Q. I recently took the MBTI and came out as an INTJ. It’s all very interesting, but I’m wondering where to go next. How can I use my results to improve my work and my personal relationships?

A. The first main way to use your results to benefit you is to be aware of your preferences so that you can choose situations and environments that suit you and use your natural talents. As you will see, INTJs excel in logical, orderly work environments that allow them to be creative in solving problems. As you develop in your career and especially if you are considering making any changes to your position or workplace, keep in mind your type preferences. INTJs typically prefer a work environment that is logical, efficient, structured, and analytical, with colleagues that that are competent, intelligent, and productive. They prefer a job that allows them to use their analytical skills to problem-solve in a challenging environment, and to take responsibility for implementing their ideas to create efficient, innovative systems.

The second way your results can benefit you is by pointing out your blind spots or weak areas. Although each type has a set of natural talents and strengths, we also have areas that are not as strong. For instance, you indicated that you’d like to be more spontaneous, which is a common issue for people of the INTJ type. INTJs are excellent at long-range planning but not as good at making changes to those plans or going without a plan altogether.

While we tend to be most effective if we can use our preferred way of doing things most of the time, we also need to develop different skills in order to adapt effectively to changing environments. So, you will do best in a job that takes advantage of your ability to plan ahead and follow through. However, someday you will find you are working on a project that cannot be planned and offers constant changes and surprises. In order to deal with this effectively, you will need to develop that more spontaneous side and the skills that allow you to address uncertainty and surprises.

To address your challenges, the first step is to recognize them. You have already recognized spontaneity as being one, and you probably found a few other areas that you’d like to develop. Once you have found your challenges, practice in small ways to do things differently. For instance, if you take a vacation, you might set aside one day with no plans at all, and tell yourself that you will do whatever you feel like on that day. If you are not planning a vacation, try this with a bit of time on a weekend or evening. You might also practice adapting to last-minute changes. Make a plan, and then test yourself to adjust that plan at the last minute. Make it a game to see how quickly you can change your direction!

The third major way you can benefit from your results is in your relationships with other people. The Myers Briggs grew out of the idea that people are fundamentally different, and that we think in very different ways. People who have different type preferences from you will make decisions, prioritize, and communicate differently from you. However, the MBTI can give you a framework for understanding your differences. It can help you to see that some of the challenges we experience with others are just due to our different ways of seeing things. In the end, you will work and communicate better with others if you understand that not everyone approaches things the same way.