Blog Posts

By Dr. Scott.

It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for another MSPD Wednesday Leadership Blog.  We’re working our way through some concepts using visionary leadership as our central theme.  So far, we covered the 6 Characteristics of Visionary Leaders, Strategic Innovation and Inspirational Communication, and Visionary Leadership and the Situation.  This week, we’ll explore the intersection of visionary leadership and the Myers Briggs model of personality types.

We’ll need to approach this topic in several different ways.  First, we’ll look at personality types of visionary leaders and second, we’ll examine personality types that visionary leaders should look for when building their teams.  Throughout, we’ll reference Myers Briggs Personality Types.

Myers Briggs Model: A (Brief) Introduction

First things first: the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) came about in the 1940s.  In our Thinking About Leadership: Leadership Theories piece, we noted that the 1930s and 1940s were dominated by the Trait and Behavioralist paradigms.  Along with these theoretical frameworks, Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, were also influenced by the psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Carl Jung and his work on psychological types.

The Myers Briggs Model is used to identify personalities into 16 types, using 4 categories of dichotomies.  By taking the Myers Briggs test, participants learn if they are Introverted (I) or Extroverted (E), Sensing (S) or Intuition (N), Thinking (T) or Feeling (F), and Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). 

So, for example, a person might complete the exam and score as an Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging or (ENTJ).  These four-letter codes, when combined, equate to the 16 standardized personality types.  An individual who scores as an ENTJ is also known as “The Commander.”  These individuals are often strategic thinkers and leaders.  Or, someone might be Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging or ISTJ.  This personality type is categorized as “The Inspector” and is associated with individuals who are organized planners and who often strive for order and structure.  For a quick overview of all 16 personality types, I recommend this article from the True You Journal.

Visionary Leadership Personality Types

Now, we know that leadership skills can be learned and that leaders are made, not born.  Yet, we also know that leaders, even effective ones, will often “fall back” and rely on leadership styles that relate to their personality type.  So, let’s look at personality types for people who are more naturally inclined to be visionary leaders.

Visionary leaders do not fall into one personality type.  For example, visionary leaders can be both extroverts (E) and introverts (I), though, typically we see visionary leaders often are intuitive (N) and thinking (T).  So, we might see a visionary leader who is ENTP (Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving).  In the Myers Briggs personality type, these individuals are known, not coincidentally, as the “the Visionary.”  On the introverted side, we might find a visionary leader who is INTJ (Introverted Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging).  These personality types are referred to as “the Mastermind” and are typically analytical problem solvers and interested in constant improvement and innovation.

More generally, and these are the skills we can learn, we know that visionary leaders must be emotionally intelligent, creative in their strategic thinking, good communicators, and optimistic and adaptable.

Visionary Followers Personality Types

Like visionary leaders themselves, visionary followers can be both extroverts and introverts.  Also, like visionary leaders, visionary followers often are often Intuitive (N) and Perceiving (P).  In fact, oftentimes, visionary leaders should be looking for individuals with similar personality types and attitudes as themselves.  So, visionary leaders may want to look for followers that are also ENTP (Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving).  As followers, these individuals are often enthusiastic and usually good at inspiring others and communicating a vision. 

On the introverted side, like visionary leaders themselves, effective followers are typically INTJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging). 

Final Thoughts

The Myers Briggs Model is not without its critics and shortcomings.  For example, critics have challenged the reliance on dichotomies rather than a spectrum of personality and argue that individuals rarely fit into an “either/or” category and that a more nuanced approach to personality is needed. 

That being said, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator test is widely regarded as an effective tool for gauging personality types and thinking about ways to engage different individuals in the workplace.  And, so long as we keep in mind that the results from the test are meant as a general guidelines and tools, we can make informed decisions about hiring, promoting, and training team members.  

For visionary leadership and personality types we see patterns that suggest certain individuals are more inclined for visionary leadership and followership.  However, no one size fits all, and it is important to keep in mind that personality types are just one construct for understanding very complex interpersonal relationships, especially in a visionary organization or workplace.  Should visionary leaders make use of the tests when hiring and upskilling team members?  Absolutely.  Should everyone take the results with a grain of salt?  Absolutely again.

Dr. Scott Eidson is the Executive Vice President of the Madison School of Professional Development and holds doctoral degrees in both history and business.  When not thinking about leadership, he’s usually thinking about surfing or old Volkswagens.