ISTP Ability and Job Satisfaction Characteristics!

You are ISTP, Introverted with Sensing, Thinking and Perceiving, with ISTP ability, or you are interested in someone who is, and you are perhaps seeking information regarding how the ISTP personality type and associated ISTP ability gleaned from the Myers Briggs Test can perform optimally and at their very best in the workplace. You may also be seeking information as to how ISTP ability can be maximally used in the workplace and how all this knowledge of ISTP ability can increase workplace motivation and job satisfaction for you, and your organization.

You can also learn how knowledge of ISTP strengths and weaknesses in the workplace, that is ISTP ability, can insure that the ISTP will not fall victim to job dissatisfaction which has been termed “Falsification of Type” and which is the core reason an estimated 70% of all the workers in the world dislike (or hate) their jobs!

ISTP Workplace Strengths

ISTP ability and strengths are many and would mean for you in the workplace that you:

• are someone who reaches understanding by contemplating and thinking, pondering things, someone who wants to really think about it
• are reflective, quiet, and prone to consider before acting
• prefer physical work space which allows for privacy and concentration
• participate and speak up after observing and formulating your own impressions and questions; may need to be asked what you think or feel
• regard meeting as taking time away from work and as places where more work gets generated or assigned
• are aware of internal guiding principles, philosophy, and commitments
• focus first on and are most interested in specifics and the details of current or past reality; you notice the “trees” before noticing the “forest”
• are realistic, practical, and work with “what is”
• work on one thing at a time; like to begin from and use what is already known
• want the work of a team to be realistic and doable, and are less interested in (and may be impatient with) discussions about vague, unrealistic, or “theoretical” possibilities
• take things literally, at face value
• bring previous experience to bear on work at hand; keep things grounded
• May seem distant and/or unapproachable; are direct, sometimes at the cost of being insensitive to others
• focus on the work at hand; don’t allocate much time to get to know others and build relationships
• are naturally critical of ideas and proposals; identify deficiencies in ideas and plans and impediments to achieving goals
• believe that what is accomplished is more important than how a group works together; expect the best ideas and solutions to emerge from argument and debate; enjoy give and take
• analyze impersonally; are able to step back and be impartial
• champion sticking to the principles
• are spontaneous, “go with the flow,” open to new experiences and not wanting to miss out on anything, fun loving
• bring in new information, perspectives, and options; are adaptable and often devise flexible or innovative approaches to work
• like to start things-motivation and interest may decline when it’s time to finish
• are comfortable proceeding without a definite plan; take a “let’s wait and see what rolls out” approach; may frustrate others by bringing up new information or possibilities after a decision seems to have been made
• are comfortable not having something definite to work toward, and may feel constrained by what you perceive to be narrow or rigid goals and deadlines; focus on processes and want a team to organize around the ways they will work
• initially welcome a new assignment or project, thinking there’s lots of time to get it done-and later feel pushed to fit everything in

Basically those jobs/careers that would allow the ISTP to use the strengths listed above, ISTP ability, as a natural part of doing the job would be the jobs/careers providing maximum workplace motivation for the ISTP. With increased workplace motivation normally follows increased job satisfaction. Likewise, jobs/careers not allowing the ISTP ability to be used will provide much less workplace motivation and consequently much less job satisfaction for the ISTP personality type.

ISTP Workplace Weaknesses

ISTP personality and ISTP ability would include a tendency toward the following workplace weaknesses:

• may need to be asked what you think or feel
• may view meetings as naturally negative events that cause more work than is accomplished by having them
• will have difficulty seeing the big picture
• may have difficulty focusing on one thing for great amounts of time
• may have difficulty seeing the organizational vision
• will be uncomfortable to troubled proceeding with strict plans
• hesitancy to finish things may be viewed as negative
• may hurt others by their natural ability to criticize
• their natural impersonal approach to things may be seen as negative to workplace approachability/relationships

Now take a few moments and consider how ISTP’s behave and perform in the workplace from the following six aspects:

What Others Might Observe First

• have great curiosity about real things and want to know “why”
• have good grasp of details and a lot of information at their command, and typically are tuned in to their surroundings
• are usually easy going, tolerant, and matter of fact
• are “get to the point” communicators

Work Style

• are active and hands-on—like to have freedom to move about and a lot of direct sensory experiences
• want their efforts to have tangible and immediate results
• are pragmatic and expedient, want to take the most direct route to the goal (avoiding unnecessary steps and wasted motion), prefer minimal structure or standard procedures, and pride themselves on being able to get around the rules to get things done
• like to develop some skills to a high level of mastery (once developed, they may continue to hone them or move on to develop new ones)

On Work Teams/In Groups

• are tough-minded, analytical and critical, and independent-minded; they bring data for the group to use and help organize the information the team already has to make it useful
• quietly adapt to the needs of the moment
• are informal, ignoring or being impatient with formal roles, titles, and official distinctions among people
• like and will be involved in creating fun, activity, and excitement

Facing Change

• want to jump in, roll up their sleeves and take action; they thrive in situations requiring rapid, in-the-moment responses, especially if there are apparently insurmountable hurdles
• may see planning as unnecessary and an impediment to action, and usually are not very interested in or don’t see much use for theories or speculative models of change
• think realistically, and need to be convinced that change makes sense in order to go along with it
• are resilient, react to apparent failures by trying something else

During Conflict

• may offer information as an impartial basis for solving conflict, while they themselves desire to remain objective (and hence may be experienced by others as uncaring, not valuing people’s feelings)
• very good trouble shooters, may be at their best during difficult times or crises
• may let go of conflict for a while to see if it is resolved, but will take action if it persists
• under stress, may become irritated, quite task-oriented, overly sensitive, drag their feet, or withdraw

Workplace Contributions

• bringing accurate data to bear on team or organizational deliberations
• asking bedrock questions such as “Why are we doing this?” or “Is this the most efficient way?”
• leading by doing-showing the way, responding to windows or opportunity while the windows are still open, setting an example
• creating a sense of fun, playfulness, and adventure

May Be Experienced As

• making work playful and sometimes as not taking things seriously enough, possibly seeming to be amused by what others may consider serious matters
• disengaged observers, aloof, hard to get to know because they don’t reveal much about themselves
• very responsive to the current situation and sometimes as so responsive to the immediate needs that new initiatives are undertaken while other work is still incomplete
• heavily engaged in and excited about non-work activities, interests, and hobbies

The Myers Briggs Test can be looked upon sometimes as an ability and personality test. Once you have identified your personality type via the Myers Briggs Test and have some understanding of the associated strengths, weaknesses, abilities and behaviors of your type you can better determine the kind of work environment and associated factors that provide the maximum workplace motivation and job satisfaction for you. Again, view the results of the Myers Briggs Test concerning work as a kind of ability and personality test.

If you would like to study a different personality type link here and go back to the Personality and Work page to find links to the other 15 personality types, follow those links and enjoy!

If you have questions regarding your personality type in the workplace as it relates to using the Myers Briggs Test as an ability and personality test, please do not hesitate to use the Support/Contact Request form on the navigation bar to the left. We would enjoy hearing from you and will try to answer any questions you may have about the Myers Briggs Test and its uses and/or the Myers Briggs focused consultation services offered by Solid Rock Consulting Group, LLC.

Return from ISTP Ability to Personality and Work Page