The Long Road

"masterminds prefer to stay in the background until others demonstrate ineffective leadership"

Of the many statements made about the INTJ personality, this is one that strikes me as being one of the truest about myself. I've lost track of how many times I've followed along with other people's plans knowing that the best course of action lay elsewhere and that things would be better if I spoke up. The standard game plan is always to follow the loudest option, even though I may not agree with it, and when that fails to present my own path.

Why does this happen? I've tried to come up with explanations.

1. "The Path of Least Resistance"
Convincing people is hard. This is especially true when the vast majority make emotional decisions and require emotional conviction to be able to agree to anything. Numbers and logic will always fail against an argument that hits you in the gut and I simply don't think in those terms (generally). Ascerting leadership requires less effort when others have demonstrated their inability. After they've failed, you no longer have to fight against the "loud ones" to get things on the right track and people will be more inclined to listen to alternatives at this point.

2. "Crisis Management"
I love it when things are dire and I have to step in to save everyone! It makes me feel like my hero, Batman! Assuming leadership often means that people will come to you for more problems than just major ones. I'm much more of a "problem solver" than a leader, and don't particularly like being looked to for what I consider to be "minor" decisions. Perhaps this is why I usually let people get very close to inadvertently hanging themselves.

3. "Plausible Deniability"
I don't like failure, nor the possibility of failure, and most especially not failure in front of others. Which is the risk you take when others follow your decisions.

Replies: 3 comments

I think your third point holds truest with me. It's always best to have the option to blame someone else.

Posted by dAN @ 07/17/2007 05:52 PM EST

why do I get the feeling that its you who always vote negative?

Posted by Long @ 07/17/2007 07:26 PM EST

Negative.

Posted by dAN @ 07/20/2007 08:59 AM EST