INTP
On A Team

The following is adapted from Linda V. Berens, Linda K. Ernst and Melissa Smith, Quick Guide to the 16 Personality Types and Teams (Telos Publications, 2005) *Used with permission.

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How INTPs Build Relationships
For them, team relationships are about sharing expertise. They want to have a joint area of interest and competence to share and energetically engage in collaborative problem solving and strategizing. They typically seek out relationships so they can have different thoughts and experiences yet often feel they lack interpersonal skills. In fact, their relationships can become competitive and may interfere with the intellectual needs that drove them to seek the relationships in the first place. When they recognize that their tendency to precisely define words, clarify ideas, and point out inconsistencies can get in the way of team relationships, they willingly learn to remember to thank and praise teammates for their contributions before they critique them.

How INTPs Deal with Conflict
The disruption that comes from team conflict keeps them from thinking clearly, so they avoid confrontation unless it is absolutely necessary. They might avoid conflict for too long, hoping it will go away. While they like a lively debate of ideas, when it becomes personal they can become noncommunicative until they can see a way to work with the conflict to resolve it.

To Forge Better Relationships with INTPs…
Provide a team environment that is calm and conflict-free and where consultative rather than hierarchical relationships are the norm. Give them enough freedom to reflect on how things work, to generate ideas, and to see connections and patterns. Offer them opportunities to direct their energy toward acquisition of knowledge and competence. To gain their commitment and compliance, give them the logic, rationale, or proof behind standard operating procedures, conventions, and protocols.

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How INTPs Approach Doing Work
They are inclined to first analyze a situation, seeking to understand the principles that apply. Then they will want to integrate all kinds of information from a variety of sources. They tend to focus on how things work, why they work that way, and what makes them not work and then try to come up with an elegant solution that really solves the problem. They want the autonomy to find the right theories, models, or explanations and then to share the information they have found.

How INTPs Make Decisions
They tend to quickly decide on the accuracy of theories and frameworks, yet they labor over the accurate expression of ideas. They may avoid decisions regarding an action or establishing order and structure. Logistical decisions are often seen as trivial and either slighted or labored over. Interpersonal decisions are made to avoid disruption and to keep the peace.

How INTPs Respond to Change
They are likely to say they are not resistant to change since they are constantly developing and revising their designs and approaches. However, they do tend to resist change that appears illogical and seems to violate principles. Change that means changing their habitual way of doing routine tasks is also hard for them, especially if a big learning curve is involved. Helping them see how what they are doing isn’t effective and relating the change to progress in the grand scheme of things and its strategic purpose will help.

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The following is adapted from Linda V. Berens, Linda K. Ernst and Melissa Smith, Quick Guide to the 16 Personality Types and Teams (Telos Publications, 2005) *Used with permission.