As a developing leader, I’ve taken many personality and leadership assessments over the years. These assessments are common tools for guiding development efforts, helping team members understand each other, and rounding out the diversity in a group.

In the halls of corporate IT at various organizations, I’ve often encountered many who would rather take a pass at this introspective analysis and get back to work, but this sort of thing has always intrigued me. I love psychology and philosophy, and take Greek philosophy’s maxim, “Know Thyself” seriously.

I’ve always wanted to know why it is that I do the things I do, why I like certain aspects of life and work and dislike other aspects. I also like to try and figure out other people.

I’ve taken DiSC, StrengthsFinder, InColor Insight, and countless other assessments. They are all great, but there is one assessment that has consistently spoken truth to inform my own self-awareness for decades now: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

MBTI

This is going to sound odd, but it’s true. I first took the MBTI when I was 12 years old. My parents read the book, Please Understand Me by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates and then we took the MBTI as a family. We started using the language of the 16 personality dimensions in everyday conversation to describe why each of us behaved the way we did.

INFJ

I am an INFJ, which stands for Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging. This personality type is often nicknamed “The Advocate” or “The Counselor.” Rather than paraphrase the description of my personality type, I thought it would be helpful to quote it directly:

The Advocate personality type is very rare, making up less than one percent of the population, but they nonetheless leave their mark on the world. Advocates have an inborn sense of idealism and morality, but what sets them apart is that they are not idle dreamers. These individuals are capable of taking concrete steps to realize their goals and make a lasting positive impact.

People with this personality type tend to see helping others as their purpose in life. Advocates can often be found engaging in rescue efforts and doing charity work. However, their real passion is to get to the heart of the issue so that people need not be rescued at all.

Advocates indeed share a unique combination of traits. Though soft-spoken, they have very strong opinions and will fight tirelessly for an idea they believe in. They are decisive and strong-willed, but will rarely use that energy for personal gain.

16personalities.com/infj-personality

Famous INFJs include Martin Luther King, Mohandas Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Eleanor Roosevelt, Carl Jung, Jimmy Carter, and Edward Snowden.

By mentioning those names, I am in no way equating myself to them. While my personality is aligned, my accomplishments and impact bear no comparison. I’m not Gandhi, but perhaps I think like him.

My identity as an INFJ has given me more useful self-knowledge than any other personality assessment. I’ll use the rest of the article to explain my key learnings. I do this for several reasons: First, you can get to know me a little better. Second, perhaps my self-analysis will encourage you to do a similar reflection. Third, if there are any INFJs out there in my audience, you can send me a fist-bump emoji in the comments section.

I’m an Introvert and I work with people all day

I’m a strong Introvert, and I’ve written about that extensively. Sometimes, others don’t experience me as such a strong Introvert, because it is moderated by my Feeling dimension, which drives me to make human connections. I’ve also worked hard to overcome the social anxiety of my youth.

I am an Intuitor, in a data-driven world

Information technology and the data sciences are filled with the personality dimension, Sensor, which is the opposite of Intuitive. I highly value the data-driven people around me, because I know I don’t have that personality dimension within myself. I value data because it adds validation or challenge to my natural intuition. I have a strong gut feel that guides me and my team well when I’m supplemented by my team of Sensors.

I am a Feeler, in a Thinker’s profession

Also, information technology is a left-brained science, yet I approach it with my heart. People and mission are what drive me, and technology is just the medium. Most of my co-workers are Thinkers. That’s good and I appreciate them. As a Feeler, I get to be the one who adds a heart-driven dimension. I get to round out the diversity of thought in a team.

Corporations can be notoriously cold and calculating. I thrive by adding a feeling element to an otherwise sterile environment.

I’m a dreamer with an action plan

My head is in the clouds. My thoughts are constantly preoccupied with the future. I strive for the ideal. That’s all great, but what makes it work is my drive for organization and action. I am a Judger, after all. That gives me the ability to create and execute a strategy. Without this last piece, I don’t think I’d be an effective leader. I’m not trying to infer that an INFP cannot lead, but the J in INFJ is my superpower that turns ideas into done.

I’m a walking contradiction

I’ve been studying my MBTI personality for nearly 30 years now. I recently started following Jenn Granneman, an INFJ blogger at IntrovertDear.com. While I’m not just like her, she has a good way of putting words to many of my experiences. One of them is that I’m a bit of a walking contradiction at times. She wrote a compelling article on the topic. Click here, if you are interested.

I’ve been told that I’m hard to get to know. The longer people know me, the more surprised they are about different aspects of my personality that they didn’t see coming. When someone thinks they have me figured out, I throw them a curve ball. I’m not trying to be elusive. I’m just complicated, that’s all.

I’m a writer

I didn’t know this when I started this blog, but I’ve recently come to learn that many writers are INFJs. The Intuitive Feeling makes it easier for me to form relevant and empathic insights. Introversion allows me to withdraw to my inner world to do the writing. Judging allows me to actually publish what I write.

That’s a brief overview of what it’s like to be me. I embrace my personality and am privileged to work in an environment that values the uniqueness I bring to the job. We’re all different. My personality is mine. It’s no better than yours. I just thought I’d share a bit of introspection with all of you.

Have you considered how your MBTI personality type affects your approach to life and work? Perhaps MBTI never really resonated with you, but your DiSC profile opened your eyes. I’d love to hear your stories of self-discovery in the comments below.

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