MBTI in Agile Teams: Thinking vs Feeling in Retrospectives

Why Thinking vs. Feeling Plays a Role in Retrospectives

Do you recognize the challenge of retrospectives getting stuck in discussions without clear action points? Or that decisions in your team are consistently made by the same people, without everyone recognizing why? This is a common issue in teams. Conflict is either avoided or escalates because we don’t understand how others reach their conclusions. How does this happen? The preference between Thinking and Feeling might be a key factor.

In the previous two blogs in this series, we explored Introversion vs. Extraversion and Intuition vs. Sensing. In this blog, we focus on Thinking vs. Feeling—how decisions are made. Understanding this difference can significantly improve your retrospectives. Let’s take a deeper dive into this third part of the series.

Thinking vs. Feeling

Imagine your team needs to decide who gets to attend an important conference. Do you base the decision on objective criteria such as performance and experience? Or do you prioritize who would benefit the most from the experience? This distinction reflects the Thinking vs. Feeling preference.

MBTI suggests that decision-making is driven by instinctive preferences. In this case, individuals naturally lean toward either Thinking or Feeling when making choices.

• Thinking involves making rational decisions based on analysis, consistency, and logic. The same conclusion should follow each time because the reasoning is factual and objective. Emotional considerations are taken into account but remain secondary.

• Feeling prioritizes the emotions of those involved. How will this decision impact others? Will it make them happy or cause distress? The emotional consequences play a significant role in the decision-making process.

These preferences are not absolute. Like all MBTI preferences, they describe a first instinct, not an exclusive way of operating. Nor do they measure how often someone applies this preference—such measurements are unreliable. However, understanding someone’s preference helps explain how they make decisions and how they communicate those decisions.

Thinking vs. Feeling in Practice

Recognizing these preferences can lead to better decision-making. I recently facilitated a team workshop where this became evident. For one exercise, we divided participants into groups based on their Thinking or Feeling preference. Their task: decide who should attend a conference, with limited spots available.

The differences were striking! The Feeling group started by asking, “Who wants to go, and who would benefit the most?” The Thinking group focused on measurable performance data, aiming to be as objective as possible. When we debriefed, the team recognized that this contrast occurred regularly, sometimes leading to misunderstandings.

When a team leans too far in one direction, part of the group may feel unheard. This was highlighted in a recent retrospective with a highly Thinking-oriented team of engineers. Their decisions were driven primarily by logic, often overlooking interpersonal impact. Over time, this led to frustrations within the team—frustrations they struggled to articulate.

3 Practical Tips to Improve Your Retrospectives

• Practice both preferences: Stepping into the opposite perspective and consciously integrating all decision-making preferences leads to more balanced outcomes. A useful approach is the ZigZag Model:

1. Consider Sensing (the facts),

2. Then Intuition (the bigger picture),

3. Followed by Thinking (logical analysis),

4. And finally, Feeling (emotional impact).

This structured approach ensures a well-rounded decision.

• For teams with a Feeling preference:

    • Ensure decisions are backed by objective reasoning to enhance clarity.

    • Make action points explicit and concrete—Feeling types may lean toward vague outcomes.

    • Foster a safe environment where constructive feedback is positively received.

• For teams with a Thinking preference:

    • Acknowledge and verbalize emotions—they exist but may go unspoken. Make room for emotional perspectives in discussions.

    • Highlight positive aspects of critical feedback—Thinkers often focus on what needs improvement, assuming strengths don’t need to be stated. Explicitly include positive feedback in your meeting structure.

    • Consider team impact rather than just “the best solution”—Sometimes, the most logical solution is not the one that best serves the team. Broaden the decision-making goal beyond pure efficiency.

MBTI Workshop: Get More Out of Your Team

Curious about how Thinking and Feeling influence your team? In our MBTI workshop, we work with real-world cases from your organization to identify immediate improvements. Book your session today and experience the impact firsthand!