Benney the NSA is mostly ISTj. 85%
    It would be possible only if people were intentionally choosen by this type what is very doubtful as scientific status of MBTI and Jung's typology is very low, also there are no scientific theories which types to work better in NSA. NSA is an intelligience service and types there are expected to be as in average office.

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