.teamintro1
{Just as knowing an individual's type preferences yields insight into the way that person will function, energize and orient to the outer world, group type allows consultants, trainers, managers and facilitators to make many informed assumptions about the needs and behavioral tendencies of the groups and teams with which they are working. Groups tend to work within the cognitive and behavioral structure of their group type -- even if that four-letter type does not exist within a single person on the team. That means that you can have, for example, an ESTJ team without a single ESTJ member and that team as a whole is likely to exhibit, over time, the behaviors and characteristics of the ESTJ type. Therefore, group type speaks to the way a team, as a whole, will tend to offer and collect data (Sensing or iNtuition), make decisions (Thinking or Feeling judgments), energize (Extraversion or Introversion), and orient to the outer world (Judging or Perceiving). These data suggest important insights into the probable learning, communication and leadership styles active on a team as well as tendencies a group may have in relating to each other and structuring its work together.}
.teamintro2
{There are a couple of important caveats to using any team report. These reports are compiled based on reported type. Though reported type is widely regarded as valid and quite reliable, it is the client-validated results -- not necessarily the originally reported results -- that are most important. Team reports, therefore, are most effective when run off of validated types. In addition, both theory and research assert that all groups and teams have a type, but sometimes the type -- similarly with some individuals -- is not clear by means of analysis of the type table or report forms. For instance, if an 8-person team were composed of 4 Judgers and 4 Perceivers, a preference for either J or P would emerge from the collective, perhaps due to individuals' clarity of preference, cultural norms, personal roles or relationships on the team. Whether the preference would be J or P, however, is not something that a type table will necessarily tell you. As is the case with any individual using type, sometimes assessing team type is easy and immediate, and there are times when more time and effort are needed for accurate validation.}
.CommST1
{Linear learning style--likes and expects practical facts and details presented in logical order}
.CommST12
{Valued communication will tend to be practical, precise, literal, objective and clear}
.CommSF1
{Linear leaning style--likes and expects practical facts and details presented in a personal way--supporting people or a valued cause}
.CommSF2
{Valued communication will tend to be practical, literal, supportive, values-based and harmonious}
.CommNF1
{Global and abstract learning style--likes theory and ideas and relating these to other theories and ideas in the support of people and valued causes}
.CommNF2
{Valued communication will tend to be inclusive, personally insightful, values-based, harmonious, conceptual and hopeful}
.CommNT1
{Global and abstract learning style--likes theory and ideas and relating these to other theories and ideas in the support of clarity, competence and logical solutions}
.CommNT2
{Valued communication will tend to be intellectually insightful, objective, conceptual, straightforward and clear}
.CommES1
{Do, talk and see--verbal communication, physical experience and here-and-now observation all play critical roles to this practical, hands-on, --right now-- learning style}
.CommES2
{Important dynamics are external, observable and often articulated}
.CommES3
{Things gone unsaid are often overlooked, ignored or mistrusted}
.CommES4
{Prefers engaging with others to working alone}
.CommES5
{Enjoys doing and applying learning practically and immediately}

.CommIS1
{Do, observe and reflect--some physical experience, here-and-now observation and personal reflection all play critical roles to this practical, hands-on--though reflective learning style}
.CommIS2
{Far more of importance is going on within each group member than will be communicated verbally}
.CommIS3
{Many things unshared because they are considered obvious, irrelevant or not ready for group consumption}
.CommIS5
{Enjoys working alone}
.CommIS6
{Likes personal reflection upon practical experience}
.CommIS7
{Likes audio-visuals to support learning}
.CommEN1
{Talk, do, talk, think and talk some more--verbal communication and outer-world experience or observation, all supported by theory and conceptual models play critical roles to this expansive, big-picture learning style}
.CommEN2
{Important dynamics are external, observable and often articulated}
.CommEN3
{Talking out ideas, problems and solutions is energizing--and even exciting}
.CommEN4
{Prefers engaging with others to working alone}
.CommEN5
{Generally enjoys talking, connecting and conceptualizing more than actually doing or applying learning in a practical way}
.CommIN1
{Observe, reflect and conceptualize--reflection, conceptualization and independent observation all play critical roles to this abstract, big picture learning style}
.CommIN2
{Many more important issues and concerns are processed within each individual than in interactions with other members of the group}
.CommIN3
{Many things unshared because they are considered obvious, irrelevant or not ready for group consumption}
.CommIN4
{Enjoys working alone}
.CommIN5
{Likes personal reflection about ideas and conceptual frameworks}
.ProbES
{Wide open, practical and adaptable, this team can turn on a dime, alter its course, and is willing to engage with and try anything--new data and last-minute changes can be exciting, even welcomed events. This team may well have to work on completing what it finishes and may have a reputation of not doing this kind of self-management. Reflection, introspection, future projections, trending and disengagement are all stressful to this group, which may have an --out of sight, out of mind-- approach to its work and membership.}
.ProbIS
{Steeped in history, tradition and procedure, this team does little that is out of the context of the past experience, commitment and expectation. It creates, maintains and readily refers to a rich and well-stocked archive of past experience and knowledge and actively uses this data base and the hierarchical structures of the team to solve team problems and prevent conflict in the first place. Change, generalities and future projections--including strategic planning--bring stress, doubt and often negativity to this team.}
.ProbEN
{Wide open, inventive and adaptable, this team will likely drive change and question any current solution or practice, including those that it itself proposes or enacts. Driven to see and talk about future, connections, patterns and possibilities, this team will readily engage in solving problems, but may have to work to ensure that it finishes what it starts and does more than simply talk a good game. A need for details, specifics, and reflection or isolation brings stress and doubt to this team.}
.ProbIN
{This team is driven by visions of the future, possibilities, connections and patterns. Far more of importance goes unsaid than spoken of in this team--what is said will sound more final, directive and closed than may actually be the case. The future-focus on this team is generally open to problem solving, but effective problem solving must include ample time for reflection, journaling and/or introversion. Details, specifics and excessive sensory input (noise, bright colors, smells and even temperature fluctuations) can seriously distract and stress this group.}
.ProbET
{Driven to structure, closure and order, this team--above any--orients itself to solving problems, meeting them, whether internal or external, with clarity, logical argumentation and seemingly clear direction. Sounding certain, even in uncertainty, is a benefit that can backfire on this group by communicating direction and conclusion even when none is intended. Often gifted at managing outcomes, completing tasks and driving toward compliance and conclusion, this group can also struggle with the personal feelings of its members and the impact it has on the people who must live and relate within the confines of the team--s decisions.}
.ProbIT
{This team is largely motivated by independent insight and a desire to solve problems and come to a clear understanding. Far more of importance goes unsaid than spoken of in this team--what is said will tend to be open, inquiring and tentative. There will be some firm conclusions and logical principles of importance to the group and many of its members in problem solving, but rarely will these be given a voice. Effective problem solving must include ample time for reflection, journaling and/or introversion--in fact, this is a group not oriented to team membership in general and will be more effective the more freedom and independence from the group is the group norm. This group will tend not to be personally disclosing, overtly warm or emotionally expressive and may struggle with the personal feelings of its members and the impact it has on the people who must live and relate within the confines of the team--s decisions.}
.ProbEF
{Driven to structure, harmony, order, and interpersonal connection, this team is oriented to solving problems--especially those that have a human or values component. Though tending toward conflict avoidance, this group meets problems with diplomatic smoothness and gentle persuasion. Sounding certain, even in uncertainty, is a benefit that can backfire on this group by communicating harmonious directives and values-based conclusions even when not intended or useful. This team may struggle with facing conflict and tension in the moment and delay reprimands and the more contentious sides of group membership and task completion.}
.ProbIF
{This team is largely motivated by unspoken and deeply felt truths and values that most often relate to people, personal relationships, harmony and a meaningful, almost spiritual, component to the work that the team does. The most important values and motives of the group will rarely be articulated. What is said will tend to be open, inquiring, friendly and tentative. Effective problem solving must include ample time for reflection, journaling and/or introversion and time overtly given to build and support the individual lives and relationships of team members. Though individuals on the team will likely have strong judgments and criticisms, it is unlikely that these will get much air time, and the group may struggle with expressing conflict or overt opposition unless some core team value is broached--then the opposition may be fierce and seem both angry and out of proportion to the issue which triggered it.}
.ValueNF1
{This is an idealistic group that will orient itself around a valued mission and faithfully carry the flag toward the betterment of people and protection of the values held most dear}
.ValueNF2
{Sensitive to conflict, this group will tend to ignore or underplay conflict and confrontation in the moment for the sake of a more unified, connected group atmosphere}
.ValueNF3
{This group will tend to have an egalitarian air about it--opting more for sound, comfortable relationships than hierarchical structures and titles}
.ValueNT1
{This is a highly conceptual group, prizing individual contribution, complex thought and insight. The group--s members may often seem to be operating on separate, independent tracks--pushing for improvement, clarity and ever-sharper standards of competency and achievement}
.ValueNT2
{Sensitive to incompetence, this group will likely be competitive and demanding, driving itself, its members and others toward change and improvement--sometimes at the cost of group unity or harmony}
.ValueNT3
{This group and many of its members will tend to be authority independent--questioning, and even doubting, the authority of hierarchical structures, titles, procedures, traditions and the will of the group}
.ValueSJ1
{This is a traditional, authority-dependent group that will welcome and/or create clear goals, leadership, role distribution and procedures and dutifully and efficiently work toward completing their tasks}
.ValueSJ2
{Sensitive to disorder, this group will tend to rely on structure, authority of leadership and established procedures to avoid scheduling pitfalls and the chaos that comes with unplanned group events like conflict, change and general organizational uncertainty}
.ValueSP1
{This is a highly practical, fun-loving, action-oriented group that prizes action and immediate application and experience}
.ValueSP2
{Sensitive to boredom and inaction, this group will tend to ignore policy, procedure and organizational expectation to creatively adapt to its problems or situations}
.ValueSP3
{This group and many of its members will speak the truth with little thought of future impact or social or organizational propriety--realistic and keenly observant; this is a group unaware or unconcerned with sacred cows and collective unmentionables}
.AtmoEJ
{Team will likely be outgoing, gregarious, disclosing and self-energizing--eager to engage toward closure, structure, order and decisive action. May sound pushy or driven towards one another and often appreciate push back.}
.AtmoIJ
{Team will likely be reflective, reserved and guarded or, at best, strategically disclosing with one another, meeting only out of necessity, but not drawing energy from the engagement--eager to engage toward closure, structure, order and decisive action, however, when meetings do occur.}
.AtmoEP
{Team will likely be outgoing, gregarious, disclosing and self-energizing--eager to engage, open dialogue, share experiences, generate options and start projects--showing more reluctance or resistance to closure, structure and decisive action.}
.AtmoIP
{Team will likely be reflective, reserved and strategically disclosing or guarded with one another, meeting out of necessity, but not drawing energy from the engagement. There will likely be many important issues and values swimming under the surface of this group that rarely, if ever, get voiced. The team will likely be eager to engage, open dialogue, share experiences, generate options and start projects--showing more reluctance or resistance to closure, structure and decisive action.}
.enfj
{The energy on an ENFJ team comes from team meetings, talking and mutual disclosures. ENFJ teams will seem social and gregarious, putting a premium on harmony. They prefer to perceive the world as having rich possibilities and meanings, which they use to make and communicate many subjective, interpersonally based decisions. ENFJ groups tend to approach their work in a structured, scheduled and orderly fashion. ENFJ teams tend to be aware of the many interpersonal dynamics that may be taking place at any given time inside and outside of their group. This team will likely have an active people sense—knowing and addressing who seems stressed, who may need to be motivated, who should be reprimanded and who needs a listening ear. With the team's collective preference for Judging, the group tends to move quickly and decisively—albeit smoothly—toward closure and task completion, wanting everyone aboard, included and happy.}
.enfp
{A zest for life and social gregariousness are linked with endless possibilities and options, which ENFP teams apply to a host of interpersonal encounters while always working their team interactions so as to maximize their options. ENFP teams can exhibit wide mood swings--almost within the same moment-- and probably experience higher "highs" and lower "lows" in the process. Nevertheless, ENFP teams tend to bring enthusiasm and energy to most activities, which can be highly contagious—if at times exhausting. As they do with most things, ENFP teams tend to convert tasks and team imperatives to some sort of a grand game plan, then play it to the max, relying on their persuasiveness and creativity to keep each other and external groups motivated.}
.entj
{With a rather special combination of probable qualities--enthusiasm, vision, objectivity, accountability and a drive to control and conclude, ENTJ teams often find it challenging not to drive change, take charge and lead—even when it is not their task or charter to do so. The ENTJ team's outer-directed, people-oriented energy gives it a basic social and organizational alertness. Most ENTJ teams translate this alertness into possibilities, meanings and connections which are then dealt with objectively, helping to create a vision, a strategy or a complex system that will move the team or the organization toward its overall goal. The ENTJ team's need for closure, structure, and accountability makes sure that these visions, strategies and systems are not left on the drawing board or lost to some abstract inspiration. ENTJ teams are more likely to turn inspirations into finished products. As a result, it's an onward-and-upward, over-and-over-again kind of existence for all within the hard-charging ENTJ team.}
.entp
{It seems like every moment can be up for grabs when this generally dynamic, creative, resilient and argumentative group is at work. Upbeat, even exhausting to many--including their own team members, ENTP teams tend to banter, question, challenge and compete—all in an effort to push the envelope, reinvent and learn. For the ENTP team, the public world, where group life takes place, is exciting. If things aren't exciting, the ENTP group will likely want to shake things up and make it so. To the ENTP team, the external world is full of endless possibilities, random abstractions and theoretical connections. These perceptions are filtered through objective, impersonal decisions, none of which are terribly binding because each day brings new options and spontaneity. Hence, while ENTP team life can be exciting, it tends not to be oriented to schedules or finite approaches to projects. It is the nature of ENTP teams to be living on the edge of the future, and sometimes the present--always expecting, frequently achieving and certainly changing each situation.}
.esfj
{ESFJ teams are socially gregarious, which is manifested especially in the precious attention they pay to both organizational and personal details. All of this happens in an interpersonal style given to praise and affirmation against a backdrop of structure, schedule, and order. It is the ESFJ team that will value remembering names and birthdays and do the little niceties during a team meeting. When on an ESFJ team, a member is usually quite sure of what the team appreciates and what tasks the group believes have been performed well. However, members also know when a mistake has been made. The ESFJ team's norms—official or unspoken—can sound like a critical parent, toiling to keep members performing as they “should.”}
.esfp
{ESFP teams are energetic, highly adaptable, sensitive and unconventional--a breath of fresh air and the embodiment of fun -- but not always appreciated or understood by workplaces that prize structure, order and predictability. So much a part of the ESFP team is this fun dynamic that when something unpleasant cannot be converted to fun, or cannot be avoided completely, then it is time to simply drop the subject and move on to something different. This is an ongoing challenge for the ESFP team. Each of the ESFP team's preferences spells fun. They are outgoing, socially gregarious, and interactive and prefer to perceive the world and the team's tasks realistically, tangibly and in the here and now. These perceptions are all decided upon very subjectively, based upon the interpersonal impact each decision has on the team members and those within the team's orbit. All of which is translated through a flexible, spontaneous, easy-going life and work.}
.estj
{This hard charging team will be given to accountability, responsibility, productivity and results. The atmosphere on this team will tend to be task focused, quite direct and upbeat. ESTJ teams work best with clear directives, timelines, leadership and control. They approach projects as they see the world--in terms of hands-on, practical data that is to be translated into objective, non-personal decisions for the sake of order, closure and control.}
.estp
{The ESTP team tends to be a risk-taking, entrepreneurial, give-it-a-go group. The ESTP team has a fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants attitude and is pleased to have everyone know about it. With a basic built-in restlessness, this is a non-conforming team of hyperactive "doers," who like to keep their hands in a variety of pots, churning as much as they can to keep everyone on their toes and to keep life exciting. ESTP teams prefer to scan the external world of people, things and action. They perceive the world and their tasks in a hands-on, grounded fashion, which they use as the basis for objective and impersonal cause-and-effect-based decisions. All of this is constantly and immediately translated through an approach to work that is spontaneous, flexible and responsive to whatever happens. As a result of being so grounded and so Extraverted, ESTP teams tend to be up front and "out there" about life, capitalizing on each moment.}
.infj
{A popular human-services-oriented type, much of the energy of an INFJ team is directed toward supporting a cause that betters a condition, especially the human one. No one word does justice to the complexities of a full type, however, the word gentle comes to mind when thinking of the INFJ team. INFJ Teams are inwardly focused, meditative, and reflective, and their perception of their work is to see its possibilities and meanings--usually in a big-picture context. These symbols and abstractions are translated through a subjective, interpersonal decision-making preference, which in turn is acted out in an approach to work that is structured, scheduled, and ordered. This combination yields a rather rich and imaginative, though unspoken drive that reveals itself in the form of caring and concern for others--with just enough structure to be believable. This group is not all talk; they deliver the goods.}
.infp
{INFP teams work best and are most productive when their efforts serve a collectively held value and reflect some ideal or service—though these values and ideals will rarely get articulated. Team work performed for the sake of work or impersonal routine, can render this team listless and perhaps even rebellious. For the INFP team, personal reflection and contemplation are coupled with a preference for futuristic, imaginative perceptions of the world and their tasks within it. The team tends to make decisions subjectively, based upon personally held but rarely articulated values. The INFP team's work style is easy-going, flexible, and adaptive, which means this team does not seek—in any overt or obvious way—to impose its view or decisions on the world around it. These qualities make for a reserved but warm and gracious team type that is frequently comfortable to let everyone "live and let live." Often a benefit, these qualities can become a liability for the team tasked to control outcomes and impose its decisions on others.}
.intj
{INTJ teams will tend to be hard-charging, perfectionist, authority independent and competitive—with themselves and others. INTJ teams view their tasks as they view the world--in terms of endless possibilities to be manipulated, conceptualized, systematized and translated through objective decisions. These decisions are readily implemented because of the INTJ team's penchant for structure, schedule and order. At times working against a team spirit or group connectivity, this team's preference for Introversion is the arena for developing their many ideas, which are usually many more than will ever be realized or even publicly shared. However, the four preferences combine in this team to convey confidence, stability, competence, intellectual insight and self-assurance.}
.intp
{INTP is not a team-oriented type, therefore, when a team is itself INTP, it is not unusual for the team to struggle, be misunderstood or underestimated. Individually, INTPs tend to view the process of getting others involved as tedious at best and a waste of time at worst. In general, INTPs, skeptical of group entanglements and the control group life imposes, would rather go it alone than become bogged down in group processes. 

In light of this, INTP teams tend to be reflective, contemplative and thoughtful. The team's perception of the world is conceptual, abstract and random—full of possibilities, which is used as the basis for objective, impersonal decisions that weigh carefully the cause and effect. All of this is translated into and expressed by a flexible, adaptable, easy-going approach to work and task completion. The INTP team's iNtuitive-Perceiving nature frequently leads them astray in the pursuit of new adventure, which can interfere with the needs of individual members for time to be alone and think. INTP teams can find it hard to stay removed and reflective when the outer world—where team life happens--is so full of ideas and possibilities. Sometimes these ideas get lost because INTP teams can rework them continually, and individuals frequently forget or neglect in the face of the INTP team type to share their latest thinking.}
.isfj
{ISFJ teams tend to be cautious, reserved and inwardly oriented, bound by fierce commitment, intense responsibility, and deep loyalty—frequently placing service above self or team needs. ISFJ teams are content to work quietly behind the scenes, doing their work through a realistic, grounded, and present-oriented sense of the environment and tasks at hand (details and specifics), and they use those facts and realities to make decisions that are interpersonally driven and supportive. ISFJ teams prefer to work and function in a structured, ordered, accountable manner. ISFJ teams can become so wrapped up in serving others and the system behind the scenes that they are overlooked and taken for granted.}
.isfp
{Somewhat at odds with group activities and teams, ISFP is an unlikely—though not at all unsuccessful team type. Each of the four preferences feed one another in helping the ISFP team relate rather than invade the space of others. The ISFP team begins by focusing internally rather than externally and strives to be sure that each group member's own internal world is in order. To an ISFP team, the world itself, and their task within it, is very tactile, immediate and grounded, and these observations are translated through the ISFP team's collective preference for subjective decision-making. The team has a low need to come to closure--preferring to stay open and experience. ISFP teams tend to position themselves as behind-the-scenes providers of service and support. Anonymous and self-effacing, the ISFP team tends toward action, intense loyalty and some impressive natural skills for gently relating to each other—and all forms of life: plants, animals and other people.}
.istj
{This is the quintessential dependable, responsible, task-driven team—dutifully oriented around accountability, productivity and the bottom line. ISTJ teams see their tasks and goals in terms of facts and tangible realities, which they prefer to deal with objectively. Their interactions tend to be structured, scheduled, and ordered and the collective preference for Introversion can make the team appear somewhat cool and detached. ISTJ teams tend to be focused, no-frill affairs—often seen as compulsive, hard-charging, capable and true to their word. ISTJ teams tend to be slow to change until they see the practical value in making course corrections.}
.istp
{ISTP is not a team-oriented type, therefore, when a team is itself ISTP, it is not unusual for the team to be misunderstood or underestimated. Individually, ISTPs tend to view the process of getting others involved as a waste of time. In general, ISTPs would rather be doing than talking or planning. They would rather be producing results than be bogged down in group processes.

ISTP teams are keenly observant, yet they speak little of what they observe in public. These reflective qualities, coupled with perceptions that are hands-on, tangible, grounded and very much oriented in the present, give the ISTP team an alert yet detached demeanor. Decisions are typically objective, impersonal, and analytically driven. The ISTP team's work with each other tends to be spontaneous, flexible and reactive, so that no matter what request, event or crisis comes along, the ISTP team will be inclined to direct attention to the new set of circumstances and address it—maybe as a team, or just as likely as a set of individuals-- with immediate action.}
