Today, I attended a student development program called “Know Yourself Better”. The facilitators of this program will use Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment to help us decipher our character and then how to make use of our strengths and avoid pitfalls. For the uninformed, the MBIT assessment is based on the typological theory of Carl Gustav Jung and further developed into a personality inventory by Katherine Briggs and her daughter.
Sarah, a psychologist, is the facilitator and she had an assistant to join her. The program begins with Sarah explaining the concept of forced choice for the personality test and the practicality of doing an MBTI test.
Subsequently, we did the 96 questions in the assessment (I think). The answer sheet is on a piece of paper backed upon a carbon copy. Upon completion, we would then refer to the carbon copy at the back which contained our scores. The tallied score would then lean in favor of a side within a pair. The 4 pairs are Introversion-Extraversion, Sensing-iNtuition, Thinking-Perceiving and Judging-Perceiving. MY personality is ISTJ; the inspector; the dominant function being Introverted Sensing (Si) with the auxiliary function being Extraverted Thinking (Te). i also have a little of INTJ characteristics
Sarah then went through different combination of personality types; and mind you it was pretty accurate when she illustrates daily happening in an ISTJ. Here’s what Wiki have to say about ISTJs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISTJ
“ISTJs are people of their word, intent on preserving social and family values. At home and at work, Inspectors reliably examine the people and products that fall under their responsibility—unobtrusively ensuring uniform quality and demanding that certain standards of conduct are maintained.”
I find this description fighteningly accurate, if it is a coincident. Personally, I am pretty conservative on how I wish to raise my family: religion and lifestyle. I also have a compulsive habit to double check my project mates and my products to ensure if they are up to at least my personal standard.
“In both their professional and personal lives, individuals of this type are rather quiet and serious. ISTJs are extraordinarily persevering and dependable. The thought of dishonoring a contract would appall a person of this type. When they give their word, they give their honor. ISTJs can be counted on to conserve the resources of the institution they serve and bring to their work a practical point of view. They perform their duties without flourish or fanfare; therefore, the dedication they bring to their work can go unnoticed and unappreciated. They may take on the burden of trying to correct the perceived faults in the system themselves, resulting in overwork and burnout”
I also find this exceptionally true. I am generally more quiet and serious relative to my peers, prefering conversation in depth in area of my interests when I meet a common minded individual. I am also very dependable, I make it a point to complete a task when I commit myself to it. I am willing to burn the midnight oil and sacrifice my private time to fulfill my obligation; often leaving me with less than 4 hours of sleep during such periods.
“While not directly seeking leadership positions, ISTJs are often placed in such roles. They build a reputation for reliable, stable, and consistent performance that causes others to select them to lead. ISTJs use their past experience and their factual knowledge in their decision making.”
I try to avoid recently due to working commitments recently. However, when thing do not get done, I would naturally voice out and try to lead the group by throwing open ended question to introduce ideas and get volunteers to settle the issues; and I rely A LOT on past experiences.
“For the ISTJ, love means commitment, steadiness, and consistency. ISTJs expect themselves and their mates to be responsible, practical, and dependable. When in a relationship, they behave appropriately for what the situation or their role demands. For example, if the relationship is in the courting stage, the ISTJ will exhibit courting behaviors, such as giving boxes of candy, red roses and presents”
Again, love is about commitment, steadiness and ….consistency! I also expect my other half to commit equally to the family. This caused friction in some of my relationships when I felt let down by others due to their lack of commitment, when others caused unexpected situations or when things goes wrong due to an absense of plans. that being said, i have a little of INTF in me too:
“In forming relationships, INTJs tend to seek out others with similar character traits and ideologies. Agreement on theoretical concept is an important aspect of a relationship. By nature INTJs tend to be demanding in their expectations and approach relationships in a very rational manner. As a result, an INTJ may not always respond to a naturally occurring infatuation but wait for a mate who better fits his or her set criteria. He or she tends to withhold strong emotion and does not like to “waste” time with irrational social rituals. “
I realised this personality assessment would be a very huge asset to me if I research in depth about it. If I get filter people in their various personality types the instance I see or converse with them, I could instantly avoid potential conflicts and tune into their “frequency” which will facillitate building of trust. It would then be easier to get people to work with or for me. It could serve as a guide to find my future spouse too…J
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