Myers Briggs® INFJ Personality Types and Communication in The Workplace

Communication is of the utmost importance in having successful business and personal interactions. While each of us communicates with numerous people in our day-to-day lives, few of us consider why or how we communicate or how our communication style may affect others. In the workplace, however, these unintended effects can snowball and cause problems that could have been prevented if individuals had been more aware of their communication to begin with. In order to ease this process, Dunning (2003) connects individuals’ Myers-Briggs® personality types to communication style, providing valuable insights into how workplace communication can be more effective and ultimately create a more supportive, positive work environment for all.

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In this blog, we consider Myers-Briggs® INFJ types—Introverted-Intuitive-Feeling-Judging personality types, and their communication styles. INFJ personality types, according to Dunning (2003) are “compassionate visionaries” They offer others quiet support, and tend to value encouragement, harmony, and human connections, and constantly connect these affective concerns to more practical goals or tasks at hand. Trust is of the utmost importance, and even though they may seem reserved at times, they do open up to those within their circle of trust. Once this trust is established, INFJ types will feel more comfortable expressing themselves, and presenting ideas in a personally meaningful context. In groups, INFJ personality types apply these innate qualities to help their teams collaborate to develop action plans and strategies in the short-term, and long-term visions that will be mutually beneficial for multiple stakeholders. In doing so, they demonstrate their skills in organizing people and resources to reach goals, while still maintaining strong personal relationships. In order to function optimally, INFJs need to have quiet time to plan and process ideas before sharing them with others. This gives them time for introspection, and to ground themselves before interacting with or directing larger teams.

INFJ MBTI® personality types tend to value genuine, honest feedback, and are quick to notice posturing or insincerity. On the other hand, this candor needs to be balanced with personal affirmations as well. As Dunning (2003) observes, “If they are not supported, they may withdraw from contact with others.” For this reason, INFJs may find it difficult to receive feedback that is overly critical or blunt, and may even take such feedback personally, as a reflection on them as individuals rather than on their work. A more effective way of offering feedback to an INFJ is to emphasize what can be better about a project, or how it could be improved, rather than what is wrong or negative about it. These tips can also help INFJs give more critical or constructive feedback as well, since it presents critiques as “areas of growth” or “areas of improvement” rather than errors per se.

Individuals can differ greatly in their communicative tendencies, and these differences can be sources of stress. However, by anticipating them, they can become sources of strength. Ultimately, insights into The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and how people communicate can help individuals and teams streamline communication in the workplace and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their operations.

Learn to communicate more efficiently by understanding how your personality type best interacts with others with the MBTI test below:

Learn about your conflict-resolution style to help you resolve problems and issues as effectively as possible with the TKI test below:

Reference

1. Introduction to Type and Communication. (Dunning, D. CPP, 2003)

Learn More About the MBTI INFJ Personality Type

• Explore our MBTI INFJ Personality Type Page

INFJ Careers

Click on one of these corresponding popular INFJ Careers for detailed information including Career Stats, Income Stats, Daily Tasks and Required Education: Clinical Psychologist, Curator, Dentist, Desktop Publisher, Editor, Educational / Guidance Counselor, Fashion Designer, Graphic Designer, Healthcare Social Worker, and Pediatrician.

Explore additional information that delves deeper into the INFJ Personality Type by examining various personality and career based subjects:

• How the MBTI INFJ Type relates to Innovation
• How the MBTI INFJ Type relates to Project Management
• How the MBTI INFJ Type relates to Emotional Intelligence
• How the MBTI INFJ Type relates to Leadership
• Myers-Briggs test INFJ Personality Type and Learning Styles Blog
• Myers-Briggs test INFJ Personality Type and Decision-Making Blog

Click On Your Personality Type in The Graph Below & Read About Your Communication Style

Click on a link below to read more about different MBTI Personality Types