Introduction

This article is based on my experience with the website 16personalities.com. In Feb 2022, as part of a team exercise, I took the test and found that I have the Architect personality type (INTJ-T). Over several months, I received special messages about my personality, and I consolidated in this article some posts that made more sense to me.

Base Personality Traits

My traits were: 70% Introverted, 55% Intuitive, 60% Thinking, 50% Judging, and 50% Turbulent. So I could tell I was very introverted, but the other dimensions weren’t very far from the middle. The website also recommended me the Analyst role, and the Constant Improvement strategy. Moreover, they shared my personality type was more likely to:

  • make conscious efforts to avoid being dependent on other people
  • imagine how a conversation might go in advance

Personality Insights

Further personality insights that were relevant to me:

  • listen to their head rather than their heart when it comes to making important choices (97%)
  • consider themselves to be private people (97%)
  • often feel like they don’t belong (89%)
  • say that time they spend by themselves often ends up being more interesting and satisfying than the time they spend with other people (91%)
  • find it difficult to relate to people who let their emotions guide them (89%)
  • say their actions and decisions always have clear and rational reasons behind them (85%)
  • choose more control over more excitement in their life (76%)
  • spend a lot of time thinking about “what if?” scenarios (89%)
  • believe that respect must be earned rather than given by default (80%)

Dealing With Uncertainty

Architects have the desire to figure things out for themselves, believe that the best way to ensure that something is done properly is to do it themselves, and are most likely to want to be completely in control of their life’s circumstances. Losing control causes frustration.

On the other hand, they’re good at managing stress, feel as though they perform better under stress than when they are calm, viewing uncertainty as an opportunity to exercise your problem solving skills, embrace your ability to move quickly past any stressful events. Focus on what you can do in uncertain situations, such as researching different options or relevant data, rather than dwelling on what is beyond your control.

Asking For Help

Architects (especially Turbulent ones with 74% in agreement) are the second most likely personality type to believe that they will look weak by asking for help. They are more interested in pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, and expect others to do the same.

They should seek out opportunities to help others, especially in areas where their skills are in demand (such as helping a non-profit with web design or helping a friend/classmate with a difficult school assignment). Practice asking for help from close friends or family, starting with small things – such as minor car/home repairs or even just asking them to listen while they vent about their bad day. Take the time to learn more about their hesitations when it comes to asking for or providing help, through journaling or conversations with a trusted family member or friend.

Dealing With Stress

Architects are likely tofeel anxious if they have several equally good options to choose from, talk less when under stress, work hard to get their anxieties and worries under control, and to believe that a healthy amount of worrying leads to better results.

Some suggestions are to take the time to refocus on efficiency and long-term vision; consider looking for new, unorthodox solutions to their problems; single out one priority at a time instead of spreading their energy; remember that perfection is a path, not a destination.

On Authority/Leadership

Architects tend to have an odd view of authority. This isn’t surprising, considering the bundle of contradictory traits that they possess – full of wonder, yet unyieldingly suspicious of those around them.

They are distrustful of people in general, especially those in power (the second most likely type to believe that figures in authority are not to be trusted), may trample over those who are weaker-willed, are more likely to be authoritarian than democratic leaders, and believe that most people in power don’t deserve to be there. In turn, may believe that they, and people like them, are the only ones reliable and knowledgeable enough to have authority.

Architects don’t really trust others, but they do trust themselves. They do not shy away from taking leadership roles, if necessary. Even if they don’t want to lead, they accept leadership just to save society from its own blunders.

Architects can wield authority more effectively and smoothly if they inspire others with their innate innovation skills instead of relying on direct orders. Also, acknowledge other people’s talents and delegate responsibility accordingly instead of attempting to be jacks-of-all-trades; practice empathy and softness (at least situationally) when dealing with subordinates and superiors; take care to remember that sometimes their way may not always be the best.

On Trust

Architects are one of the types most likely to be suspicious of academics and intellectuals, even though (often because) they often belong to those groups. They doubt that most people are trustworthy, whether or not there is an obvious reason, and think of the world as an unfair place (skepticism towards fairness), believing that many people who are deceived are themselves responsible for their victimhood.

But society needs distrust, too. Distrust puts up caution signs, which slow down short-sighted forward motion. Architects say “Hold on a minute,” allowing things to be more thoroughly evaluated. They should be careful with generalizations and try not to lump unique individuals in with a distrusted group too quickly. Also, try to back up any distrustful assertions with concrete evidence before sharing them.

Work Environment

Architects do their best work in quiet places, are very unlikely to feel like they’re doing their best work if they have to collaborate with others. They are most likely to believe they would both survive and thrive working from home, and would much rather work in a cubicle than in an open-plan office.

To improve performance they can:

  1. Make a noisy work space less disruptive with headphones (if possible), photos that inspire calmness, or a space that Architects can escape to for a few minutes of peace as frequently as necessary.
  2. Practice working with others – but keep solo projects as well. Architects don’t need to become social butterflies, but working on a project with a coworker or two can reduce some of the pressure of being solely responsible for the outcome. At the same time, any solo projects they have can serve as a retreat from those collaborative moments.
  3. Break to-do lists down into the three most important items to be accomplished that day. It’s likely not everything on Architects’ lists have to be done at the same time, so they can try focusing on only what is most important for that day, and move to the rest when those items are completed.

Handling Conflict

As an Architect, you’re one of those who are content to walk away. But this doesn’t mean you can’t handle conflict. You just don’t want to deal with it if you don’t have to. Let’s consider Architects’ Intuitive and Thinking traits for a moment. Combined, these two traits make for highly rational individuals, reluctant to express outward emotions. More importantly, they may have a lack of patience for those who put a premium on emotions during conflict.

Architects feel detached from emotions when dealing with a conflict. They’d rather get out of an upset person’s way than try to calm them down, and are likely to become frustrated if they can’t figure out a solution to a conflict. This is especially true for Turbulent Architects, who beat out all other types, with 92% admitting feeling frustration with a lack of closure.

They can do well by effectively communicating their approach to the conflict with those on the other side. When they say something that others might interpret as brash or offensive, they may want to clarify their intentions: their goal is to find a solution, not hurt anyone’s feelings. Also, letting the other parties know they need a time-out if feelings are running high. Architects can say something like, “I can’t deal with this right now. I need things calmer. Can we talk about this when everyone has cooler heads?” Considering that what may seem like common sense to Architects may not be the same for everyone. Finally, let others speak their piece before labeling their ideas as “lesser.” If Architects are right, then they need to prove it.