Because Someone Needs to Lead

As long as it's not me?

Behold, it is I, the dread INTJ on the Meyers-Briggs MBTI Personality Type. And, before you start getting ideas, I want you to know that I have worked, sometimes very hard, at trying to exercise my ESFP.

Yes, that’s both a joke and an earnest statement of fact. I am fully aware that I do have some very strong tendencies that come naturally to me. In particular, the (I)ntrovert is strong in this one. But, I am a person who has tried with a willing heart to improve on my weaknesses and use my strengths as wisely as I can by getting to know their pitfalls.

And that’s part of what got me thinking more about leadership recently.

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Potato and green bean intercropping at Genuine Faux Farm

INTJs and Leadership - A (mis-)match?

I mention this because most summaries of the INTJ personality type suggest that we have many of the tools that would serve a person in a leadership position well. Except, INTJ’s typically prefer to hold advisory capacities, taking charge only when it is clear there is either incompetence or a void at the “top.”

The MBTI website provides this summary:

INTJ - Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals. Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives. When committed, organize a job and carry it through. Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance—for themselves and others.

I hate to say it, but I wonder if INTJ’s make up a large segment of the folks who like to be informal - and often unwanted - advisors, pointing out problems and proclaiming that the solution is clear. They do this without really building up the commitment they need to follow through and lead others towards that solution. Instead, they might prefer to allow their skepticism regarding the competence of others to take the lead.

And I wonder if I have been that person… No, I know there have been plenty of instances where I HAVE been that person. I just hope it wasn’t to the great detriment of others.

As I said before, I’ve been working on it for about as long as I’ve lived. I’m bound to mess up once in a while.

Before I go further, I want to make it clear that I realize ALL personality types have strengths that could recommend them for leadership - just as they all have weaknesses that might make it challenging. I am not here to speak for them - nor am I necessarily here to speak for my fellow INTJs. This is my party and I’m the one calling me out on the carpet.

All people from all 16 personality types need to think carefully about the strengths they could bring to leadership and the pitfalls and weaknesses that make it difficult for them. You don’t have to do it my way either - because you’re you and you’re different than me. Do it your way and give it an honest effort. You get to call yourselves out however you wish - and if my exploration encourages that, all the better.

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Intercropping in Eden at the Genuine Faux Farm

Exposure, High Expectations and Commitment - Three Hurdles

So what makes me uncomfortable with leadership? There they are - in bold print as the section header for this part of the article. Exposure. High Expectations. Commitment.

If I am to lead, I must deal with the (often) overwhelming stress that comes with putting myself into the public eye so everyone can witness how much of a fool I actually am. Add to that the weight of my own expectations for myself in addition to my perceived expectations others will have for me and there is potential for me to be turned into a quivering blob of… um… blobbiness.

Still, I have demonstrated many times in my life that I can withstand the difficulties of these two things IF I can convince myself to be committed to the cause. The problem with that? Once I’m committed, there’s a good chance I will have doomed myself to long-term misery.

And no, I am not joking. So, let me try to explain.

Left unchecked, my introverted self has developed a host of strategies that it uses to avoid exposure to the rest of the world. Or, at the very least, I seek to control that exposure so I can come as close to my best self as I am able when I “perform” in public. That’s why writing is often a “safer” interaction for me. I can type it out. Read it. Revise it. Reconsider it. Revise it again.

And then still decide to discard it if I don’t like how it feels.

Case in point, this blog has been “in progress” for three or four weeks. I almost deleted it. Then I edited it more instead. Then I almost deleted it again. So, I did more work with it. And now, here we are. I do get there sometimes!

Still, I am always being reminded how exposed my writing and speaking can make me. I’ve mentioned before that I burn with shame when I discover a typo that got through (ok, I’ve done that one enough now that it isn’t quite that bad - but I still don’t like it). It’s worse if I make a bigger error in content or I come across in a way that wasn’t intended. But again, I’ve been working on it and I continue to find new strategies to deal with my self-imposed struggles.

But I need you to imagine how much more difficult it can be for someone like me when I don’t have the amount of control writing affords. Perhaps I could be very good in a leadership role, but maybe you can begin to understand how much I fear I might have to pay - in terms of personal wear and tear - if I were placed in just such a position.

It’s not that I’m not willing to pay significant costs for important things. I have and I will. It’s more a question of “how long” before I feel my effectiveness isn’t what it needs to be.

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Mulching tomatoes at the Genuine Faux Farm

The balance - leadership and/or sanity?

So, to sum up, the whole idea of taking on a leadership role can feel very much like an exercise in extreme discomfort. What if I don’t meet everyone’s expectations? Heck, forget that. What if I don’t meet MY expectations? What if leadership requires that I actually promote myself? I can tell you that am not even remotely happy with that idea.

And what if, by committing myself to leadership, I become trapped within my commitment? It happens to INTJs all the time. Once we become convinced that something needs to be done, we find it difficult to turn ourselves off. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with commitment - it’s an excellent quality to exercise - but there is often this issue with balance that comes along fo the ride with an INTJs commitment. If commitment overrides balance there is bound to be a significant crash at some point in the future.

Despite all of the things that hold me back, when there have been moments in my life where there was a void in leadership, I’ve found myself standing in the gap. And if you notice my combined look of determination and bemusement, it’s because I’ve probably surprised myself by being there, but I’m committed to seeing it through.

It doesn’t mean I’ll succeed. It doesn’t mean I know all of the answers. It certainly doesn’t mean I think I am perfect and infallible.

It just means I’m willing to stretch, grow and expend energy because I believe it needs to be done. It also means that I am willing to figure out what sorts of leadership fit me, my skill sets AND the needs that I see need to be met. I’ll work to strengthen my ESFP while still using the strengths my INTJ self brings to the table.

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What will it take for you to lead?

What are your strengths you can use? What weaknesses can you improve on and what understandings do they provide you with so you can be a better leader? You now these things better than anyone else, I certainly can’t tell you.

But the world is in need of all sorts of leaders right now. The world needs you.

The good news is this - leaders come in all shapes and sizes. Some of those shapes and sizes are going to fit you and/or me. Maybe not perfectly - so we’ll have to put forth some effort. Happily, I’ve also heard that anything worthwhile requires effort. So we shouldn’t let the challenge stop us.

We can lead with our words. We can lead with our actions. We can lead through friendship and true kindness. We can lead by doing our best to learn and grow and think critically so we can act with integrity. We can lead by doing one thing every day to try and make a difference - in whatever way works best for who we are. And we can push ourselves to do something that is very hard for us at least once a week, so we can remind ourselves that not everyone feels, thinks and behaves exactly as we do.

Maybe you can join me and we can both sport that facial expression where we aren’t sure how we landed in this position of leadership, but we’re still going to do our darnedest to help everyone get to a better place.

Put on the muck boots, it’s raining right now.

Some Opportunities to make a Difference

Today’s article is not just a bunch of words - there are also opportunities.

1. Tell Iowa Senators you don’t want SB 1051 to pass

Earlier this week, I wrote about a bill that would, if passed, result in giving pesticide companies immunity to lawsuits. If you want to learn more, check out that article.

Perhaps the one thing you do today is learn about the problem. Or maybe the thing you do is to think critically about what the best solution might be. And, if you happen to end up agreeing with me that this bill is a bad idea, you can act.

You can take this link and follow the instructions to send a letter to your Iowa Senator. This is the action PAN has built to help people like you and me reach our legislators on the topic.

You can also take this link to do the same thing through the Beyond Pesticides website. Beyond Pesticides is an organization that PAN often works with on important topics like this. You can take BOTH actions. Each letter is slightly different, but both oppose the bill. It will not hurt to have two separate letters from you in your Senator’s inbox.

2. If you live in one of these other states or know someone who lives there, you can fight similar bills and keep them from passing.

Beyond Pesticides is providing a website that tracks the progress of these bills in other states. At present bills are active in Iowa, Georgia, Montana, Wyoming, Missouri, Florida, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Tennessee. Beyond pesticides has live actions to contact legislators in each of these states.

PAN has actions for Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee at the moment (and Florida will be put out next week). If you are wondering why we don’t have actions in all of these states, it has a bit to do with the size of our email lists in those states and a lot to do with limited staff time to get it done. Like you, PAN does the best it can with what it has.

If you live in one of these states - take the appropriate actions. If you don’t, send them to someone you know that does live in those states.

3. You can tell the EPA that they should not change their rulemaking to prevent state and local governments from having the choice of setting higher regulatory standards for pesticides.

The lawsuit immunity for pesticide companies bills are part of a larger push that is also trying to remove the power of states and local governments to be able to set higher standards for pesticide regulations. At present, the Attorneys General for several states have requested that the EPA do just that. And yes, Iowa’s AG Brenna Bird was among those who received money from pesticide companies and signed on to this request.

You can make some noise with the EPA by taking this PAN action (just released this past Friday) and tell them you don’t want them to make these changes. If you live in the US, you can take that action!

There you are! Three opportunities to exercise leadership. Do one of them today. Do another one tomorrow. Do the third one the next day. Then you’ll have momentum to select your own task for day four!

You may agree with me. You may disagree with me. Regardless of that outcome, I appreciate your willingness to hear and to learn. Thank you for considering my thoughts and words. And I hope you have a fine remainder of your day and an excellent week to come.