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GALLER Y

TheINTJMastermindSeriesPart1:The
MastermindMindset

TableofContents[hide]

1TheINTJMastermindSeriesPart1:TheMastermindMindset
2TheTruthBehindtheLabel
3MasterYourMind
4Introversion
5IntrovertedIntuition(Ni)
6ExtrovertedThinking(Te)
7IntrovertedFeeling(Fi)
8ExtrovertedSensing(Se)
9Judgment
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TheINTJMastermindSeriesPart1:TheMastermind

Mindset

AccordingtoGoogle,thewordmastermindcanbeeitheranounoraverb.It
isdefinedasapersonwithoutstandingintellect(noun)or,asaverb,the
abilitytoplananddirectacomplexschemeorenterprise.Itshouldcomeas
nosurprisethenthatthevariantMyersBriggsTypology,theKeirsey
Temperament,describestheINTJastheMastermind.AstheKeirsey
websitestates:Mastermindsareheadandshouldersabovealltherestin
contingencyplanning.Complexoperationsinvolvemanystepsorstages,one
followinganotherinanecessaryprogression,andMastermindsarenaturally
abletograsphoweachoneleadstothenext,andtopreparealternativesfor
difficultiesthatarelikelytoariseanystepoftheway.

PhotoCredit:ColinAnderson543194869.gettyimages.com

TheTruthBehindtheLabel

Impressive,huh?IfyoureanINTJ,yourcognitionenablesyoutonaturally
graspthecomplexitiesthatexistinagivensituation,andtoidentifysolutions
(evenalternativeones)foranyroadblockthatmightarise.Thatsheadystuff.
Only...toomanypeoplehavepaidattentiontothewordmastermind,and
haveignoredthedefinition.Anymore,thetermmastermindcarries
negativeconnotations.Whenpeoplehearmastermindusedtodescribethe
INTJcognition,theythinkINTJsarefocusedonmanipulatingandmoving
peoplearoundgiantchessboards.Theythinkdemagogue.Puppetmaster.
ThismisunderstandingofKeirseysdefinitioniswhytheINTJisoften
portrayedasavillain.SuchnegativityiscompoundedwhenINTJs,perhaps
unawareofthetrueintentofKeirseyslabel,addtotheerroneousperception
byadoptingit,ratherthandevelopingtheircognitiontoreachthetruemeaning
Keirseysoughttodefine.Farfrombeinginterestedinmanipulatingothers,
INTJsaregoalorientedsolutionseekerswho,unfortunately,oftenseepeople
asroadblockstogettingthingsdone.Wanttobemanipulated?Dontlookfor
anINTJtodoit.TheyreprobablytheleastlikelyoftheMBTItypestowantto
playthatgame.Manipulatingpeopleisinefficientandtimeconsuming.
Instead,INTJsusetheirmastermindskillstoexaminesystemstofindthe
bestpossiblesolutiononmultiplelevels.Thissolutionseekingisneutral,
meaningitcanbeusedforbothgoodandbad.Ultimately,thetruemeaningof
mastermindisasdescribedearlier:anintelligentpersonwhopossessesthe
abilitytomanagecomplexsystems.Abilitiesmustbedevelopedhowever.
Naturalcognitionstylesmayexist,butthechoicetodeveloponescognition
belongstoeachofusonanindividualbasis.Thisthreepartserieswill
discusshowtouseyournaturalmastermindtalentstohelpyourselfgrowand
reachyourfullmastermindpotential.Today,asanintroductiontothetopic,we
willtalkabouttheinnatecognitivetraitsthatmakeINTJsmasterminds.

MasterYourMind
 PhotoCredit:ColinAnderson594827981.gettyimages.com

Ifyouareasubscriber,orfrequentreaderofthisblog,youknowthatmanyof
theseseriesbeginwithareviewoftheINTJCognitionStack.Thisonedoes
aswell.WedothisforthosereaderswhoarenewtoMBTI,andforthosewho
mayneedareminderofhoweachelementofthecognitivestackworksto
influenceINTJdecisionmaking.

Introversion
Whileitmaynotseemlikeit,introversionisanimportantaspectinthe
developmentofthemastermindskillset.IfyouvereadSusanCainsbook,
Quiet,thenyoullknowthatyourintroversionyieldsenormouspowerwhen
usedcorrectly.Introvertsaregoodlisteners,focused,divedeepintotopics,
andconscientious,amongotherthings.Evenso,thesestrengthsareoften
overshadowedbytheloudnessofextroversion.FortheINTJmastermind,this
meansthatothersmaynotrealizethatyouarelisteningandgathering
information.Theymayunderestimateyourabilitytoleadandmake
considereddecisionsunderpressure.Theyareoftenunawareofyourvast
anddeepknowledge,andcanoftentakeforgrantedyourabilitytogetthings
donewithmaximumeffectivenessandefficiency.Ofcourse,fortheintrovert,
therecanbechallengessuchastheenergydrainofinteractingwithothers,
orbeinginahighstresssituation,withmassiveamountsofdata,for
extendedperiodsoftime.Evenso,inaworldthathasbecomeincreasingly
dependentonknowledgesystems,theINTJsabilitytofocusenergy,effort,
andunderstandingintooptimizingsystemsisavaluableassetto
organizationsbothlargeandsmall.Nevertheless,fortheINTJ,whose
introversioncreatesanaturalresistancetoselfpromotion,communicatingan
abilitytoleaveyourprotectiveshellandtogetthingsdonecanbedifficult.In
thisinstance,introversionbecomesaweakness,ratherthanastrength.To
achievethegoalofbeinganeffectivemastermind,INTJsmustlearnto
manageintroversion,utilizingitsstrengthsandmanagingtheweaknesses.

PhotoCredit:GaryWaters501880249.gettyimages.com

IntrovertedIntuition(Ni)
IntrovertedintuitionistheINTJscoreinformationgatheringsystem.Asweve
talkedaboutinpreviousarticles,itsyourpossibilityfactor.Thisiswhereall
themastermindplotsandideasgettheirstart.Infact,introvertedintuition
mightverywellbeoneofthemostimportantmastermindfunctions.Thisis
whereyoutestanidea,andimagineallthepossibleoutcomes.Willitwork?
WhatcanIchangetomakeitbetterorachievethedesiredoutcome?Niis
thepowerhouseoftheINTJcognition.Itnotonlyseeksnewknowledge,but
pullsallofthedomainknowledgetogethertoformnewanduniqueideasand
newperspectives.Yet,fortheINTJ,Nicanalsobeanindulgence.The
richnessofimaginedpossibilities,theallureofvaluable(andunchallenged)
insights,andtheabilitytoenjoyimaginedpossibilitiesasfullyrealized
withouthavingtofacethehurtlesofbringingthemintotherealworldcan
makekeepingpossibilitiesintherealmoftheNi,ratherthanmakingtheminto
reality,aseductiveenticement.Effectivemastermindsmasterprioritization
andtheabilitytorecognizewhichimaginedpossibilitiesareworthpursuing.
Additionally,learningtoovercomefearoffailureenablesINTJstomovefrom
imaginationtoimagineering,honingtheNiintothepowerhousecognitiontrait
itismeanttobe.
ExtrovertedThinking(Te)
ExtrovertedthinkingfactchecksthefeasibilityofNisplansandideas,
makingsurethattheideasareexecutable,anddeterminingthebestpossible
waytoexecuteaplan.Onceithasbeendecidedthataplanisago,Te
consolidatesthenecessarysteps.Teassessestheresourcesneededto
carryoutaplan.Teasks,whatarethediscretestepsoftheplan?Whatsthe
timeline?Whatsfirst?Andsoon.Teactivitiescangetquitecomplicated,
especiallyifmultipleplansareongoing.FortheINTJ,theTecanactivate
perfectionisttendencies,turningfactchecks,extraresearch,andevenpeople
intoobstructions.Whenthisoccurs,ratherthanbeingamastermind,the
INTJscognitioncanseemmorelikeamasteredmind,withcognitionin
controloftheINTJ,ratherthantheINTJbeingincontrolofthecognition.Itis
importantforINTJmastermindstolearntheskillofgoodenough(thereseven
amanagementtheorycalledLEAN,basedonbringingproductstomarket
whentheyaregoodenoughanditerativelyfixingandenhancinglater,
somethingthathappensfrequentlyonthisblog!:D).Itisalsoimportantto
recognizeanddealwithcognitiveresistance(whetherthesourceofthe
resistanceisfear,perfectionism,orsubconsciouswarningsignals).
 PhotoCredit:ColinAnderson672150877.gettyimages

IntrovertedFeeling(Fi)
Introvertedfeelingis,perhaps,oneofthemostimportantINTJcognitiontraits
fortheeffectivemastermindtokeepaneyeon.IfFiiscorrupted,the
mastermindcantrulybecomethevillainthattheuninformedbelievehertobe.
Attheveryleast,underdevelopedFicanleadtoamastermindwhoisselfish
and/ornarcissistic.Itsimportanttobeclearhere,beingconcernedwith
yourselfdoesntmakeyouselfish.Itswhenyouretheonlyonethatyoure
concernedaboutthattheproblemoccurs.Thereasonforthisisthat
introvertedfeelingisconcernedwithhowyou,specifically,arefeeling.Ina
cognitivesense,itrelatestohowthingsmakeyoufeel.Negativeeventscan
causeanINTJtoutilizemastermindskillsinaveryselfprotectiveand/or
negativeway.Conversely,introvertedfeelershavetheabilitytopositively
impactothersutilizingadeepwellofempathy.TheFi,whohasexperienced
thesamething(goodorbad)thatanotherhas,canbethemostunderstanding
andhelpfulfriendand/orresource.Thatswhyitsimportanttokeepaneyeon
thisfunction,asitcanbeusedforbothgoodandbad.Thisdoesntmeanthat
youalwaysneedtocompromiseyourowninnerthoughtsandfeelings.
Instead,itjustmeansthattotrulymasteryourmastermindskillset,Fi
requiresspecialconsideration.

ExtrovertedSensing(Se)
Extrovertedsensingisatrickyone.Ontheonehand,itworkswithintroverted
intuitiontogatherexternaldatathatthenfeedsintoyouoverallknowledgeof
theworld.However,Secanalsomakeyouoverlyconcernedwiththephysical
worldandyourenvironment.Althoughthereisnothingwrongwithsucha
focus,thisfocususuallysignalsastressresponseintheINTJandcanact
moreasadistractionwhenyouaretryingtogetimportantworkdone.Rather
thanmasteringtheSe,itsimportanttomasteryourfocusanddevelopthe
SE.FortheINTJmastermind,clearfocus,andawelldevelopedSe,can
becomevaluabletoolsinassessingenvironmentalfactorsanddetermining
howtomanagenegativeelementsthatstealproductivityandcausestressfor
yourteamandyourself.
 PhotoCredit:SveaPostges533687984.gettyimages.com

Judgment
ItisacommonmisconceptionthatpeopleexpressingaJ(judgment)intheir
MBTItypemakequickjudgmentsandthatPs(perceivers)dontjudge.In
truth,itistheotherwayaround.BecausePsliketokeeptheiroptionsopen,
theyspendtheirdaymakingmultiple,rapiddecisionsonamomentby
momentbasisbecausesomethingmightcomeuplater,andtheyneedto
decidehowtheywillseizetheday.Js,ontheotherhand,delaydecision
makingforthesakeofdatagathering.Spurofthemomentopportunitiesare
difficultforJstoembracebecausetheyprefertomakeinformeddecisions
andspurofthemomentoftenseemstoorisky.Thisisanareawherethe
previouslylaudableINTJcognitioncanbecomehijackedallbecausenew
datais,atthelastmoment,introducedintothedecisionmakingprocess.
INTJshavemanyqualityattributes.Theyareeffectiveplanners,great
learners,thoughtfullisteners,andtheytakeacalm,measuredapproachto
problemsolvingbutthebestwaytoupendtheINTJscalmistobombard
themwithspurofthemoment,mustchoosenowdata.Foramastermind,
whomayhavemanyplansgoingonsimultaneously,thisnewdiversionhasto
beconsideredinconjunctionwithotherplans.OfalltheINTJscognitive
traits,theJtraitmayactuallybetheonethatcanbethegreatesthindrance,
especiallyinadatadrivenworldthatrequiresleadershiptorapidlyrespondto
fastchangingevents.Developingasetoffast/slowheuristicsisvitalforthe
INTJmastermindwhowantstosucceedintodaysdatarichbusiness
environment.

Thiswasmerelythebeginning.Overthenexttwoweeks,wewilltakea
closerlookatwaystoutilizemastermindstrengths,aswellasconsiderwhat
INTJsshouldbewareofwhenmasterminding.Staytuned!

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