Their transparency and disclosure is surely a sign of their comfort with who they are. But then, they are both “E” types, meaning they like to spend time in the outer world of people and things (Extraversion), versus the inner world of ideas and images (Introversion).

Uhhh…. like me.

Last week there was a Twitter conversation floating around with @animal, @CincyRecruiter about introverts. Jennifer suggested we wrangle a Recruiting Animal Show away from Michael to debunk some common introvert myths. We haven’t heard from him yet (Hellooooo) so in the meantime I’m going to pick up the conversation here.

This isn’t the first time I am publicly revealing my personality type but this is first time I am providing the window to who I am, how I think, why I respond the way I do, why I have challenges with time –> why I very often feel others “don’t get me” but I read them as easily as a Snapple fact.

Keirsey defines the INTP personality type as Rational Architect and the rarest of the 16 MBTI classifications. Statistics say that perhaps 1% of the population is INTP and the very vast majority are male. Interestingly, I personally know only one other INTP woman. She was the first hire I ever recruited through Twitter.

I have always said I would retire early and I have a plan to do that by age 55. I found that INTP is one of the 3 “retire early” types and that is very comforting and reaffirming to me that there is supporting evidence I will achieve that. Word to the wise, “I” types take the top 3 retire early spots… I guess extroverts have a hard time giving it up.

When I say retire I don’t mean vegetate I mean live a different lifestyle. Perhaps it will be that Special Agent commune I keep talking about.

Dr. David Keirsey himself, along with C.G. Jung (I love rebels), william Harvey and our predecessors, Socrates, Rene Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, James Madison, Tomas Jefferson and Charles Darwin were all INTP’s or Rational Architects. So, while I don’t presently have a lot of company here on Earth, I belong to a tribe of amazing change agents. I’m a particular fan of Einstein and Darwin.

A concise simplified description from the Meyers & Briggs Foundation of the INTP personality is:

Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them. Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction. Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable. Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interest. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical.

I have spent significant time reading all the various interpretations and appreciate Keirsey’s analysis the most. Taken from the Keirsey analysis I find the following to be most relevant to me:

• For Architects, the world exists primarily to be analyzed, understood, explained – and re-designed.
• They tend to see distinctions and inconsistencies instantaneously, and can detect contradictions no matter when or where they were made. It is difficult for an Architect to listen to nonsense, even in a casual conversation, without pointing out the speaker’s error. And in any serious discussion or debate Architects are devastating, their skill in framing arguments giving them an enormous advantage. Architects regard all discussions as a search for understanding, and believe their function is to eliminate inconsistencies, which can make communication with them an uncomfortable experience for many.
• Authority derived from office, credential, or celebrity does not impress them. Architects are interested only in what make sense, and thus only statements that are consistent and coherent carry any weight with them.
• Architects prize intelligence, and with their grand desire to grasp the structure of the universe, they can seem arrogant and may show impatience with others who have less ability, or who are less driven.

One common kind of quirky INTP detail I frequently deal with internally is not liking to get involved with minutia or even realizing my own ideas. I often have a great idea and mentally bring it to fruition. Because it was finished in my mind successfully I feel like I reached the objective and I’m super satisfied. I can be just as satisfied with mental accomplishments as physical ones and view them as equally important. Usually I’m perfectly fine with it. I guess it’s a good thing I am motivated by other things besides money (hey, it doesn’t hurt but it isn’t my primary motivator) because so far I haven’t sold any of my ideas..

It also means I spend a lot of time alone, very still and quiet and just working in my head. I can’t remember ever being bored. The down side here is I’m often unaware of time passing by and my house doesn’t get clean, laundry doesn’t get washed and grocery shopping doesn’t get done, often enough. Though I feel like I accomplish a lot it’s not apparent to others. I think it can make me appear “lazy” but I don’t feel that I am. Quite to the contrary, I feel like I work 24/7 including in my dreams sometimes.

It’s a good thing I like what I do… Actually on the physical plane I do get quite a bit accomplished. If you check out my about page you’ll see some of the things I’m up to that aren’t just in my head.

Do you know what your MBTI personality type is? Are you an extrovert or an introvert?

You still with me here?

Good works and help behind closed doors go on everyday in Corporate America but it can’t always be recognized in traditional ways, hence the closed doors. C knows what is going on and says good job over the speaker phone and that’s it. You might be expected to understand that your recognition comes by retaining your employment, qualifying for and receiving a COLA  increase at the end of the year and feeling special when ATS, HRIS vendors and Staffing Agency end of year chotchkies show up… if the Receptionist doesn’t sack them before you ever see them. Due to the confidentiality of so many HR missions, they’re never heard of again except in the most generally unrecognizable terms over a Cosmo on Hump Day.

Why do we care? Why do we think we need recognition?

Some of it could be because we are people too and we want recognition just like everyone else, though some people sure seem to need more of it than others.  The most important reason is that it’s about trust and buy-in. Because freaking people out when HR requests their presence and being thought of as company police is counter-productive. It’s about moving and shaking the employer brand, attracting talent, retaining the talent you have, so much more than warnings for dress code violations.

When HR creates and drives policy with an iron fist, is responsible for keeping health care premiums low by forcing people to go to health fairs in the cafeteria, is required to act in so many ways as the unofficial legal department, administers benefits and ends up involved with the most personal information and secrets people are required to divulge to employers on that nasty FMLA, STD and LTD paperwork, knows and in many cases recommends everyone’s salaries, is privy to transgressions and administers their discipline, and gets “rid” of people, among so many other highly sensitive and fundamentally critical functions, is it really a wonder why staff is afraid of what is perceived so often as the KGB.

For departmental reputation and PR I think it is important during orientation and other opportune times to plug the fact that because a high degree of confidentiality is required with many situations that end up in the HR offices many of the good works it does will never be known. This is precisely why I was nicknamed “Secret Agent Porter” at my last job.

Sometimes while barreling down the hall and I could hear staff… “There goes Secret Agent Porter, wonder what she’s up to now!” It was exciting and glamorous, like the life of Agent 99 or Natasha… people would run interference for me at the drop of a hat, all I would have to say was “Hey guys, I’m on a mission, would you please defer traffic down the other hall?” They would rather miss a meeting than let someone through until I relinquished them from duty while the authorities escorted someone out without anyone’s notice. They received thank you cards or email from me. Everyone was a deputized HR Assistant. It was fun, they weren’t afraid of me. Staff would stop by, ask if there were any “missions” they could help with. I would always come up with something to keep them engaged, happy and feeling appreciated.

It’s also important to ensure the department is recognized in visible ways when it can be and is appropriate. When the IT department is doing rocket science and getting bagel baskets from C, if you put up fliers around the building for “Blood Pressure Screening” everyone is just going to laugh. Timing is everything and it is largely up to the creative genius of the HR team to do things right and do the right thing – at the right time. Testimonials from satisfied internal customers – voluntary not under duress are best- are good in the company newsletter. If you can manage to save someone’s life or career and get it on video or a podcast for the company Share point site you are an HR Rock Star.

Regardless of how conservative and brown shoe the organization is we work for, we made a decision to accept the mission. There is always a way to be creative, give and earn trust, show and garner appreciation and recognition but it calls for innovation and leadership not following like blind sheep. Sometimes it means plotting a concept, creating a business case and persistence to take it to decision makers. It can mean being told no and having to have the wherewithal to take it back to the drawing board, rework it and present it again if you really believe in your idea. It might mean lobbying others with similar ideas, forming an exploratory committee over Cosmos, getting buy-in and going in as a team with representatives from all levels of employees and departments.

It means having entrepreneurial spirit, owning your work, believing in your ideas and being an agent of change to make them happen.

Maybe I’m jaded but I have been fortunate to feel trusted, appreciated and valued by my internal and external customers and partners.

What is the level of trust in the organization you’re with? How can you influence it?