ISTP: Job Satisfaction

ISTP Workplace Strengths

• 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

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 ISTPs behave and perform in the workplace from the following six aspects:
What Others May 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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  • 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:

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  • 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
  
  

[Source]

What Others May 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.

# creating a sense of fun, playfulness, and adventure
# heavily engaged in and excited about non-work activities, interests, and hobbies

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Very accurate, in terms of relating to my life, habits, preferences, etc. However, I also see these as accurate.

# 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

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I think that's caused me trouble when it comes to work/school/social. I see my OWN life in its entirety but am almost completely ignorant to the greater picture involving the organization and others. I'm not trying to be arrogant, antisocial, etc, but I feel like its just the way I'm wired.

well, that was to much to read... so...