It happens all the time. A company invests significant money and time in an MBTI® workshop, participants learn their four-letter type, and a few months later, the report is buried in their inbox, never to be referenced again.
Most of the time, the tool isn’t the issue. The facilitator is.
I’m an MBTI® Certified Practitioner who consults for The Myers-Briggs Company. I also sit on the certification faculty for both the MBTI® and the Strong Interest Inventory®. I know what separates a transformational MBTI® experience from a mediocre one. Whether you’re preparing to hire an MBTI® facilitator for the first time or searching for a new partner, I wrote this guide to help you find just what you need.
How To Hire The Right MBTI® Facilitator For Your Organization
Before you start your search, clarify what you’re looking for and get clear on what you actually need. Sketch out your team’s goals, the outcomes you want, and whether you’re looking for a standalone workshop or something more comprehensive.
Once you’ve defined these priorities (and a skilled facilitator will help you refine them), use these five rules to evaluate your options with confidence.
1. Confirm their qualifications.
This one is non-negotiable. Let me be direct: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® is a restricted psychological instrument. This means it can only be purchased, administered, and interpreted by a practitioner who is officially MBTI® Certified through The Myers-Briggs Company. No exceptions.
Before hiring anyone to facilitate an MBTI® workshop, ask for documentation of their certification. A legitimate facilitator will have it ready. Someone who hesitates or offers a vague answer about being “trained” in personality assessments should give you pause.
Certification isn’t a formality. It protects the integrity of the tool and, more importantly, the people completing it.
I hold both MBTI® and Strong Interest Inventory® certifications through The Myers-Briggs Company. I also serve on the certification faculty for both assessments.
When it comes to something as nuanced as personality preferences, you deserve an expert who knows the true ins and outs of the assessment tool, not someone who administers it once a year and calls themselves a specialist.
Facilitating a workshop at the TroopHR Member Retreat in Marana, AZ.
2. Assess their depth of experience.
Certification is only the baseline. What sets the best MBTI® facilitators apart is how much they’ve actually done with the tool.
Ask any facilitator you’re considering how many MBTI® workshops and individual assessments they facilitate per month. There is a big difference between someone who administers the MBTI® a handful of times as an add-on and a facilitator who has built deep expertise with the tool through hundreds of engagements. You want the latter.
Facilitators who rarely work with the MBTI® tend to stay at the surface. An MBTI® expert will help your team move beyond the four-letter type and into the nuanced, practical application that makes the MBTI® so powerful in the workplace.
As an executive coach, I don’t just hand participants their MBTI® report and call it done. I integrate the MBTI® into deep coaching work, helping leaders and teams connect their personality insights to real business outcomes.
That depth is what transforms a one-time event into something that actually shifts how people communicate, collaborate, and lead.
3. Evaluate for dual expertise in MBTI® and facilitation.
Here’s something organizations often don’t think to ask: “Does this person actually know how to facilitate an engaging workshop?”
Being an expert in the MBTI® and facilitating a compelling workshop are two completely different skill sets, and most facilitators only possess one of them. A practitioner who is deeply knowledgeable about personality type theory can still deliver a flat, disengaging experience, and a skilled facilitator who doesn’t truly know the MBTI® will keep things surface-level, leaving your team with a four-letter type and not much else.
Few people have truly mastered both. Those who have are worth seeking out.
When you’re evaluating a facilitator, dig into both sides. How deep is their MBTI® knowledge? Do they know more than just the basics? Do they understand the nuance of type dynamics, how to guide participants who land in the middle of a preference pair, and how to handle skeptics in the room? Then ask about their facilitation background. Do they lead workshops personally, or do they subcontract them to another less-experienced individual? How many programs have they facilitated, and in what formats?
I’ve personally facilitated hundreds of MBTI® workshops and individual assessments, both virtually and in-person. That combination (deep assessment expertise and professional facilitation) is what allows me to bring the MBTI® to life rather than simply presenting about it.
Put simply, the best MBTI® facilitators are as comfortable in the weeds of type theory as they are on their feet in front of a group. That combination is rare.
4. Demand a bespoke experience.
One of the most telling questions you can ask a prospective MBTI® facilitator is: “How will you customize this workshop for our team?”
There’s a wide spectrum between an off-the-shelf MBTI® webinar and a truly bespoke workshop experience. The former delivers the same content to every group, regardless of team size, industry, culture, or goals. The latter takes the time to understand your organization, your team dynamics, and what you’re hoping to accomplish and only then builds the experience around those specifics.
A generic MBTI® workshop isn’t without value, but if you’re investing in this experience for your team, you deserve a facilitator who connects the content to your business rather than recycling a slide deck they’ve used dozens (or hundreds!) of times.
Pay attention to whether the facilitator asks you questions or jumps straight into their pitch. Before they tell you what they deliver, a skilled facilitator will want to know what’s working on your team, what’s not working, and what success looks like six months after the workshop. That’s how you’ll know whether the experience is actually tailored or just templated.
[Read: 15 Proven Ways To Make Your Workshop More Engaging]
5. Require support beyond the workshop.
Finally, think carefully about what will happen after the workshop ends.
A standalone MBTI® session can absolutely be valuable, but the biggest impact comes when participants can integrate the work, revisit their insights, and keep the conversation going.
Pre- and post-workshop individual coaching sessions, follow-up conversations with managers, and access to additional MBTI® resources all dramatically increase the likelihood that the learnings stick and translate into real behavioral change.
You can think of the workshop as being like planting a seed. Everything that comes after (coaching, follow-up sessions, manager and leadership training) is what makes that seed grow.
[Read: 7 Great Benefits Of Using MBTI In The Workplace]
Questions To Ask When Hiring An MBTI® Facilitator
Here are key questions to ask before choosing an MBTI® facilitator:
Are you MBTI® Certified, and can you provide documentation?
If they can’t produce documentation of current certification through The Myers-Briggs Company, stop there. Enthusiasm, general experience with personality assessments, or having “studied” the MBTI® are not substitutes for official certification. Period.
How many MBTI® workshops and assessments have you facilitated, and how often?
A strong facilitator will give you a specific answer and speak confidently to the variety of contexts they’ve worked in. Vague responses like “quite a few over the years” are worth probing further.
For context, I’ve personally facilitated hundreds of workshops and assessments and was recruited to serve as a consultant and facilitator for The Myers-Briggs Company. I also sit on the organization’s certification faculty for both the MBTI® and the Strong Interest Inventory®. The MBTI® is a key component of my coaching practice, not an occasional add-on.
[photo of me facilitating]
What is your background as a workshop facilitator?
Ask specifically about formats, audience sizes, and whether they’ve worked with groups similar to yours. Ask if they possess advanced training or certification in adult learning best practices.
How will you customize the workshop for my team specifically?
Listen for whether they ask you questions or just pitch you. A skilled facilitator will want to understand your team’s dynamics, what isn’t working, and what success looks like before telling you what they’d deliver. Be skeptical of anyone who jumps straight into a standard proposal.
What support do you offer before and after the workshop?
Ask about pre- and post-workshop coaching, manager follow-up, and additional training options. A standalone workshop isn’t inherently worse than a full engagement. What matters most is that the facilitator helps you figure out what’s right for your situation, not theirs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hiring An MBTI® Facilitator
How much does it cost to hire an MBTI® facilitator?
Pricing varies widely based on the facilitator’s experience, the size of the group, the format (virtual vs. in-person), and how much customization you need. Be extremely cautious of unusually low pricing, as it’s often a sign that the facilitator lacks experience. For in-person engagements, travel costs are typically covered by the client and separate from the facilitator’s fee.
How long does an MBTI® workshop typically take?
Most foundational workshops run about two hours. That said, half-day, full-day, and multi-day formats are common for teams that want to go deeper with the MBTI®.
The right format and length depend on your workshop’s goals, your team size, and how much application time you want to build in. A skilled facilitator will help you determine the right format rather than defaulting to a one-size-fits-all approach.
Can MBTI® workshops be delivered virtually?
Absolutely, and they have equal effectiveness when facilitated well. That said, virtual facilitation is a very distinct skill set. Ask any prospective facilitator specifically about their experience delivering virtually and how they ensure workshops are engaging and memorable in virtual settings.
[Read: 15 Proven Ways To Make Your Workshop More Engaging]
How is the MBTI® different from CliftonStrengths, Enneagram, and other personality assessments?
The MBTI® focuses on personality preferences. CliftonStrengths identifies your natural strengths. The Enneagram explores core motivations. Each offers a different lens into how people think, communicate, collaborate, and grow.
The right tool depends on your goals, and a skilled facilitator will help you choose rather than defaulting to whatever they happen to be certified in.
I’m certified in the MBTI®, Strong Interest Inventory®, CliftonStrengths, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory (ICS), iEQ9 Integrative Enneagram, EQ-i 2.0, and EQ360. Being certified across multiple assessments allows me to recommend the right tool for your team rather than defaulting to any single framework.
How do we know if the MBTI® is the right tool for our team?
The MBTI® is particularly well-suited for teams looking to improve communication, reduce conflict, strengthen collaboration, and develop leaders, but it is not a hiring tool and should never be used to make employment decisions.
If you’re unsure, a strong facilitator will first understand your goals before making a recommendation and will be honest if another tool might serve you better.
Final Thoughts On Hiring An MBTI® Facilitator
Choosing the right MBTI® facilitator requires more than just verifying someone’s certification. The best fit brings depth, dual expertise in both the assessment and the art of facilitation, a genuine willingness to build a bespoke experience for your team, and a commitment to your outcomes that extends past a single workshop.
If you have any additional questions or want to discuss hiring me as your MBTI® facilitator, please reach out. I offer both in-person and virtual MBTI® workshops and webinars for teams across industries. And if I’m not the perfect fit for your organization’s needs, I’ll happily provide you with a referral to a fellow MBTI® facilitator I trust.
