[yesiknowbut]

Hello, ISTJers. Can I ask for some advice? I have been landed with a management job I didn't want because of a colleague's illness. I have been asked to have a word with one of my colleagues about his professional behaviour which is exemplary but not going along with the corporate needs. He believes that there is one way to do things and it is his way, and I can tell you that his way is of very high quality, but unfortunately the company/our workplace cannot afford that way of working. We are a not-for-profit organisation, we have deadlines to meet, and his inflexibility is threatening those deadlines. Also if all of the team held that view and did what they preferred we would be in deep, deep shit, so it is unfair to let him get along with it when others are compromising. That last bit was my view.



So I am ENTP and my colleague is ISTJ, and I have no idea whether he has any respect for me or not...I think maybe he has some respect for me, thinks I am clever but a bit weird and should brush my hair more often :) I used to actually be his boss before he got promoted and we got on OK, which helps, I guess.

How should I approach him, how can I persuade him to work like one of the team?

[gbboone]

ISTJs like order and authority. And they try to follow the orders of superiors. Try to give him some constructive criticism. Let him know what is wrong and how he might help.

[Flipit]

ISTJs like order and authority. And they try to follow the orders of superiors. Try to give him some constructive criticism. Let him know what is wrong and how he might help.

Agreed, although he might trash it completely and it'll have an undesired effect or no effect at all.

If I believe a way of doing something practical is right, it takes quite a lot of logical argumentation to convince me otherwise.

You'll probably have to be straight-forward and tell him what's wrong without sugar coating it or he might not get it. You should also be ready with some logical reasoning in your backpack just in case and not just ".. because we feel you need to stop." - be specific.

[yesiknowbut]

I had thought of taking the line, "OK, so you want to do this such and such a way, and as a company we need this result. How can we get this result and each of us be happy?" and then taking him through it logically, making him realise that in order to achieve both objectives he will have to change his work in another way, such a way that he will lose something else he values.

Of course there is the added bonus that we might between us come up with something innovative and useful that will transform the whole problem, but I'm not holding my breath......

Anyway, whaddya reckon? I'm worried he might see this as a threat and mutiny.

[Flipit]

I had thought of taking the line, "OK, so you want to do this such and such a way, and as a company we need this result. How can we get this result and each of us be happy?" and then taking him through it logically, making him realise that in order to achieve both objectives he will have to change his work in another way, such a way that he will lose something else he values.

Of course there is the added bonus that we might between us come up with something innovative and useful that will transform the whole problem, but I'm not holding my breath......

Anyway, whaddya reckon? I'm worried he might see this as a threat and mutiny.

Yeah, I think it's a good idea to ask him what he thinks a correct solution is. I don't like being forced to work ways others believe are good, if I don't believe in it myself.

It's necessary for him to understand the problem, though. He will not see a reason to change if he doesn't realise what's wrong with it - it's his way after all, and it's "working perfectly fine as always".

If you present the problem to him in a structured manner and he understands it, you should be able to figure it out. If he asks for time to think it through, don't be argumentative - it's crucial that you allow this. If he doesn't see the problem in correlation with the way he works and refuses to change, he's just being stubborn.

I personally wouldn't hold anything personal against a confrontation like that, but I can't tell how he thinks

[niss]

It depends...

It is really hard to give a definitive answer with the information given. I can tell you that:

You will need to have your needs and arguments laid out in a sequential and logical fashion

Your case is hopeless if he doesn't respect you

He might not respect you (or the others) for reasons you haven't considered, such as lax policies about tardiness, long lunch breaks, or playing on the computer while you are supposed to be working

He needs you to explain the big picture very concretely. Once he understands, he'll be on board 100%.

Don't be taken aback if he thinks and expresses that some policies or procedures are stupid and pretty much says it in those words. You did ask his opinion...

HTH

[yesiknowbut]

Is Ok, I know that he thinks that, and I have some sympathy for his view. It's just...there's a team of 11 people who all need to be on board and one person going a different way will not help. Does that concept appeal to an ISTJ at all? Not necessarily an F thing, an ENTP will respond to that kind of reasoning, as fairness is important to us. An ENTJ might not. But I am first to admit I don't really get you guys. And of course happy to learn more!

Ps I play on the computer all the time when I am supposed to be working. Thankfully we are rarely in the office at the same time ;)

[niss]

ISTJs are team players, but only if the rules are understood by all and followed by all. That means fair to us. As far as fair being 11 vs. 1, that makes no difference if the 1 is right.

[Achi]

I'm in the same situation, except I'm the ISTJ that wants to give the high quality work. I know in the end I'm going to have to leave the place I'm working if it comes down to it because I don't like giving a LQ job and I know other places will hire me.

[yesiknowbut]

That isn't an option for the kind of work we are in.

I like my colleague and respect him immensely, and he works really hard. I think that we will lose him, when and if a job comes available in the other centre that does our work close by, and is overwhelmingly better resourced. That may not be for several years though. It would be nice if he could be happy in the meantime.

I think this is going to turn out to be a battle we choose not to have right now in any case, but the insights have been useful, and you have all described pretty accurately how my colleguae would respond, I think.

But I am a lot more hard-nosed than I used to be, having realised how saying yes to too many things damages me, and it now appears that our organisation has no intention of paying me for the management responsibilities it wishes me to do. So I will walk away and it will probably not be my battle to fight, this time. I can help and advise the poor s*d who ends up in the boss's chair when the music stops though......


...now then. I have some solitaire to play.....