Leaders are easy to recognize: They’re TJs.

“The T is their preference for thinking that leads them to look at the logical consequences of all the alternatives that they face. The J, the judging, comes in and helps them get that organization to fulfill that decision—to operationalize it and to implement it,” says Allen Hammer, a consultant at Manfredo Curtis Associates, which advises companies on how to get the most out of their employees. For Hammer, helping others spot and work effectively with a TJ can mean the difference between an initiative’s succeeding or failing.

Welcome to the coded world of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the system of identifying personality characteristics along four dimensions that can predict the choices people make and how they will interact with others. The types, scored with a letter and used in combinations of four, indicate various qualities, such as judging (J) and thinking (T). Knowing the personality type of a supervisor or a business partner can aid in securing a promotion, closing a deal, or inspiring the next great idea.

“It gives you a sort of advantage over others because you are able to flex your own style to interact with the other person,” says executive coach Linda Burrs.

If you’re faced with a fact-oriented, so-called sensing type (S), for example, your best move in selling an idea might be to create an impressive PowerPoint presentation. “Sensing types like to see all the facts and details concisely presented,” says Betsy Styron, president and C.E.O. of the Center for Applications of Psychological Type in Gainesville, Florida. But the same presentation might fall flat with an intuitive type (N), who prefers to make decisions based on gut feelings.

Although there’s no way to really know another person’s MB type short of making them take the 93-question diagnostic test themselves, most successful executives tend to cluster around a few major personality types. And you can identify their weaknesses as well as their strengths. While TJs excel at important leadership tasks such as risk taking and goal setting, they’re typically not as good at building consensus. “They sometimes come across as too cold, too logical, and too objective,” says Hammer.

Fortunately, the business world tends to center on four of the 16 possible MB types. Here are the ones to know and how best to handle them.

ENTJ

Donald Trump is a classic example of an ENTJ (Extroverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Judging), which describes a leader who cuts a commanding profile. “Big picture” people, they have a vision that is results-oriented, and hold themselves and others to high standards. They are unforgiving about deadlines, make firm decisions, and see themselves as confident, innovative organizers. They are also prone to discuss ideas extensively or just think out loud—but such statements shouldn’t be mistaken for firm directives.

INTJ

Bill Gates is likely an INTJ (Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Judging), according to Ross Reinhold, a consultant who operates Personalitypathways.com. Innovative and independent, Gates and his ilk value competence and self-sufficiency. They have a knack for reducing complexities to their most basic, and for finding efficient ways to improve processes. Unlike ENTJs, INTJs come across as restrained, an image that often reflects their skepticism and lack of emotion in decisionmaking. Although open-minded, they quickly discard unworkable solutions—sometimes with sarcasm.

ESTJ

Analytical and systematic thinkers, ESTJs (Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging) value order—sometimes to the extreme. Martha Stewart, a natural ESTJ, has made a career of it. Like ENTJs, people of this type are also confident decision-makers, but unlike ENTJs, ESTJs are more focused on process than vision. How you do something may matter more than what it’s about.

ISTJ

ISTJs (Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging) are excellent managers of facts and details. They thrive in hierarchical structures and value consistency and common sense. Although they appreciate hard workers, they can be impatient for results, and they tend to not value innovation as much as execution. Many consider Warren Buffett to be an archetypal ISTJ because of his conservative approach to investing. Thoroughly researched, written plans in which risks are identified and assessed are likely to be well-received by these managers.

For a look at the likely MB types of executives from Steve Jobs to Meg Whitman, see our slideshow.