At the most recent Curtin Growth Program for a group of
managers, there was an excess of SJs – traditionalists, stabilisers, what David
Keirsey in his temperament model called Guardians.
Twenty-two in the group and only four not SJs. What would that
mean in a team? What would the team look like?
Included in the mix, were, of course, both extraverted and
introverted SJs and those preferring thinking and feeling. When you look at the
numerically dominant profile it is, of course, ISTJ and when you add the
separate preferences, it is again ISTJ.
Often when you profile a group in this way, the majority
profile might not be the same as the dominant preferences. This suggests some
room to move, some flexibility, diversity. You don’t really want one profile to
dominate a group that size.
For example, you might get four ENFPs - thus the largest number of individual profiles - in a group but the dominant profile, when you add the single preferences, might be ESFJ.
ISTJs people are responsible, reliable, and when they make a
plan they usually stick to it. This is not a team likely to take risks, to
break rules, contracts, agreements. They are dependable, responsible, obedient,
complaint. However, what often happens is that those with a lean towards other
preferences, might shift to fill the gap.
They will look a very conservative group to many of us,
perhaps somewhat set in their ways, doing things the way they have been done,
since the beginning.
You want this group to run things for you. They are the
mainstays. And they will finish projects they start and at the end of the day
their work space will be clean, tidy, empty.
If you want a full ISTJ profile, click here.
For a full SJ profile click here.
What are they missing?
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Spontaneous enthusiasm
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Risk
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Out of the box thinking
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Lateral thinking
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The big picture
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Flexibility
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Adaptability
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An Ideal
A classic ISTJ of recent prime ministers was John Howard. He
was a sure hand at the wheel and rode the country through a dream period. He
took few chances. His biggest was calling in the guns and he won that first
round. But it was also too hard for him to say “sorry”.
The Doust family I grew up in was dominated by SJs - an ESTJ
and an ISTJ - and you can imagine the
difficulty they had with an ENFP – extraverted intuitive feeling perceive – a
kind of hippy dreamy lunatic, emotionally driven kid who could start a heap of
stuff and finish little of it. But, by Harold, he could come up with some
oysters, crazy ideas, twist a phrase into an entirely new sound and make your
hair flatten with laughter.
And when they put him in the building and “Run this
shop”, he did and folk streamed in to experience the ride and the fun and the
turnover hit the clouds. Then he left because he got bored.
But, much later,
they asked him back for his emotional intelligence and his wacky take.
Fact is, SJs need NFs and visa-v and no better example than
that there is almost nothing this presenter enjoys more than a room for of SJs,
because he can see them looking at him and asking “How the hell does this bloke
survive” and I am looking at them and marvelling at their ability to succeed.
