ISTJ Personality Profile – The Inspector

1. Overview

ISTJ refers to people who take energy from the time spent alone (introversion), focus on facts and details rather than ideas and concepts (sensing), make logical and rational decisions (thinking), and prefer planned and organized events (judging) rather than spontaneous ones. ISTJs are also called inspectors because they tend to focus on details and make sure things are done correctly (Kroeger & Thuesen, 2013).

2. Strengths

Detailed thinking: ISTJs can easily notice gaps and errors that many people don't notice. They prefer to show a logical, objective, and detailed approach to facts. ISTJs, who always call into question the information they receive, want to control everything themselves delicately.

Calmness, honesty, and patience: ISTJs often hold their emotions in check, times, when their nerves are not held under control are, rarely encountered. In addition, ISTJs, who do not allow their emotions to affect decision-making processes, are patient and strong-willed individuals who are straight-headed, open to criticism.

Planning: ISTJs always have a timetable and their priority work has been determined before. ISTJs, who are extremely successful in planning, organizing, and following agendas, are naturally superior in time management.

Responsibility and loyalty: If ISTJs have made a promise to do a job, they prefer to work overtime, get into intense work and be unable to sleep rather than to be failed to fulfill the promise. In addition, ISTJs, who have a natural protection and defense instinct, act without hesitation in their services to the companies, organizations, or individuals and they prioritize their duties.

Honesty and frankness: ISTJs prefer to interpret their situations clearly. Therefore, they do not like indirect speech and wordplay.

Creating and applying rules: ISTJs do not want chaos in their environment. Therefore, they generally seek an order, system, or rule. They believe that every individual in a community should know his/her duties clearly. In addition, ISTJs do not hesitate to apply existing rules and do not tolerate those who break the rules (Bellows, 2016).

3. Weaknesses

Stubbornness: The biggest weaknesses of ISTJs are their stubbornness, inflexibility, and dogmaticalness. According to the ISTJs, there is only one right path and other ways are wrong.

Resistance to change: ISTJs may tend to maintain what exists and do everything duly, resist change and innovation; they are generally not open to new ideas. Trying new things is not a preference for them. In particular, they find it difficult to accept unproven facts. This situation can limit the potential of ISTJs and causes them not to admit their mistakes.

Self-blame: ISTJs have a strong sense of duty; they take their job and their promises seriously and work hard to plan well and make the right decisions. They can blame themselves for jobs that do not end up as they wish. ISTJs, who find it difficult to accept this when their lives do not go as planned, feel a personal sense of failure and defeat.

Prescriptivism: ISTJs can work well when all the rules of the environment are clearly stated. In unstructured and unscheduled environments, they become inefficient and disrupt their work. ISTJs can be strict in applying existing rules.

Tactility: ISTJs commitment to truth can cause them to have problems in their interpersonal relationships. They tend to speak out by ignoring the feelings of others. They think doing the right thing is more important than making people feel good (Bellows, 2016).

4. Values and Motivations

ISTJs develop when their goals and what is expected of them are clearly stated. ISTJs, who use their past experiences as a guide, rely on proven methods and value practice while improving their skills. ISTJs, known for their hard work, continue to work until they complete a job. ISTJs believe in attention to detail and behave meticulously and do their job with logical and methodical approaches (Briggs-Myers & Myers, 1995).

5. At Work

ISTJs, who are known for their hard work, reliability, and meticulousness, take deadlines, specifications, and instructions seriously. ISTJs like to work independently and systematically to complete their tasks and they want to be in a stable working environment. Although ISTJs always appreciate teamwork, they prefer to work independently (Kroeger & Thuesen, 2013).

Ideal working environments for ISTJs are places where ideas are used for the benefit of people, given the opportunity to work with different people, allowed to create a product or a service, open to new ideas, rules are clearly stated, there is no tension, in accordance with their personal values and beliefs, quiet, organized, and structured (Erden, 2013).

References

Bellows, S. (2016). Learn personality strengths, weaknesses to thrive.

Briggs-Myers, I., & Myers, P. B. (1995). Gifts differing: Understanding personality type.

Erden, H. İ. (2013). Tüm Yönleriyle Meslek Seçimi. İstanbul: Beyaz Yayınları.

Hammer, A. L. (1993). Introduction to type and careers. CPP.

Kroeger, O., & Thuesen, J. M. (2013). Type talk: The 16 personality types that determine how we live, love, and work. Dell.