For the last seven years that I have been working in a medium size food production facility in Etobicoke Canada. In the seven years I have been there I have gone from stacking boxes to managing our warehouse. Most people would accredit this to chance, ambition or something in between and for the longest time I felt the same. That is until I read Type Talk at Work. Always having been enthralled by psychology I devoured the book in a matter of days, soaking in the information the best I could through a very limited understanding of the source material.
I was categorized as an ISTJ. Four words helping define my personality type and a practical road map to my success into my current position. Throughout the next few pages we will dive into what it means to be an ISTJ and how it affects us in the work force. From personal experience to learned knowledge we will analyze what it means and see how it applies. ? An ISTJ in Food Manufacturing. Type Talk at Work tells us that thirty three percent of all managerial positions are accredited to ISTJs.
When searched online, they are categorized by titles like The Duty Fulfillers (personalitypage. com), the Logistician, and Life’s Natural Organizers. Although all of these titles seemed a little farfetched when applied to myself but upon deeper delving, I began to understand what they meant, and saw the congruency in my own history. ISTJ Breakdown ISTJ breaks down into four basic preferences. Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging (www. humanmetrics. com/cgi-win/jtypes2. asp).
Let’s take a small bit of time to break down this information into manageable pieces and revise what each letter in the acronym means to us. I. Introverted Often I prefer to work alone. Like any other introvert, given the choice I would spend my days crammed into an out of the way office doing tasks that require little interaction between myself and the other employees of my company. In fact, my last two positions with my current company have been such. The first of which was controlling our inventory, the second of which was in purchasing.
According to my own managers I have been told that I have surpassed expectations in both due to my abilities to focus and work with little to no supervision. I have attributed this success to a strong sense of duty and motivation to follow through on the tasks given to me. Both of these traits are highlighted in Personalitypage. com (http://www. personalitypage. com). 2. Sensing According to Meyers-Briggs, sensing refers to the person’s capabilities to sense the world around them. Personalitypages. com refers to an IS (Introverted Sensing) to be a bit of an oxymoron.
An introvert lives an internally structured life. We have a tendency to focus inward; therefore saying that we have a tendency to take things by gathering information with our senses seems out of place (http://www. personalitypage. com). Still, although I do not enjoy small talk and new group scenarios, it does not mean I’m not listening and gathering the information available. More than once in my position I have gathered information, both good and bad, just by listening to those around me. 3. Thinking I overthink almost everything.
My superiors have told me that It has affected me negatively in that more often then not I become paranoid about being left out of the loop, or when I do not have all the pieces of information that are available to someone else. Personalitypages. com tells us that Ts make good researchers and buyers, often compelled to do “The Right Thing” regardless of personal circumstance (http://www. personalitypage. com). These tendencies have often gotten me in trouble as many can attest, in the corporate world, often the right thing and the thing asked of you are not congruent or the same. . Judging I work well with lists.
Making lists in advance for the several things that I need to accomplish throughout my day. Moving from item to item gives me a sense of satisfaction rarely felt elsewhere. It is a severe understatement to say that when things differ my attention or come at me out of nowhere, that it does not stress me out. Often at work, as I am working my way through my list for the day, situations come up that throw a wrench in the works setting my otherwise planned day off balance.
I began my day working through my list, checking my inventory and sending out the proper purchase orders to our suppliers, until a valve decided to fall off our pipes lining the ceiling into a running motor. Now my otherwise planned day that would have set me on the way home at two thirty in the afternoon, ended with me not arriving home until almost six. Conclusion: ISTJ at Work Often I don’t believe in any kind of personality quizzes like Myers-Briggs.
I have held on to my belief that people are indeterminately different at their very core and the concept of everyone falling into one of sixteen subtypes was horrifying. As I took my test and read Type Talk at Work my death grip on the subject became loose. I am quiet and reserved. I am loyal, faithful and dependable. I sincerely believe in laws and traditions and expect others around me to respect them as I do. I have always been willing to work for long periods of time, putting enormous amounts of energy and care into everything I do.
I internalize and categorize facts and information that I deem relevant like a madman. All those positive things felt great to have justified, well that was until we reached the negative aspects of the ISTJ (Kroeger, Thuesen, & Rutledge, 2002, pp 306-312) No, I am not naturally in tune with my own feelings. I’m often calm during awkward situations, uncomfortable with how to express what is going through my mind as I deal with the influxes of life. Vocalizing things that are bringing me stress and worry is unheard of and more often than not needs to be pried from me.
As personalitypages. com confirms, I take great care to make my home run smoothly, but have a hard time connecting on an emotional level, or demonstrating my love for my children. Attempting in most cases to approach it in a biblical way of self-sacrifice and honour, which are somewhat, comfortable waters for an ISTJ. Oddly, on Jung’s test (www. humanmetrics. com), I hardly ranked higher than five percent in any of the traits other than thinking. I am a seemingly well-rounded individual in everything but TF, which does not strike me as odd.
Listening to others and deciding to buy things just because I want them, doing things just for my own self without respect for the proper rules and needs are something that both my wife and I struggle with at work and at home. So what have I learned from both taking this test and reading Type Talk at Work? Firstly, I learned that I might not be as unique as I have always presumed I was. Secondly, I have learned that my work ethic, organizational skills and sense of duty have all been with me for some length of time awaiting cultivation.
When finally brought to light, they have brought forth success in my work and home life. Understanding yourself and the challenges that await you are ideal, no, necessary for proper growth and expansion both in life and at work. Lastly, it has put me in a position where I can realize what my tendencies are, the psychology behind them and how to deal with them in an appropriate and adult way. Identifying the areas of my life that need work and continuing forward towards a brighter and better future ahead.
