The Self-Promoting Logician
For an introductory look at self-promotion, please see our article “Everyday Self-Promotion and Personality Types.”
That Logician (INTP) who sits quietly in the corner of the office is likely exploring places that most of us will never dream of. Yes, that Logician. But the ground that they cover in a day is rarely recognized, because so many of their adventures happen in the world of their ideas. Most of us are not privileged enough to see what’s happening in that rich inner world. Even if a Logician’s job is not about creating new ideas, a person with this personality type is likely to have some sense of their work as being something subtle and somewhat inconspicuous. Anything more may be too external (read “showy”) for a Logician.
The problem here is obvious: Logicians’ ideas and their work products will only be noticed if Logicians find some way to let them out of their inner sanctum and share them with the rest of us. And that’s where a self-promotion strategy can help these personalities.
What They Have Going for Them
If Logicians can free themselves enough from their misgivings around self-promotion to enjoy the process of it, they are likely to come up with many unique methods for highlighting their value and sharing their ideas and results. If people with this personality type can get their psychological stars aligned in a way that accepts the value of self-promotion, their curiosity will likely kick in. When it does, they will surely create exemplary methods for strategically and tactfully telling their story. (That said, we do have a tip below to get them started.)
What Gets in Their Way
Logicians love their inner worlds, and self-promotion is such an outward thing to do. Like most Introverted and Intuitive personality types, Logicians prefer to cloister themselves. Individuals with these personality traits find the most value in life among their thoughts, feelings, dreams, and visions. That doesn’t mean that they can’t embrace something as practical and external as self-promotion. It simply means that self-promotion isn’t likely on their top ten list of things that excite them. A lack of interest will hinder any attempt at seriously promoting oneself.
Self-Promotion Tip
Link the inside to the outside by finding the value in sharing ideas. Promotion in the workplace usually indicates management’s trust in the abilities of a worker. That trust often brings an employee more freedom to explore options. As a Logician personality, you typically love to think about improvements that can be attained through developing alternative methods and procedures. You might want to link climbing the professional ladder with the knowledge that doing so may increase your access to a sanctioned, bigger mental playground. Imagine getting paid to think those thoughts or to implement fresh procedures. Once Logicians begin to realize the importance of self-promotion, they will likely begin to notice ways to implement it in their careers.
Don’t Confuse Your Preferences with Shyness
People often have a faulty view of Introverts, thinking that their more internal style of being and some Introverts’ preference for solitude are the same as shyness. Shyness is about fearing other people, whereas Introverts’ preferred style of being is about comfort and recharging and sustaining energy. If they’re not careful, Introverts can begin to buy into the popular but inaccurate notion that their Introversion is equivalent to shyness. And shy people don’t typically self-promote. They may sadly leave it to more outgoing personality types.
Logicians who want to self-promote may need to throw off the shackles of believing that they are reticent people who are afraid to shine in ways that may feel a little too outgoing for them. Instead, it would be more helpful to embrace the persona of the bold Introvert who is quiet but strong. If the thing that the Logician employee offers is powerful enough, they won’t have to spend much time showing it off. It will sell itself, but only if they let the people in their outer world know it’s there.
Here’s a chance to practice shining: take a moment and leave a comment below describing how you, as a Logician, have promoted yourself and your ideas successfully in the past. Or be a bit vulnerable and tell us what you find hard about self-promoting. We would love to hear your words of wisdom and experience.