By Donna Dunning
Compassionate Visionary
People who have preferences for INFJ tend to focus their attention in the inner world by creating, researching, and integrating ideas, using Introverted Intuition (Ni) as their dominant function. They are often most engaged when they can learn and imagine how to help others develop their potential.
In their outer world, they tend to enjoy implementing their ideas, building consensus, and guiding others, using Extraverted Feeling (Fe).
For more general information on type dynamics and motivation, please refer to the introductory post for this series, Find Your Motivation and Grow Your Career.
When they find opportunities to use this core approach at work, the result is usually a satisfying, meaningful career.
Building Your Skills
When learning and developing their competencies, INFJs need to hone their core approach as well as develop skills and knowledge outside of their preferences.
Some of the skills that may come naturally for INFJs include creating, collaborating, organizing, facilitating, planning, coaching, and reaching consensus. Careers that use these skills are often appealing to people with INFJ preferences.
However, there are times when INFJs need to use and develop skills in their non-preferred functions. For the INFJ, this might include structuring tasks in sequence, following routines, attending to details, as well as viewing and evaluating situations impartially.
I’m sure the INFJs out there can add to this list of non-preferred skills and activities.
Finding Your Motivation
INFJs will be most motivated to learn skills in their non-preferred functions “in service of the dominant function”. In other words, they need to see how the new learning aligns to, builds on, and supports their vision. They will be interested in using new learning to guide and help others.
To illustrate this point, here is an excerpt from a career story offered by one of my readers with INFJ preferences on my Visionary Career Success Stories and Strategies page.
“I’m a self-employed, published author who coaches other authors about marketing. Learning my personality type and its strengths showed me that my talents — especially a strong sense of intuition — were not only real, but they would also benefit others. Most of my communication with writers is online, with few face-to-face opportunities. Being able to “read between the lines” helps me see what they are really saying. Reflective questioning helps me get to the bottom of a situation. Guiding others is something I enjoy. It hardly feels like a job.
Currently, I’m creating a new company that allows me to leverage those skills and help others gain the advice and information they need. I’m putting it together in such a way that I can take full advantage of the INFJ strengths, and watch for the pitfalls. For every strong point, there is an opposite weak one. I’m analytical and can see which steps need to be taken. The flip side is that once I know what those steps are, I want to hand them over to someone else to do, and go figure out what needs to be done next. Being aware of that tendency helps me stay focused on the nitty-gritty.”
Notice how she enjoys seeing the big picture and reading between the lines. She describes her need to use her Sensing function to “figure out what needs to be done next” and “focus on the “nitty-gritty” in the context of being able to benefit and guide others.
If you want to read more about INFJs on the website, here are a few posts to look at.
Occupations that Attract Visionaries
Resources
Want to learn more about personality type and how to use it to understand yourself and others?
Introduction to Type and Communication describes in detail how personality preferences influence communications.
If you live in the USA, Introduction to Type and Communication
Introduction to Type and Learning can help you find your motivation for learning and help you learn more effectively.
If you live in the USA, Introduction to Type and Learning
Looking for a practical resource to help you plan your ideal career? Check out my book, What’s Your Type of Career?: Find Your Perfect Career By Using Your Personality Type
Want to use your personality type to excel at your career? Check out 10 Career Essentials: Excel at Your Career by Using Your Personality Type
