Type and Leadership

Tips for Coaching and Mentoring Leaders

Here are suggestions for how to support the development of the many leaders all around you.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting Leaders with the 16 MBTI® Types

Select a type:

istj
S I
isfj
S
infj
N
intj
N J
istp
I
isfp
infp
intp
P
estp
E
esfp
enfp
entp
P
estj
T E
esfj
F
enfj
F
entj
J T

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ISTJ Leaders

  • Appreciate them for the strong backbone they provide to the organization, whether it is reflected in their dedication and loyalty, quality of work, or specific contributions.
  • Offer to help them make time in group meetings to articulate their ideas, thoughts, and conclusions.
  • Give them feedback on how you see them undermining their own success. Are they coming across as rigid and inflexible? Are they stifling others’ independence by micromanaging?

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ISFJ Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their friendly, unassuming leadership approach; for the conscientious way they ensure that work gets done even when others don’t do their part; and for their ability to build loyal relationships.
  • Offer to help them with becoming more comfortable taking credit; with speaking up for themselves; and with addressing conflict or unmet expectations more directly.
  • Give them feedback on how their pragmatic traditionalism might constrain their creativity; on when you see them avoiding taking on a leadership role; and on when you catch them using “people like it this way” as an excuse not to change the organization for the better.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting INFJ Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their ability to distill the essence of complex issues and ideas in an accessible way; for their sincere inclusion of many views and perspectives; and for their commitment to global well-being.
  • Offer to help them with objective analysis that will improve a decision or direction; with translating goals for the organization into metrics for evaluating performance; and with ensuring that succession processes don’t give some people an unfair advantage over others.
  • Give them feedback on times when they assume they understand others’ feelings without verifying those assumptions; on when you see them avoiding confrontations that would move the dialogue forward; and on how they can become more comfortable with their power as a leader.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting INTJ Leaders

  • Appreciate them for the often stunning insights they bring to their vision; for their independence, which enables them to be tough critics of any idea; and for their commitment to delivering a quality product.
  • Offer to help them with deciding which small battles to yield; with developing true appreciation for the value of others’ ideas; and with accepting help from others instead of doing it all themselves.
  • Give them feedback on their efficient, incisive questions; on how their drive for excellence can undermine their effectiveness at times; and on how they reduce efficiency when they fail to pay attention to the interpersonal signals of a group.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ISTP Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their efficient pragmatism; for their ability to problem-solve under pressure; and for their passion for hands-on project work.
  • Offer to help them with developing their meeting management and team-building skills; with resolving interpersonal problems with colleagues; and with developing better information-sharing habits.
  • Give them feedback on times when they seem distant or aloof; on how (and why) they can build stronger interdependencies with their colleagues; and on how to give others feedback that better communicates their intent.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ISFP Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their indomitable passion and commitment to their pursuits; for their kind, friendly, and casual style; and for how hard it is for them when others don’t live up to their expectations about how the world should work.
  • Offer to help them with putting critical comments into a less personal, more productive frame of reference; with avoiding isolation; and with their tendency to withdraw rather than seek help when things seem darkest.
  • Give them feedback on how much loyalty their leadership style instills in others and how they lessen their authority when they communicate indirectly (e.g., looking away, using qualifiers such as “I think, maybe…”) instead of making clear, declarative statements.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting INFP Leaders

  • Appreciate them for the intense passion they have for their work; for their gentle spirit, which many find warm and soothing; and for their ability to guide others without controlling them.
  • Offer to help them with delivering important developmental feedback to others; with hearing feedback on their own behavior as data that may help them improve; and with creating crisp project plans and time lines.
  • Give them feedback on their value to the whole organization; on when they seem to lose focus due to too many interests; and on the need for them to complete logical analyses before making important investment decisions.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting INTP Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their passion for generating new ideas; for their ability to hear critiques without becoming defensive; and for their logical analysis of highly complex issues.
  • Offer to help them with understanding when and how they come across as abrupt or too critical and when that damages relationships; with taking the private time they need to recharge; and with finding ways to meet others’ highly structured demands.
  • Give them feedback on being more accepting of themselves; on learning a taxonomy of emotions; and on using the data from their reactions to build more mutually trusting relationships.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ESTP Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their easygoing attitude; for their ability to make hard decisions; and for their ability to act quickly under pressure.
  • Offer to help them clarify their organizational goals and create a picture of the future to share with others. Help them develop ways to deliver their useful, but sometimes abrupt, feedback so that others can learn better from them.
  • Give them feedback on how they dampen others’ motivation by taking over a task they had previously assigned. Let them know how valuable their insights are and how interested you are in knowing what they are trying to accomplish.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ESFP Leaders

  • Appreciate them for the enthusiastic optimism they bring to a group or organization; for their ability to create warm relationships that inspire action; and for their independent spirit.
  • Offer to help them with developing longer-term plans; with weighing the pros and cons of various action paths; and with pausing to identify which few goals are most important.
  • Give them feedback on times when their actions don’t seem to be helping the group progress; on when they are missing patterns or trends that others notice; and on how they are doing at setting a good leadership example.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ENFP Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their passionate commitment to the broader purpose of their endeavors; for their warm and inclusive approach toward people; and for their willingness to work hard to build good relationships.
  • Offer to help them with giving critical feedback when needed; with structuring implementation and action plans that are realistically timed; and with listing the roadblocks that might slow down implementation of a process.
  • Give them feedback on where you see them yielding their authority unnecessarily; on effective ways you see them exerting power or influence; and on times when they provide clear structure and roles for others.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ENTP Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their passion for tackling problems; for their ability to communicate conceptual complexity in a simple way; and for their willingness to consider just about anything with an open mind.
  • Offer to help them with managing their tendency to overcommit; with learning to respect boundaries for themselves and others; and with telling stories and giving examples from their own experience to help explain their points.
  • Give them feedback on when they are pursuing “right” instead of “effective”; on when their message is not clear or is hurtful; and on how they can be more effective by setting clear priorities.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ESTJ Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their incredible ability to plan the most efficient path to getting a new idea implemented; for their unwavering dedication to the organization’s purpose; and for their efforts to shift from a directive to an inquiring approach.
  • Offer to help them with developing a more savvy and authentically appreciative interpersonal style.
  • Give them feedback on how you see them undermining their own success, for example, by focusing so intently on their goal that they completely miss the impact their actions have on others.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ESFJ Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their ability to organize work so that everyone’s personal needs are met; for their strong follow-through; and for their openness to suggestions.
  • Offer to help them analyze their ideas, brainstorm unusual solutions, and review top business priorities.
  • Give them feedback on how you see them undermining their own success, whether by insisting that everyone get along or by feeling victimized by someone else’s criticism.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ENFJ Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their ability to see the highest potential in the people and the organization; for their passionate commitment to the organization’s highest purpose; and for their warm, inclusive interactions with others.
  • Offer to help them by coaching them through having difficult conversations; by telling them when you observe them pushing others too hard; and by encouraging them to pause before responding to criticism.
  • Give them feedback on how you see them undermining their own success, for example, by becoming a caretaker instead of encouraging others to take responsibility for solving their own problems.

Tips for Coaches and Mentors Supporting ENTJ Leaders

  • Appreciate them for their inspiring visionary gifts; for their ability to conceptualize; for their political savvy; and for each attempt they make to balance their life.
  • Offer to help them with developing patience while the rest of the team catches up to them; with learning to listen without interrupting; and with expressing appreciation for others’ contributions.
  • Give them feedback on times when you see them undermining their own success, whether by acting arrogantly or by overtly discounting what others care about.