12 Superpowers of the INFJ, the Rarest Personality Type

Recently, a group of fellow INFJs and I were discussing INFJ superpowers — the things that we do better than other personality types. The discussion invariably turned to INFJ cognitive functions, or mindsets, and the first and second ones in particular (Introverted Intuition and Extroverted Feeling). During our discussion, we tossed around a number of ideas that fit into three main categories:

Strengths related to Introverted Intuition (Ni) – (Part 1)
Strengths related to Extroverted Feeling (Fe) – (Part 2)
Strengths related to the intersection of both Ni and Fe – (Part 3)

In this series on INFJ superpowers, let’s take a look at each of these three categories, starting with Ni-driven strengths. By the end, hopefully, you’ll come away with knowledge that will help you…

Better understand what you bring to the table when you’re working with a team
Help you focus and maximize your personal development
Increase your impact on the world
Enjoy life more as you start engaging in energizing activities that yield better results

And by the way, this is by no means an exhaustive list. So please add your own thoughts, insights, and reflections in the comments below.

(What’s your personality type? Take a free personality assessment.)

The Strengths of Introverted Intuition

1. Learning

Most INFJs love to learn. If you want to make an INFJ happy, give him or her a podcast, video, book, audiobook, seminar, or something of the like — and leave him or her alone for a few hours. We love to acquire and master new schools of thought, and we hate having to do the same thing over and over if we don’t have the chance to learn something new.

2. Synthesizing

INFJs enjoy learning from a variety of different sources and identifying the connections between different pieces of content. They’re quite good at piecing it all together in a big-picture way that makes sense. Many are also good at distilling a large volume of information down to the most essential and impactful takeaways. They’re insight-hunters.

3. Creating

To learn is but the start. INFJs love to create. They’re happiest when their minds are taking the ideas they’ve learned and putting them together in new, original ways.

Some INFJs write, others paint, and still others play music or do something else. Our creativity shows up in organizational systems, instruction, and other forms of communication, too. The ways this personality type creates varies, but all INFJs are creative. Creativity is an intrinsic part of the INFJ personality, and regular opportunities to create are necessary to a healthy lifestyle. In fact, I’ve never met an INFJ who doesn’t create — or at least want to create — on a consistent basis.

4. Seeing the future

Ni postures INFJs toward the future. Unlike Introverted Sensing (Si) types, such as SJs (for example, ISTJs and ESFJs), who tend to prefer what’s worked in the past, INFJs prefer to think about “what could be.” They enjoy dreaming about and working toward a more ideal future.

5. Planning (backward)

If you want to plan the future, talk to someone who has Ni as their number one mindset. He or she will have an uncanny ability to apply Habit 2 of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Begin with the end in mind. INFJs intuitively start with priorities and major life goals. They enjoy working backward and creating a plan to honor those priorities and reach their goals.

6. Theorizing

In general, intuitive types prefer talking about theories, ideas, and the meaning behind things more than they like discussing the practical details of day-to-day living. As dominant intuitives, INFJs are among the most theoretical of types. They get excited about theories and do well in settings that allow them to explain why things are the way they are and how they got to be that way. This is true even when the theories have not yet been verified with empirical data. INFJs enjoy connecting the dots and “putting the pieces together.”

7. Working with ideas

Similarly, INFJs are wired to work with ideas. Every personality type is equipped to do a special kind of work. For example, ISTPs have an abundance of physical energy, and ISTJs can work with details for extended periods of time. An INFJ’s gift is working with ideas.

It comes as no surprise to me that one of my 5 StrengthFinder Strengths is intellection: “You like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the ‘muscles’ of your brain, stretching them in multiple directions.” I imagine this is true for many INFJs, considering the nature of Ni.

8. Big-picture thinking

As I’ve already alluded to, INFJs excel at big-picture thinking. In contrast to the majority of people who prefer to analyze and break tasks or information down into details, INFJs prefer to put it all together and see how it makes sense. This type of thinking is vital to achieving balance, sorting out priorities, and establishing purpose. It’s also primarily a right-brain activity, something that’s more difficult for the majority of people.

9. Thinking about their own thinking

As thinkers, INFJs excel at metacognitive thinking where they’re thinking about their own thinking. They have a solid ability to pull back and evaluate their own motivations and thought processes when they take the time to do so. This isn’t surprising, considering metacognition is grounded in psychology (a theory) and requires a good deal of reflection and work with the question, “Why?”

10. Communicating (linguistics)

Whether they excel in foreign languages, their own language, or both, INFJs are impressive communicators. They enjoy working with words. Many INFJs are exceptional writers, but others may enjoy speaking opportunities, too. The key to communication for INFJs is adequate time to prepare, arrange, and organize thoughts.

11. Vision-casting

As futuristic, big-picture creatives, INFJs are among the best vision casters. They enjoy dreaming up better possibilities for people and organizations. In leadership positions, they inspire colleagues and coworkers toward a brighter future, and they get a lot of joy out of doing so.

12. Advising

Finally, INFJs can be great advisors. Because they love to read deeply and broadly and learn from the wisdom, insight, and advice of others, seasoned INFJs can make outstanding counselors, provided they do more listening than talking and truly diagnose the core issue or problem. They know that “Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.”

None of these strengths comes fully-developed. Each is a “diamond in the rough” that will only shine after it’s been polished. And the polishing happens when you intentionally and consistently work on these skills over the long haul. But bear in mind, these strengths are the seeds of greatness, so the results are worth the effort.