INTJ Leadership

INTJs are visionary, thoughtful and strategic leaders who are deeply insightful. While INTJs do not like the spotlight, they are goal oriented and like to spark action from their innovative ideas. As such, INTJ leaders are usually found in leadership or take a strategic role in any organisation.   

Leading Self

INTJs like to organise their life well; scheduling their appointments and meetings in accordance to a particular vision or task they want to achieve.

They are purposeful in their action, planned and scheduled in their approach.

They have a big vision for their personal life, and they usually have a good plan or strategy to get there. They plan their lives around this vision and will be intentional in making this vision happen.

Setting the Vision

INTJs have a clear vision of what they want to achieve. They often have long-term goals and objectives and will steer the organization to get there effectively and efficiently. Great at strategic planning, they can spot industry-wide trends and patterns long before others can.

However, they may have a problem articulating these ideas to others. Their insights though accurate but may be hard to express in words. INTJs struggle to get buy-in from their team because of this – people have no idea what they’re saying!

Connecting with Others

INTJs are task-oriented, and their main concern is the task to be done. Their focus, intention and brilliance often win the respect of those working under or with them. 

Their well-thought-out logic to pursue the big vision motivate others to work with the INTJ to pursue it together.

However, INTJ leaders unconsciously may not see the need to connect with others in the workplace. They prefer to work alone and seldom make an effort to build personal relationships. INTJs need to take note of this, if not, they will build a cold and unfriendly workplace.

Accomplishing your Goals

INTJs are adept at project execution. Strategic and innovative in their approach, INTJs understand how to allocate resources strategically and prioritize tasks well with a specific plan of action. They will follow the plan through to completion well. 

However, INTJs often do not get input from others in the execution, preferring to let the strategizing happen in their mind. When they change their approach, they also keep it to themselves until asked. They may also be resistant to suggested changes during implementation, insisting others stick to their approach.

Developing your Leadership

Here are some tips for development:


By sharing your insights early, you invite input from others and also gain new perspectives that you may not have discovered. You will also find ready acceptance for your ideas when others see the logical process by which you arrive at certain conclusions.


You prefer an environment where you are challenged by criticism and excellence is demanded of you; but understand that some people are most motivated when they are encouraged and praised. When someone does some good work; don’t hesitate to give them a pat on the back, write an email or drop a memo at their desk to thank them. It’s not natural to you; but you’ll be surprised to see how much this can do for you.


You can become even more effective as a leader when you apply your strategic insights to understand interpersonal relationships. Motivating people and build a connection with people is a skill you can develop that can increase the effectiveness of your team greatly.  What makes people tick? What drives them to work harder? What causes them to quit? The study of people can help you greatly in your leadership journey.