INTP Personality: How to Change the World (with innovation and honesty!)

The INTP Myers-Briggs personality type is known for being innovative, analytical, open-minded, and direct. Famous INTP changemakers likely include Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and Abraham Lincoln. Are you an INTP or think you might be? In this video, we'll explore ways that you can change the world. Welcome back. My name is Amber Melanie Smith, and I make these videos here on YouTube to help aspiring changemakers with tips and strategies to help you change the world while living a life of impact and purpose. So INTPs are brilliant, rational problem solvers whose analytical minds can help humanity crack some of our biggest, most complex social issues. If you're not sure what your Myers-Briggs personality type is yet, I am leaving some links in the description below so you can check those out and let us know what personality type you are. And of course, if you like this video and this topic, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel because I am trying to make videos on all of the personality types. I really believe that no matter what your personality, your skills, or your talents, there's some way that each unique person can change the world. So it's really fun for me to talk about how the different personality types can do just that. So before I get into some of the specific ideas about how INTPs can change the world, let's just do a quick summary of their personality traits. INTPs are pretty rare, making up about 3% of the overall population. INTPs are often considered the most logical of the personality types. They love to parse out new and abstract ideas. They get really enthusiastic about new concepts and they're great at being open and honest. INTPs are objective and insightful and they love solving really complex issues, which could make them really formidable when it comes to coming up with innovative ideas to attack social problems. INTP weaknesses, however, include being overly private, risking being kind of insensitive because they're more concerned with logic than with people's feelings, occasionally coming off as a know-it-all and ignoring the rules, though in some cases that might also be a strength. INTPs really need to work on tasks that are challenging and will address real practical world problems. There are so many ways that brilliant INTPs can change the world, so let's start by getting into some of those. INTPs want to sink their teeth into a complicated and important problem and use their naturally entrepreneurial and innovative thinking to take it apart and ultimately solve it. They're best suited to work that is done solo or at the very least in small groups with equally stimulating people where they're not really micromanaged but instead just equipped to solve the problem on their own. INTPs are perfectionists and they will not stop until the problem is solved. So whether they are working in the for-profit or private sector, non-profit or social enterprise world, or as a volunteer helping out a cause they care about, here are some of the ways that INTPs can make a difference in the world. So in the private sector or in business, similar to others with the classification in their Myers-Briggs personality type, the INTP really needs to be able to work solo or in a small group as we talked about before and avoid those bureaucratic large organizations. They really need to work independently and follow their own creative and sometimes eccentric pursuits. INTPs might be happiest changing the world when they can combine their problem-solving abilities with a really important and meaningful problem to solve. So in business or private pursuits, and I guess this might also include some government pursuits, INTPs might be really happy making a difference by doing some research or consulting on a large social issue or even through medicine or science where they're working to find a cure for a disease. So in the non-profit and social enterprise world, the whole point of these organizations is to tackle challenging problems in the world. So because of that, INTPs might find this a good change-making path for them. The INTP work style and personality might lend itself really well to doing some kind of project on their own where they're not being micromanaged that will improve the situation for humanity. So kind of along those lines, great roles in non-profits or social enterprise organizations for INTPs might include things like a logistics manager, someone who can figure out the complex logistics of moving supplies around an area, or even a project or program manager who can oversee the strategy for executing on a program to help a cause, or even a program evaluation specialist, someone who can research how the program has been running and think about how to improve it to be more effective for the people it is trying to serve. So examples of specific roles might include researching those cures for complex diseases similar to the private or government role that I mentioned earlier except in this case in the non-profit or social enterprise context, formulating creative ways to tackle specific environmental problems, or maybe something like designing an app that can help everyday people improve their health and wellness. INTPs can also make a huge difference as a volunteer for an organization that they care about. So INTPs, any volunteering that you do, has to be aligned with the causes that you find really important that are backed up by science, data, and research to prove their value and the need in the community. Unlike other personality types, you as an INTP are unlikely to be swayed by emotional appeals. Rather, you are motivated by statistics and data that show how a real problem exists and how improving the efficiency or effectiveness of a program or approach could solve that problem. A great real world example that I've heard of could be helping a cause that tackles malaria and it's spread by simply providing more mosquito nets to organizations on the ground helping populations affected by malaria. Causes like microfinance might also appeal to you where we are using small loans to business owners around the world, especially in developing nations, to help them pull themselves out of poverty. Along these lines, you might actually be interested in the research done by a relatively new organization called which has come up with an actual mathematical formula that will help everyday people calculate how much of an impact they are making or could make through different social approaches. And this formula is fascinating. It's based on how many lives you're likely to impact through a certain approach and how deeply you are likely to impact those lives. So look that up, it's really interesting. I'll also be sure to leave a link to that below if you're interested and want to check that out. If you decide to take on any hands-on volunteering as an INTP, such as sorting or packaging food, you're very likely to be that person who's restructuring your entire group's efforts to make it more efficient. But generally, you're probably more drawn to skills-based volunteering where you can use your smarts and your talents to tackle an issue for a cause that you care about without much fuss from people around you. You are all about efficiency and effectiveness, which is a great skill and mindset to have when it comes to tackling social issues. So an example of a great skills-based volunteer project for you might be something like helping a local food bank analyze their logistical food delivery and supply patterns to see how you could make it more efficient. Other examples might be analyzing the data from a program that a cause is running to see how they can make it more effective. Or maybe even designing a website or an app that can help an organization amplify its work. Are you an INTP or do you know one? What are some of the ways that we didn't talk about that you are out there making a difference in the world? I want to hear about it. Leave it in the comments and let's get a conversation going. I really hope you liked this video. Once again, my name is Amber Melanie Smith and I am a speaker and non-profit director and I do these videos on topics from non-profits to social enterprise to everyday people making an impact in the world and more. One final thing, if you are on Facebook please don't forget to check out my Facebook group Change the World or Bust where myself and other change makers are having some great conversations around how we can make an impact and help each other in the process. Don't forget to subscribe and hope to see you next time. Thanks!