Each aspect of the 16 Types Acronym answers the following questions:

The important thing is that each letter of the acronym, which represents one of the four categories, is on a spectrum. Cloverleaf has done the behind-the-scenes work for you to show you the 16 Types team types, and the percentage of each category is reflected on the team.

16 Types is also one of the most common assessments on the Cloverleaf platform that most people have likely interacted with several times throughout their careers. Because of how common the assessment is, people may miss some of the nuances you can draw on.

The layout of the wheel visual gives a team clear insight into the patterns of similarities and differences amongst teammates.

You’ll notice the introverts are all in the inner circle, with the Extroverts in the outer circle. The top half of the wheel shows all the Thinkers, and the bottom half is the Feelers. The left side shows the Sensors; the right shows the Intuitives. Finally, each piece of the pie switches between the Perceivers and the Judgers.

Team Patterns

You can see what percentage of a team falls on each side of each function, and you can use this visual powerfully when you are speaking to teams that are balanced or higher on one end of the spectrum in a category than in another.

Here are several trends or patterns that, when present, can help you speak to 16 Types with a team. We’ll also go over how to incorporate some of the trends as a strength, weakness, opportunity for growth/productivity, or a threat to growth/productivity.

When we refer to a team being “balanced” on a 16 Types category, we mean that BOTH ends of the spectrum (i.e., E vs. I) reflect a score of no more than 60%

Example:

When teams are BALANCED on any one of the 16 Types categories, this can go in the “Strengths” or “Opportunities for Growth” section of the Cloverleaf SWOT. It’s a great callout to show team diversity and how different members of the team complement others to create balance amongst the entire team.

Position it as a strength OR opportunity for growth:

When teams have a balance of extroverts and introverts on their teams, it means they have struck a balance between highly driven drivers and more methodical processors.

An introvert may bring some critical information that can help teams think things through before acting on the latest idea an extrovert is passionate about. Extraverts can also help teams continue to innovate, and introverts ensure that action plans have tangible outcomes.

Position it as a strength OR opportunity for growth:

A team balanced with sensors and intuitive can capture the most important aspects of concepts or strategies.

By incorporating a healthy balance of big-picture thinking that relies on theoretical constructs with more details and “how-tos,” teams can explore ideas and strategic plans through a diverse lens.

You’ll leave team conversations and collaborations being inspired just as much by “why” your team has chosen a certain direction as you are by “how” you will get there and how to overcome perceived obstacles.

If you position it as an opportunity for growth, you want to challenge a team to leverage this diversity more during team meetings, strategic planning sessions, or project planning. You might want to ask where leveraging this could make a difference.

Position it as a strength OR opportunity for growth:

This is one of the best balances to have on a team when it comes to 16 Types. Teams balanced in this area truly embody the human experience of combining heart and head thinking.

This balance ensures that logic and facts will carry as much weight as shared values and compassion for your fellow team members. This comes in especially handy when making decisions about dealing with performance issues.

Teams that possess this balance will not overlook dips in performance, but will also be able to provide feedback in a way that shows the most respect for the person and their contributions.

If you position it as an opportunity for growth, you want to encourage teams to lean on this balance more when making tough decisions about things like hiring, termination, poor performers, or making staff/team changes. It will ensure that you are fairly integrating facts while also weighing in on more relational/interpersonal factors.

Position it as a strength OR opportunity for growth:

This balance will bring variety to how a team approaches work getting done. Having a balance in these areas ensures that you won’t get caught up in engineering, nor will this team fly by the seat of their pants and just wing it.

When it comes to setting deadlines and project plans, your J’s will ensure things are recorded and communicated, while your P’s will also indulge in some creative freedom (as long as the deliverables are on time, of course!).

This balance can also be an opportunity for each individual to practice “recreating in their opposite” type. P’s can learn from some enhanced structure, while J’s can also open up new ideas by giving themselves a shot of spontaneity from time to time!

When we refer to a team being “high” on a 16 Types category, we mean that one end of the spectrum (i.e., E vs. I) reflects a score of 65% or more on any of the categories on their team dashboard.

Example:

Position it as a strength:

Teams high on extraversion can create high-energy and motivating work environments. This can be a strength as it makes workplaces attractive and friendly when people are approachable and focused on working collaboratively. New team members will get welcomed into the fold by a highly extroverted team because of the team's high emphasis on developing relationships and drawing on the energy of others.

Position it as an opportunity for growth:

Extraverts can jump the gun and get caught up in all the “why” without the “how.” Great ideas need great execution to become a reality. An opportunity for growth here is to leverage anyone on the team who is individually a higher “I” or “J” to do some stress testing and scoping of projects and strategies. It’s also critical for teams that are high on extraversion to put in their own individual practices to self-coach and remind themselves to slow down and ask key questions when getting swept away by passions.

Position it as an opportunity for growth:

Teams high on introversion will benefit from having a communication strategy or commitment amongst the team to ensure everyone is heard. Teams high on introversion may avoid conflict or getting things out in the open but rather process things independently.

Conflict can be leveraged to innovate, solve problems, and inform strategic planning. Avoiding it creates stagnation and breaks down relationships. What steps could a team take to create an internal communication strategy that everyone can agree to challenge themselves to have a healthy and open dialogue?

Position it as an opportunity for growth:

Teams high on sensing and low on intuition can have tendencies to be low on optimism or exploring what is possible. They can become overly practical and data-driven and miss some of the nuances of bigger-picture thinking. A great way to weave into calling this out is to ask how the team would benefit from more “big picture thinking?”

Position it as an opportunity for growth:

Teams high on intuition bring great vision to strategic planning, and product development and have wildly successful brainstorming sessions. It’s a great opportunity for growth here if teams high on intuition can rely on some of the individuals who are more sensing to bring forth important data points to factor in when making decision-making.

For example, if a team has a new product or service feature idea, a sensor might bring in some recent customer feedback to incorporate into that big-picture approach. Who on the team is willing to serve in this role going forward?

Position as an opportunity for growth:

Teams high on thinking with low on feeling may create an environment that feels off-putting or less inviting. While a heavy reliance on logic is critical in some instances, without incorporating some “heart” thinking, it can be unattractive to potential new hires and lead to high turnover if people don’t feel valued OR feel the organization is not aligned with their personal values. What can the team do to incorporate some additional “heart” thinking into their team dynamic?

Position as an opportunity for growth:

While creating a warm and friendly environment is key, teams that are high on feeling may be ruled more by emotion than strategic thinking. Because of the rising emphasis on values alignment when people seek to find organizational fit at work, it's important to leverage this strength and recognize its growth opportunity. Who on the team is more of a T and will take on being the voice of logic? This person also has to remember that if they are talking to a bunch of F’s, the approach has to be based on creating harmony and team cohesion.

Position as an opportunity for growth:

A team high on judging probably has beautiful project plans, and Gantt charts and utilizes a task or project management system. They most likely get things done and know exactly when a project is off track. The opportunity for growth here is to allow more time for creativity and spontaneity. Over-engineering of structure can stifle innovation. The opportunity for growth here is for teams that fall into this category to plan strategic brainstorming sessions where they ONLY create.

Position as an opportunity for growth:

While being adaptable and spontaneous can provide an exciting work environment, it can put a damper on productivity and accountability. No one wants to live and breathe in an Excel spreadsheet, but without project plans and deadlines, all that great energy and innovation won’t fully come to fruition. What practices or systems can a team like this adopt to bring structure to some of their creativity? What would this make possible?

The basis of Carl Jung’s work centered around the middle two letters in a four-letter type. These two middle letters give significant insight into how someone thinks, focusing specifically on how a person takes in information (with either Sensing or iNtuition), and how someone then decides upon that information (with either Feeling or Thinking).

While the first and fourth letters help us understand behavior and preferences, starting with the middle two letters will give you clear insight into why a person behaves in a certain way. It also cuts down what you need to think through from 16 separate types to just four distinctions. It’s a great call out to help teams use this assessment powerfully.

Access a deeper dive into the 16 Types Assessment HERE and find additional resources about how to use 16 Types.
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