By Donna Dunning

In my MBTI® Certification workshops participants respond to the instruction -“Describe your type using words, phrases, or pictures.” I find these visual representations of type preferences help illustrate individual differences.

Here is a photo of a response from an ISTJ group.

People who prefer ISTJ use Introverted Sensing (Si) as their favorite, or in type language, dominant function. ISTJs often rely on concrete, verifiable data and what they know from their experience to guide their decisions. They prefer to approach situations in a logical, results-oriented way.

The words they chose to include in their illustration demonstrate how they enjoy being organized and structured. The comment “improve already successful models” summarizes their interest in spotting flaws in systems and figuring out ways to improve them, usually incrementally, while keeping things running smoothly. This is in contrast to people who have a preference for Intuition, who often prefer to make changes by totally revamping the system. The thermometer with the word “cold” refers to their calm, reserved demeanor, which others may interpret as coldness.

You may also want to look at other ISTJ illustrations in this series.

What’s Your Type?

Learn about your personal approach on our What’s Your Type? page where we’ll introduce you to personality type and the 8 Ways of Working.

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