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Being a strong, confident, and above all, an effective leader is important and vital in the fast-paced 21st century workplace. Thanks to technology-facilitated instant communication, companies and clients are expecting their teams to complete projects quickly and accurately. The best way to ensure that the teams you lead are functioning optimally is to be aware of your and their MBTI® test personality type and how it affects your leadership style. This week, we focus on The Myers-Briggs® INTJ (Introverted-Intuitive-Thinking-Judging) personality type and what they can do to improve their working environment.

According to Richmond (2008), INTJ’s are “visionary strategists” (p.50). They have strong visions of where they see their teams ending up, and tend to be oriented towards long-term goals. They are also able to break these goals down into more concrete “stepping stones” or intermediate benchmarks that help work towards making their more distant vision a reality. However, sometimes getting others onboard with their ideas can be challenging for INTJ’s because they may have difficulty articulating their ideas clearly or conveying them in a way that others can easily engage with. This can impede getting feedback on ideas, which in turn may in turn result in INTJ’s jumping to conclusions before considering additional scenarios or circumstances. In some cases, they may even resort to attempting to work independently even if a collaboration would really benefit them or the task at hand.

That said, once INTJ’s are able to articulate and convey their visions to others, they are able to inspire and motivate others to follow them. This talent, coupled with their tendency to thoroughly research their projects, makes them effective in the workplace, especially in leadership positions. However, they should be cognizant of the contributions of others, and ensure that other team members have space for participation and pose additional ideas or perspectives. Similarly, once those ideas are presented, they should be given honest and respectful consideration. In some cases, INTJ’s may need to remember that working on a team is about more than successful completion of a project—it is about building and maintaining professional and personal relationships.

In addition, Richmond (2008) suggests a handful of strategies designed not only to help INTJ’s further develop their own leadership skills, but also to provide insights to those leaders who work with INTJ’s as well. For instance, Richmond suggests that INTJ’s pay close attention to how they present constructive feedback or probing questions to others—there is often a fine line between curiousness and offensiveness. This strategy is part of a larger model called “servant leadership” (p.51), in which leaders ask the question “How can I better serve my team members?” Those who mentor or lead INTJ’s can support them as they begin to pay more attention to relationships and the well-being of their team members by helping them decide how to pick their battles in groups – what is vital to the company or team projects, and what can be conceded for the sake of the group?

Investing a little bit of time and a few resources to considering personality type and its impact on leadership can not only ramp up your team’s efficiency, but can also help create a more comfortable and equitable work environment for all.

Learn More About the MBTI INTJ Personality Type

Explore Our Other INTJ Blog Pages:

Click on one of these corresponding popular INTJ Careers for detailed information including Career Stats, Daily Tasks and Required Education:

Anesthesiologist, Biochemists, Biologists, Chemical Engineers, Computer Programmers, Electronics Engineers, Industrial Engineers, Information Security Analysts, Lawyers and Surgeons

Click On Your Personality Type Below & Read About Your Leadership Style:

Reference

Introduction to Type and Leadership (Richmond, S. CPP. 2008)