International MBA Institute™
Defender (ISFJ)
People with ISFJ preferences are extremely dependable and devotedly accept responsibilities beyond the call of duty They have a complete, realistic, and practical respect for the facts. When they see from the facts that something needs to be done, they pause to think about it. If they decide that action will be helpful, they accept the responsibility. They can remember and use any number of facts, but want them all accurate. They like everything clearly stated.
Their private reactions are often vivid and intense, and sometimes quite unpredictable to others. These private reactions seldom show in their faces, and even when dealing with a crisis, they can look calm and composed. Not until you know them very well do you discover that behind their outer calm they are looking at things from an intensely individual angle, often a delightfully humorous one. When ISFJs are "on duty" and dealing with the world, however, their behaviour is sound and sensible.
ISFJs are thorough, painstaking, hard-working, and patient with particulars and procedures. They can and will do the "little" things that need to be done to carry a project through to completion. Their perseverance tends to stabilise everything with which they are connected. They do not enter into things impulsively, but once in, they are very hard to distract or discourage. They do not quit unless experience convinces them they are wrong.
ISFJs often choose careers where they can combine their careful observation and their caring for people, as in the health professions. Other fields attractive to ISFJs are teaching, office work, and occupations that provide services or personal care. ISFJs show their feeling preference in their contacts with the world. They are kind, sympathetic, tactful, and genuinely concerned; traits that make them very supportive to persons in need.
Because of their concern for accuracy and organisation, ISFJs often move into supervisory roles. If they are in charge of something, their practical judgment and appreciation of what works make them conservative and consistent. They take care to collect the facts necessary to support their evaluations and decisions. As they gain experience, they compare the present problem to past situations.
For an ISFJ, problems may arise if their judgment is not developed. If their feeling preference remains undeveloped, they will not be effective in dealing with the world. They may instead retreat, becoming silently absorbed in their inner reactions to sense-impressions. Then nothing of value is likely to come out. Another potential problem is that they tend to be somewhat suspicious of imagination and intuition and not take it seriously enough.
How Common Is This Type?
- 14% of the general population
- 8% of men
- 19% of women
Forces
Introverted Sensing with FeelingCaractéristiques
Quiet, friendly, responsible, and conscientious. Work devotedly to meet their obligations. Lend stability to any project or group. Thorough, painstaking, accurate. Their interest are usually not technical. Can be patient with necessary details. Loyal, considerate, perceptive, concerned with how other people feel.Career Paths
- Large, rich inner store of information that they have gathered
- Highly observant and aware of people`s feelings and reactions
- Excellent memory for details that are important to them
- Very in-tune with their surroundings - excellent sense of space and function
- Can be depended on to follow things through to completion
- Will work long and hard to see that jobs get done
- Stable, practical, down-to-earth
- Dislike working with theory and abstract thought
- Dislike doing things that don`t make sense to them
- Value security, tradition, and peaceful living
- Service-oriented: focused on what people need and want
- Kind and considerate
- Likely to put others needs above their own
- Learn best with hands-on training
- Enjoy creating structure and order
- Take their responsibilities seriously
- Extremely uncomfortable with conflict and confrontation
ISFJs have two basic traits that help define their best career direction: 1) they are extremely interested and in-tune with how other people are feeling, and 2) they enjoy creating structure and order, and are extremely good at it. Ideally, the ISFJ will choose a career in which they can use their exceptional people-observation skills to determine what people want or need, and then use their excellent organizational abilities to create a structured plan or environment for achieving what people want. Their excellent sense of space and function combined with their awareness of aesthetic quality also gives them quite special abilities in the more practical artistic endeavors, such as interior decorating and clothes design.
The following list of professions is built on our impression of careers that would be especially suitable for an ISFJ.
Recommended Career Paths for ISFJs are:
- Dentist
- Health Care Administrator
- Nurse
- Speech Pathologist
- Veterinarian
- Optometrist
- Family Physician
- Physical Therapist
- Radiation Therapist
- Audiologist
- Physician Assistant
- Medical Assistant
- Dental Hygienist
- Nutritionist
- Dialysis Technician
- Preschool Teacher
- Elementary Teacher
- School Administrator
- Counselor
- Social Worker
- Religious Educator
- Funeral Director
- Paralegal
- Court Reporter
- Probation Officer
- Credit Counselor
- Farmer or Rancher
- Electrician
- Jeweler
- Interior Designer
- Biologist
- Food Scientist
- Medical Researcher
- Conservation Scientist
- Librarian
- Curator
- Historian
- Genealogist
- Real Estate Appraiser
- Office Manager
- Customer Service Rep
- Hotel Manager
- Tech Support Specialist
- Bookkeeper
- Administrative Assistant
Hobbies and Interests
Cooking, gardening, painting, crafts, picnics, nature walks, and watching movies. They are also often found supporting their loved ones in their interests and activities.People Associated With This Type
- David Petraeus - General in the U.S. Army
- George Marshall - U.S. general and Secretary of State
- Robert E. Lee - General in the American Civil War
- George A. Custer - U.S. Cavalry Commander
- Jimmy Carter - U.S. President (D)
- George H.W. Bush - U.S. President (R)
- Mitt Romney - U.S. Governor and presidential candidate (R)
- Rand Paul - U.S. Senator (R)
- Marcus Aurelius - Roman philosopher and Emperor
- Roger Scruton - Philosopher
- Rosa Parks - Civil rights activist
- Mother Teresa - Catholic nun and charity worker
- Christopher Walken - Actor
- Anthony Hopkins - Actor
- Naomi Watts - Actress
- Halle Berry - Actress
- Dr. Dre - Rapper, producer
- Katie Holmes - Actress
- Prince Charles - U.K. royal
- Tiger Woods - Golf champion