INFP

So it was that I was working on the CFO's professional Web site earlier today and one of the things I questioned was an item called "Myers-Briggs". Seems that's a Jungian typology test that measures four traits — Introverted, iNtuitive, Feeling and Perceiving) — to yield one of the sixteen unique combinations of the four traits. I'm sure that I've taken the test before but don't remember the results. So, I took an online version and I'm an INFP.

Now the sixteen combinations are broken into four sets of four — Guardian, Rational, Artisan and Idealist — known as temperaments. I've an Idealist temperament it seems.

Each Temperament is broken down further into two sets of two such that we have Guardian Administrators and Conservators, Rational Engineers and Coordinators, Artisan Entertainers and Operators and Idealist Advocates and Mentors. I am an Idealist Advocate it turns out.

Finally, each of the combinations gets its own tag. For Idealist Mentors we have Teachers (ENFJ) and Counselors (INFJ). Idealist Advocates who are Extroverts (ENFP) are Champions. Introverted Idealist Advocates (INFP) like me are Healers.

Famous INFP's throughout history include Homer, Virgil, Mary, St. John, Shakespeare, Helen Keller, Albert Schweiter, George Orwell, Fred Rogers, James Taylor and Julia Roberts. ET is an fictional INFP.

Here is one description of INFP Healers:

Healers present a calm and serene face to the world, and can seem shy, even distant around others. But inside they're anything but serene, having a capacity for personal caring rarely found in the other types. Healers care deeply about the inner life of a few special persons, or about a favorite cause in the world at large. And their great passion is to heal the conflicts that trouble individuals, or that divide groups, and thus to bring wholeness, or health, to themselves, their loved ones, and their community.

Healers have a profound sense of idealism that comes from a strong personal sense of right and wrong. They conceive of the world as an ethical, honorable place, full of wondrous possibilities and potential goods. In fact, to understand Healers, we must understand that their deep commitment to the positive and the good is almost boundless and selfless, inspiring them to make extraordinary sacrifices for someone or something they believe in. Set off from the rest of humanity by their privacy and scarcity (around one percent of the population), Healers can feel even more isolated in the purity of their idealism.

Also, Healers might well feel a sense of separation because of their often misunderstood childhood. Healers live a fantasy-filled childhood-they are the prince or princess of fairy tales-an attitude which, sadly, is frowned upon, or even punished, by many parents. With parents who want them to get their head out of the clouds, Healers begin to believe they are bad to be so fanciful, so dreamy, and can come to see themselves as ugly ducklings. In truth, they are quite OK just as they are, only different from most others-swans reared in a family of ducks.

At work, Healers are adaptable, welcome new ideas and new information, are patient with complicated situations, but impatient with routine details. Healers are keenly aware of people and their feelings, and relate well with most others. Because of their deep-seated reserve, however, they can work quite happily alone. When making decisions, Healers follow their heart not their head, which means they can make errors of fact, but seldom of feeling. They have a natural interest in scholarly activities and demonstrate, like the other Idealists, a remarkable facility with language. They have a gift for interpreting stories, as well as for creating them, and thus often write in lyric, poetic fashion. Frequently they hear a call to go forth into the world and help others, a call they seem ready to answer, even if they must sacrifice their own comfort.

Wow! A one-percenter. Way cool.