I work in an elementary school, but not in the usual teaching capacity. Im part of a four person team in an early intervention program. We take part in a push-in model, where we go to all of the classrooms in our school to work with students on their literacy skills. It’s been very successful! But working with a team has its own dynamics (and challenges). Of course, being into personality typing, I’ve typed them all. Our team is comprised of one extravert and three introverts. In some of our meetings, I’ve noticed the phenomenon of the Jungian blind spot.

So what is a blind spot? Well, just like the places on the flank of your car that you can’t see while driving, personality types have blind spots regarding cognitive functions. There are eight cognitive functions in the MBTI personality typing system. Each type is comprised of four of them. The other four fall into what Jung referred to as the shadow, which is a topic all its own. So the seventh cognitive function, which is the third in the shadow, is the blind spot. This is the cognitive function that each personality type just doesn’t get or relate to at all. We all have one.

Back to my team, specifically the three introverts. I’m an ISTP. My colleague, whose name may or may not rhyme with Marlene, is an ISFP. While we have two very different types (one letter makes a big difference), we share the same blind spot – extraverted intuition. This cognitive function has to do with exploring possibilities, continually. I hate it. I like to focus on a quick, simple solution to a problem. Brainstorming is the bane of my intellectual existence. It’s like a bug flying around that needs swatting. My colleague is negatively affected by this as well, though more from a values/feeling perspective. To her, these brainstorming sessions are like that giant spider she recently had to kill in her garage with a broom in the wee hours of the morning in near darkness. There is nothing good about that situation.

Well, the other introvert on our team, whose name may or may not rhyme with Mindy, is and INTP. She’s all about the extraverted intuition, a brainstorming extraordinaire. In our meetings, if that Ne kicks in, my eyes glaze over. It short circuits my brain. Now don’t get me wrong, this cognitive function is important to have in team dynamics. After all, Albert Einstein is believed to be an INTP. Possibilities need to be explored. Somebody’s got to do it. I’m not going to do it. My ISFP colleague isn’t going to do it. The ESFJ is a story for another post. So to my colleague and friend whose name may or may not rhyme with Mindy, I salute you for coming up with all those possibilities that only you care about.