With reference to previous post, personality types linked to roles. It seems to work as I defined myself as either ISTP or INTP although veering towards ISTP more I think. Maybe I'm not in the wrong job.

Coach ESFJ/ENFJ

Crusader ISFP/INFP

Explorer ENTP/ENFP

Innovator INTJ/INFJ

Sculptor ESFP/ESTP

Curator ISFJ/ISTJ

Conductor ESTJ/ENTJ

Scientist ISTP/INTP

 

Links for any ISTPs out there.

http://www.personalitypage.com/ISTP_rel.html

http://www.personalitypage.com/ISTP.html

 

Maybe another explanation for me being me is due to my genetic background. The Irish genes may have a lot to answer for!

 

'This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever'

Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

 

Having previously posted on the INTP personality, I thought that maybe should describe the other options. The information below is taken from http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk and enables you to determine your type and then describes each type.

1. Where, primarily, do you direct your energy?

To the outer world of activity, and spoken words
OR
To the inner world of thoughts and emotions

If it is toward the outer world of activity or words, it is called Extroversion, denoted by the letter E. If it is toward the inner world of ideas, information, or thoughts, it is called Introversion, denoted by the letter I.

During each day you will undoubtedly spend time spontaneously doing or saying things, as well as retreating into the inner world of contemplation and thought. If your working day has involved much interaction with the world, even the clearest Extrovert may feel at the end of the day that he wants to be left alone with his thoughts. Conversely, if an Introvert has been working in isolation all day, she may feel that she needs to 'party' in the evening to restore some balance.

The following table lists words and expressions that are often associated with extroversion and introversion:

Extroversion: social, expressive, many, broad, interaction, outward, action before thought

Introversion: private, quiet, few, deep, concentration, inward, thought before action

Which is your preference (ie what is your personality type)? How are you actually behaving most of the time. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell. Every individual exhibits all of the above characteristics at some time or other, and one source of difficulty can be in distinguishing which behaviours are 'learned', or a response to current demands, and which reflect true preference.

Preference, Role, or Learned Behaviour

One feature differentiating Es from Is is whether action or thought comes first. In situations that demand action, such as the sounding of a fire alarm, both types will act. Most people are trained to evacuate the building immediately in an emergency, or to take other appropriate action. So the fire alarm results in most people doing something, and very few people decide to sit and think.

In situations that demand thought, such as solving a crossword puzzle, both types will think. Most crossword puzzles cannot be solved by taking action or by talking. Both extroverts and introverts need to spend time in thought first, to make some progress towards a solution.

Finding your true, inner preferences is therefore more difficult, because everyone adapts to some degree to each situation. However, the difference between people who have a preference for extroversion and introversion becomes more apparent when there is a free choice. In these situations, the extrovert will tend to act, and the introvert tend to think.

Nevertheless, your innate preferences will still influence the way that you behave, as well as those factors listed above. In a situation demanding action, an introvert may nevertheless bring a more thoughtful approach, or delay the taking of action. In a situation demanding thought, the extrovert may tend to talk the problem through, or move to action more quickly.

Another indicator or your true preference may be the level of stress or enjoyment in a situation. Where your preferences coincide with the demands of the situation, you may find it quite enjoyable. An extrovert may find it frustrating or stressful if required to work in an introvert style, but enjoyable or energising if required to work in an extrovert style, and vice versa for an introvert.

2. How do you prefer to process information?

In the form of known facts and familiar terms
OR
In the form of possibilities or new potential

If it is in the form of facts or familiar terms, it is called Sensing, denoted by the letter S. If it is in the form of possibilities or new potential, it is called iNtuition, denoted by the letter N (N is used rather than I, to avoid confusion with Introversion). The term Sensing is used because information is taken in primarily by way of the senses. The term iNtuition is used because information is perceived primarily in an intuitive fashion.

Sensing tends to be interested in tangible reality, focusing on the present, and seeing what is, rather than what might be. At an extreme, Sensing can have its feet so well and truly on the ground that it misses out on possibilities for the future.

The preference for iNtuition gives a greater emphasis on insight and the future, focusing on what might be, rather than what is. At an extreme, iNtuition can focus so much on possibilities that it loses touch with current realities.

Sensing tends to communicate in direct ways, whilst iNtuition prefers to communicate in creative ways. The following table shows words that are normally associated with each of these two preferences.

Sensing: facts, experience, present, practicality, enjoyment, realism, using

iNtuition: possibilities, novelty, future, aspiration, development, idealism, changing

3. How do you prefer to make decisions?

On the basis of logic and objective considerations
OR
On the basis of personal values

If it is on the basis of logic and objective considerations, it is called Thinking, denoted by the letter T. If it is on the basis of personal values, it is called Feeling, denoted by the letter F. The following table lists words often associated with each of the two preferences.

Thinking: analysing, objective, logical, criticism, onlooker, decides on principle, long term view

Feeling: sympathising, subjective, personal, appreciation, participant, decides using values, immediate view

4. How do you prefer to organise your life?

In a structured way, making decisions and knowing where you stand
OR
In a flexible way, discovering life as you go along

If it is in a structured way, making decisions and knowing where you stand, then it is called Judgement. If it is in a flexible way, discovering life as you go along - this is called Perception.

Someone whose preference is Judgement prefers, in their lifestyle, to make decisions. This means that they prefer to make decisions about what to do, where to go, what to say, and so on. As a result of these decisions, their lifestyle appears organised. That is, someone whose preference is Judgement, prefers to make decisions in the world of actions and spoken words, and therefore appears organised.

Someone whose preference is Perception prefers, in their lifestyle, to learn or experience new things. This means that they prefer to find out more, rather than making decisions, and are more comfortable when they keep their options open. As a result of this openness, they can appear flexible. That is, someone whose preference is Perception, prefers to perceive new things in the world of actions and spoken words, and therefore appears flexible. Some words often associated with Judgement and Perception are:

Judgement: close, decide, structure, organise, firmness, control

Perception: open, explore, meander, inquire, flexibility, spontaneity

Working out your own preference

Everyone's personality reflects all aspects of the Myers Briggs model. However, your type is a permanent influence in your personality, that influences your choice, where the opportunity allows, of which preference or team role to perform.

The sixteen types

This section contains a brief overview of the sixteen types that result from the Myers Briggs model. Everyone is an individual, but Myers Briggs highlights general themes or similarities between people.

ESTJ

The ESTJ takes his/her energy from the outside world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with facts and the present, and makes decisions using logic. His/her life is organised on a logical basis. He/she is therefore practical, and likely to implement tried and trusted solutions to practical problems in a businesslike and impersonal manner. He/she prefers to ensure that the details have been taken care of rather than spend time considering concepts and strategies.

INFP

The INFP takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts and emotions. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, especially for people, and prefers to make decisions on the basis of personal values. His/her life is flexible, following new insights and possibilities as they arise. He/she is quiet and adaptable (up to a point - when his/her values are violated the normally adaptable INFP can surprise people with his/her stance). He/she will seem to be very interested in ideas, and he/she may sometimes make very creative contributions. He/she has a hidden warmth for people and a desire to see self and others grow and develop. He/she prefers to undertake work that has a meaningful purpose.

ESFP

The ESFP takes his/her energy from the outside world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with facts, which he/she usually takes at face value. He/she also prefers dealing with the present and with people, and probably derives much enjoyment out of friendships. His/her life is flexible, living it very much in the present, and responding to things as they arise. He/she is impulsive and friendly, seeking enjoyment out of life, and makes new friends easily. He/she likes taking part in solving urgent problems, such as fire-fighting or trouble shooting. He/she operates best in practical situations involving people.

INTJ

The INTJ takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts (and, maybe, emotions). He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities for the future, and making decisions using impersonal analysis. His/her life is organised on a logical basis. He/she is a strategist, identifying long term goals and organising life to meet them. He/she tends to be sceptical and critical, both of self and others, with a keen sense of deficiencies in quality and competence. He/she often has a strong intellect, yet is able to attend to details that are relevant to the strategy.

ESFJ

The ESFJ takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with facts, and making decisions on the basis of personal values. He/she likes dealing with people, and organises life on a personal basis. He/she is a very warm person, seeking to maintain harmonious relationships with colleagues and friends, who are a very important part of his/her life. He/she can find conflict and criticism very difficult to handle. He/she has a strong sense of duty and loyalty, and is driven by a need to belong and be of service to people.

INTP

The INTP takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts (and, maybe, emotions). He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, and making decisions on a logical basis. His/her life is flexible, following new insights and possibilities as they arise. He/she is quiet and detached, and adaptable (up to a point - sometimes he/she may stop adapting, insisting that there is a clear principle at stake). He/she is not interested in routine, and will often experiment or change things to see if they can be improved. He/she operates at best when solving complex problems that require the application of intellect.

ENFP

The ENFP takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, particularly for people, and makes decisions on the basis of personal values. His/her life is flexible, following new insights and possibilities as they arise. He/she is creative and insightful, often seeking to try new ideas that can be of benefit to people. He/she may sometimes neglect details and planning, but he/she enjoys work that involves experimentation and variety, working towards a general goal.

ISTJ

The ISTJ takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts (and, maybe, emotions). He/she prefers dealing with facts, and making decisions after considering the various options. He/she organises his/her life on a logical basis. He/she is quiet, serious and well prepared for most eventualities. He/she is a keen observer of life, developing a good understanding of situations, which is often not expressed. He/she has a strong sense of practical objectives, and works efficiently to meet them.

ESTP

The ESTP takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with facts, which he/she usually views objectively, and he/she makes decisions on a logical basis. His/her life is flexible, consisting of a series of activities that interest his/her. He/she is an action oriented problem solver, and prefers to work with practical organisational issues. He/she can be impulsive, and likes taking part in trouble-shooting-type work. He/she can sometimes neglect follow-through, but will work best when there is a lot going on that needs organising and solving.

INFJ

The INFJ takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts and emotions. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, particularly for people, and makes decisions using personal values. His/her life is organised on a personal basis. He/she often has a private sense of purpose in life, and works steadily to fulfil that goal. He/she demonstrates a quiet concern for people, being interested in helping them to develop and grow. He/she is good at developing insight into people, though it can often remain unexpressed.

ENFJ

The ENFJ takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, particularly for people, and makes decisions using personal values. His/her life is organised on a personal basis, seeking to develop and maintain stable relationships with those people he/she likes. He/she is actively concerned with promoting personal growth in others. He/she is also highly sociable, and expressive of feelings towards others, but can find conflict and criticism difficult, particularly if it might damage long term relationships. He/she works best in situations involving people.

ISTP

The ISTP takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts (and, maybe, emotions). He/she prefers dealing with facts and making decisions on a logical basis. His/her life is flexible, demonstrating an interest in acquiring new information that leads to a practical understanding of the way the world works. He/she is quiet and detached, and adaptable (up to a point). He/she is often good at solving organisational problems that need to be thought through. He/she is curious about how and why things work, and can seem impulsive, sometimes producing surprising ideas or doing something unpredictable.

ENTJ

The ENTJ takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, and making decisions after considering the consequences of the various courses of action. His/her life is organised on a logical basis. He/she tends to control life, organising systems and people to meet task oriented goals. He/she often takes the role of executive or director, using a business-like and impersonal approach. He/she may appear intolerant of people who do not set high standards for themselves or don't seem to be good at what they do.

ISFP

The ISFP takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts and emotions. He/she prefers dealing with facts and people, and making decisions on the basis of personal values. He/she is adaptable (up to a point), quiet and friendly. He/she is interested in people, enjoying their company preferably on an individual basis or in small numbers. He/she takes a caring and sensitive approach to helping others. He/she enjoys the present, and tends to dislike confrontation and conflict. He/she usually acts as a very supportive member of a team.

ENTP

The ENTP takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, and making decisions on a logical basis. He/she is adaptable, tending to focus on new ideas and interests as and when they arise, particularly if they involve increasing his/her competence or skill. He/she is an ingenious problem solver, constantly trying new ideas out, and can seem to enjoy a good argument. He/she is interested in instigating change, and operates best in overcoming new difficulties where the solution requires the application of creative effort.

ISFJ

The ISFJ takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts and emotions. He/she prefers dealing with facts and people, and making decisions on the basis of personal values. His/her life is organised on a personal basis, seeking to enjoy relationships with people he/she likes. He/she is a quiet, serious observer of people, and is both conscientious and loyal. He/she prefers work that involves being of practical service to people. He/she is often concerned for and perceptive of how other people feel and dislikes confrontation and conflict.

OK, so someone mentioned that I didn't have to worry as I was an INTP. Of course I had no idea what an INTP is so I had to do a bit of research. See below. I know its pretty long but reading it I guess I could be one. There are another 15 categories and I guess this is the one that is closest to my personality. Only 1% of people are INTPs and from reading below, I'm still not sure if it good or bad. But hey...who cares?!

An INTP prefers Thinking over Feeling, meaning he or she tends to value logic over feelings. Although INTPs suffer feelings as strong as most, they almost always must see the logic behind them before acting on them.

All decisions must have good reasons behind them, and INTPs rarely make good decisions without considerable thought. It is usually very important to an INTP to be as logically and grammatically accurate as possible. However, INTPs are somewhat inept at expressing feelings outwardly, sometimes causing misunderstandings. Sarcasm and cynicism are occasionally observed in INTPs.

The INTP is above all a thinker and his inner (private) world is a place governed by a strong sense of logical structure. Every experience is to be rigorously analysed, the task of the INTP's mind is to fit each encountered idea or experience into a larger structure defined by logic. For here is the central goal of the INTP: to understand and seek truth.

The INTP will become quickly bored with anything that he has successfully analysed to the point of understanding it. Once understood, it has nothing left to offer, once the satisfaction which comes with achieving the goal of understanding diminishes.

INTP's put great weight on being individuals and essentially different from other people, who they often view as being too alike and too interdependent. Independence touches on many aspects. One is the competency aspect above. When he is interested in something, then the INTP must be competent in it.

Intelligence is above all highly prized.

Independence, derived primarily from strongly introverted Thinking, leads to perhaps the most difficult aspect (for others) of the INTP, namely stubbornness. If an INTP is pushed into doing something he will automatically resist.

To know is everything, to do is a lower order necessity, if it is necessary at all. This breeds the potential for lazy aloofness. The INTP is often satisfied simply by knowing that he could do something if he wished. This also leads to the danger of overestimating one's capabilities and losing a grip on reality.

Where friendship develops rapidly, almost instantly, is when an INTP meets another INTP or similar temperament. Communication between such people can become extremely intense, leaving outsiders baffled. When two INTPs get togther, watch out! All forms of social graces and host-guest protocols become irrelevant. Both want only to share concepts and interests and absorb the intellectual stimulation of the other. Interruption of this process by any social necessity is undesired and annoying. Often the pair will become oblivious to everything around them and this may seem almost comical to an outsider.

One-to-one conversation is preferred in almost every situation. In a group situation, INTPs are sensitive to whether they believe they will be listened to or not. If a dominant (strongly extraverted and loud) person is present, the INTP will withdraw and sulk, believing the dominant person to be a brute. If an INTP speaks, he must be listened to, for he believes his spoken opinions to be important. If not, he withdraws (at least in spirit) and assumes that the people who do not listen lack intelligence.

The only area in which an INTP will carry out his own ideas to completion is in his personal interest world, where other people are not involved. For this reason, INTPs are fascinated by computer technology as well as the Internet which gives him a voice that he would not otherwise have. Ultimately, INTPs tend to trust machines more than they trust people and may feel particularly at home in the realm of cybernetics.

Generally, INTPs have a very strong requirement to keep their external, social world as simple and as uncluttered as they can so that they can focus as much energy as possible on their internal world of system analysis and theoretizing. Hence, they tend to be amongst the least demanding and least complicated of all types when interacting with others. They prefer to let the world flow by: to observe the waves being made by others, but to make none themselves.

INTPs are collectors, but they are collecters for whom the objects themselves are only important in so far as they evoke a connection to past events, in so far as they yield a nostalgic mood. The curious problem with any collection of an INTP is that he typically fails to enjoy it in the here and now. Items are stored away so that they can evoke this time at some point in the future, but such a point often never occurs. It may never occur because INTPs are always so mentally active that they continually delve into new interests, and continue to hoard items relating to these, so that they rarely allow themselves enough time to reflect on the ever expanding library of their past. The interests of an INTP would be enough to occupy him for several lifetimes if that were possible.

Since INTPs have a Perceiving preference, they don't enjoy being limited by schedules or decisions. They tend to have bursts of creative energy, which can lead to extraordinary efforts, but the energy can also be short-lived. After the energy is expired, attention may be directed elsewhere, where energy may be regenerated. In other words, INTPs may have many interests due to their preference for perceiving, and these interests may come and go, or change altogether.

As INTPs are often misunderstood, they are usually very reserved individuals. Their intuition causes them to understand things seemingly instantaneously, and to gain interest in various topics. Their Thinking helps them to find the logic in a situation from an objective point of view. And their Perceiving causes them to have many interests at once, but also to enjoy following only the topics which immediately have piqued their interests.

Although society rarely appreciates INTPs, their minds are wonderful places to be, which is perhaps why they spend so much of their time in thought.

Taken from 'A description of the INTP personailty type' by Paul James