University of the People

PSYC 1205 - Emotional Intelligence

Written Assignment Unit 5

Instructor: Chantay Stanley

March 1, 2023

My MBTI Profile is INTJ which is the acronym for Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging.
Leaders who posses this MBTI type are often said to be objective analysts and tend to be very
conceptional and strategic in their leadership style (Price, 2020). They are also sometimes
removed from others and viewed as precise, efficient, and analytical by those around them
(Price, 2020).

As a leader, I do sometimes find it difficult to connect personally with my team members in the
workplace. This is mostly evident in some of my team meetings as everyone usually likes to do
small talk and chat about their day, while I seem to prefer going straight into the topic of the
meeting and hitting the nail in the head. Sometimes, my straight forward approach may be
favorable in terms of productivity but I still see the need to work on connecting with my team
members rather than just focusing on work solely as this would enable me create a friendly and
warm working environment as a leader for my team. As an INTJ type leader, I also continually
seek criticism and feedback from my team members in the pursuit of improving my efficacy and
working style. Due to this, I tend to offer the same level of critique and feedbacks to my
teammates and hoping that they would appreciate me doing the same for them.

However, I have come to the realization that there are people who are more motivated by my
encouragement and praise for them rather than my criticism. Therefore as a leader, I should
beware of the point that not everyone is motivated by criticism and that I need to learn other
ways of motivating my team members without making them feel sad or threatened. I want to
develop myself to become a leader that will be the source of motivation for my team while also
being aware of my team’s needs.

As mentioned earlier, I often tend to give feedback in the form of objective criticism as is if my
chosen way of receiving feedback myself. However, I do not consider this to be optimal for
everyone in the work place so I would work towards applying the SCARF model and reduce
their likelihood of feeling sad and threatened by giving them positive feedback rather than
negative feedback. For example, I would focus on my team’s strengths and effective methods to
help strengthen them rather than focusing on their weaknesses and trying to change them.

I can also maximize reward by knowingly according more praise to my team members
whenever they perform exceptional as this will boost their morale and also better the relationship
between myself and my team. I can also apply the NVC model by opening up to my team mates
and communicating my needs to them as well as encouraging them to relate their needs to me
also. This will aid in increasing the mutual understanding between myself and my teammates
because having done so, we would all know how to meet each members needs better as a team.

Another way is to show more vulnerability to my team mates by expressing my concerns rather
than keeping them to myself as I usually tend to do. Though this will show a more unguarded
aspect of my working style and perhaps it would encourage my team members to open up about
their own struggles and concerns to me. As a team leader, I would love to create a safe space for
my team members to express their needs and concerns without fear of retribution. I believe that
applying the NVC model can help take a step closer to creating such an enabling environment for
my team.

Word count: 548

Reference

Price, J. C. (2020, September 28). 16 myers briggs leadership types (part 2). Refresh
Leadership.Retrieved October 3, 2021, from
http://www.refreshleadership.com/index.php/2020/09/16-myers-briggs-leadership-types-part-2/
#:~:text=INTJ%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Strategic%20Leader&text=They%20lead%20with
%20vision%2C%20rationality,bring%20their%20vision%20to%20life.

Nuty, J. (2011). A training manual on non-violent communication. Society for Nutrition

Education and Health Action.

Rock, D. (2008). SCARF: A brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others.
NeuroLeadership Journal, 1.