INTJ workplace habits include a serious disposition in offices with an unmatched devotion to the project they are working on. These individuals strive for perfection and never settle for less. INTJs are curious and logical as well. This makes them approach their work in an organized fashion.

Most INTJs prefer to contribute alone in the workplace, though they can also collaborate in a team if at all necessary. People with INTJ preferences are serious, focused, and prefer to be left alone while they are immersed deeply into an important project.

These individuals are ambitious and intelligent and do not like to be told what needs to be done. They feel that they know their job better than others. INTJs are inventive and look into the big picture rather than getting busy with the details. 

In workplaces, they envision big goals and know how to turn this vision into a reality.  They prefer an ideal work environment where every team member is dedicated and focused, and can build strategies to make things happen; otherwise an introverted INTJ may not feel great about the kind of setup they’re in.

In this article, we will take a look at how INTJ personality types behave in their workplace. We will get inside the details of how they perform various hierarchy roles assigned to them, and how they communicate and resolve issues in workplace setups.

Stay tuned for the same….

INTJ Workplace

The Myers-Briggs Test Indicator (MBTI) is perhaps the most common personality test in the world. According to this test, human beings can have one of sixteen different personality types.

One of those 16 personality types is the INTJ. The acronym INTJ refers to an introverted, intuitive, thinking, and judging type of individual. People with this personality type are generally shy by nature. They tend to avoid social interactions and prefer to stay alone. They possess a strong rational and logical mindset. These individuals have a strong liking towards rules and regulations. At the same time, they have a strong moral code.

Because of their unique qualities, INTJs behave in certain ways. These characteristics and behaviors also seep over to their work environments.

Like any other personality type, an INTJ’s thought processes depend on their cognitive functions. The primary and most important cognitive functioning style of INTJs is introverted intuition (Ni). This means that they rely a lot on their instincts. 

This attitude extends to all spheres of an INTJ’s life, including their work environment. Because of their ability to think outside the box, INTJs have a natural talent to solve complex problems.

Individuals with the INTJ personality type often have high standards about themselves. They keep high expectations regarding their own performance. This type of attitude comes to light through the way they behave in their workplace.

In this section, we will discuss how an INTJ behaves in different levels of an organizational structure – as a colleague, as a manager, and as a subordinate.

INTJ as a colleague

As we know, people with the INTJ personality type prefer to work independently. This can often cause problems in the workplace.

Because of their shy and introverted nature, INTJs do not like social interactions. Most INTJs have high standards about themselves. Even if it is in their subconscious mind, the majority of INTJ people consider themselves to be better than their coworkers. 

So, they feel like they have to work in a team environment with others, it would slow them down. They may feel that their coworkers would bring down the quality of their work. Because of this kind of attitude, an INTJ is not good as a team member. They do not like to participate in team building activities either.

An INTJ prefers to keep a completely formal relation with all of his or her colleagues. They do not like small talk or casual conversations with their coworkers. INTJs do not at all want to become close friends with their coworkers. For this reason, their coworkers do not like them much either.

But at the same time, INTJs are hard-working and sincere. They are extremely dedicated to their work. In some cases, their coworkers may take advantage of this. They may underperform on purpose, so that their INTJ colleague does the job himself.

INTJ as a manager

On the surface, it may seem surprising to some people, but in reality, INTJs would truly excel in managerial positions.

Among their many character traits, INTJs have an incredible quality. They have an ability to see the big picture. They can ignore the finer details of any scenario and look for a long-term solution. This kind of mindset proves to be very useful in a manager’s position.

For example, suppose a company takes on a new project. The project manager would have to think of the long-term deliverables in this case. He or she would have to think of the long-term consequences of every small task that they do. This is where an INTJ’s farsightedness proves to be beneficial.

As managers, INTJs enjoy working alone. By nature, they do not like social interactions. They want to maintain a formal relationship with their colleagues. They do not want to be friends with their coworkers. Obviously, the relationship between a manager and his or her subordinates is a formal one by default. Thus, an INTJ would fit right in.

INTJs are also inherent problem solvers. Being a manager would provide them with a unique intellectual challenge of solving various kinds of problems in the workplace.

INTJ as a subordinate

INTJs normally love to enjoy a certain degree of independence. They do not like it when their bosses micromanage them.

INTJs prefer to work independently. If they have to work on a certain task, they want their supervisor to just give them the task objectives. They want to do the task on their own. 

They become annoyed if someone checks what they are doing at every step. But in a modern work culture, managers expect a status report from their subordinates quite frequently. But an INTJ does not want to follow this kind of a work ethic. This often leads to conflicts in the workplace.

But not everything is bad about an INTJ’s workplace practices. INTJs are hard-working. They are very much determined and focused on every task they do. So, from a manager’s perspective, they can rest assured that an INTJ will give their hundred percent effort in whatever task they have to do.

An INTJ wants to keep all of their work relationships completely formal. For this reason, they give appropriate respect to their supervisors. This makes them good subordinates.

INTJ Personality Type and Workplace Communication

People with different personality types differ in their ways of working and communicating with others. In the case of a person with an INTJ personality type, it is crucial for others to provide them space. This is because INTJs prefer to work independently, and on their own. They enjoy privacy in their workspace. Their productivity increases when they are left to work alone.

We know that INTJs are very reserved by default. They usually have difficulty in expressing their inner feelings due to their introverted nature. They are neither too arrogant, nor too formal while conversing. They are quite skillful in handling certain difficult situations in a tactful way. 

INTJs usually focus on the bigger picture, rather than dwelling on irrelevant small details. They do not prefer to engage in small talks and stay focused on one point while conversing. 

INTJs show great enthusiasm when they find any project or idea to be very interesting. Often, their enthusiasm spreads to other people. If an INTJ is working in a group project, their team members also become motivated and driven by them. Thus, they can become de facto leaders, even if they do not want to.

In most cases, INTJs want to keep all their work relationships formal. They do not want to become friends with their colleagues. As a result, people with the INTJ personality type do not want to participate in small talks or so-called “water cooler conversations” in their workplace. 

They do not want to take part in team building exercises. Any social event in the office, such as an office picnic or party never interests an INTJ individual.

Because of their formal-minded nature, INTJs give appropriate respect to all their coworkers. Even in a managerial position, an INTJ gives necessary respect to his or her subordinates. INTJ managers consider their subordinates as their equal. For this reason, an INTJ manager’s subordinates also love and respect them a lot.

Having a Meeting with the INTJ Personality Type – What it looks like

Let us now talk about how a meeting with an INTJ personality type goes about.

In a modern work environment, meetings play an important role. Supervisors often convey many important messages or assign tasks to their subordinates through meetings.

However, INTJs do not like meetings. Because of their introverted nature, they hate social interactions. But at the same time, INTJs are very motivated and driven to get any job done. So, if they have to, they will definitely attend meetings.

In any meeting, INTJs do not like to “beat around the bush.”

They want meetings to be formal, and not a place for friendly conversations. In any meeting that an INTJ attends, they want someone to document all records. Before attending a meeting, an INTJ would want to read the agenda of the meeting. This would help them prepare in a proper manner for the meeting.

An INTJ never goes to a meeting unprepared. INTJs have a natural talent in solving complicated problems. They bring a fresh and unique perspective to any challenging situation. For this reason, others give a very high degree of importance to an INTJ’s comments during meetings.

From the point of view of an INTJ, he or she does not like to speak much during meetings. An INTJ would rather like to keep quiet and listen. But when they think that a moment is appropriate, they do not hesitate to step up and speak. When an INTJ feels that someone else is saying something incorrect, he or she feels obliged to correct them.

After the conclusion of a meeting, an INTJ wants to read the minutes of the meeting. But this is not because they were unmindful or not paying attention during the meeting. They do this to make sure that they are appropriately prepared for the next meeting.

INTJ Personality Type and Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

In most cases, an INTJ would say that he or she wants to avoid conflicts with others. The main reason for this is that they want to avoid social interactions. Most INTJs like to keep to themselves and work independently in the workplace.

But some behaviors that an INTJ exhibits, may lead to unnecessary conflicts. As we have mentioned before, INTJs do not like to be team players. At the same time, they have high standards about themselves. 

So, in a group project, if an INTJ is confident in the work that they are doing, they tend to ignore the suggestions of other team members. In turn, those people think that the INTJ individual is being arrogant. This leads to conflicts.

An INTJ is also very driven and motivated in their work. In fact, when an INTJ becomes too engrossed in their work, they may forget to eat or sleep, and work overtime. This makes the INTJ their supervisor’s favorite. But the INTJ’s colleagues do not necessarily share the same work ethic. As a result, they may get angry when they see that the boss is favoring the INTJ individual.

Similarly, when an INTJ is in a managerial position, he or she may expect their subordinates to work overtime to get a certain job completed on time. INTJs also do not give importance to emotions.

 For example, if an employee wants a leave because their loved one is sick, an INTJ manager may think that this is not a valid reason, and thus not grant them leave. Issues like these may often lead to disputes in the workplace.

INTJs are less emotional by nature. In some cases, they may talk rudely and hurt the feelings of their coworkers without even realizing that they have done so.

INTJs are very proud and arrogant individuals. For this reason, it is very hard to resolve a conflict with an INTJ. But at the same time, they have a rational mind. So, if someone carefully explains to an INTJ why a conflict exists, and how it can be resolved, an INTJ becomes willing to work on it.

To Sum Up 

Let us now do a recap. As we all know by now, the acronym INTJ stands for an introverted, intuitive, thinking, and judging type of personality. Because of their personality style, they have some unique qualities which affect how they behave in the workplace.

Most INTJ individuals prefer to work alone rather than in groups. Although it may seem hard to believe, INTJs shine in a managerial position. They are farsighted and can see the big picture in any challenging scenario. They have a natural talent at problem solving.

INTJs prefer all work relationships and workplace communication to be very formal. Their workplace behaviors may often lead to conflicts. But because they are rational thinkers, they would be willing to work to resolve the said conflicts.

If you have colleagues in the workplace whose personality profile matches that of an INTJ, we hope this article can be of help.