ISTJ Introduction

ISTJs are the professional organizers that are motivated by systems and institutions to build and preserve order. They are trustworthy and obedient, interested with maintaining social order and upholding standards. They like to be alone or in small groups of close friends, and they may be quiet and reserved in large groups.

I. What Does ISTJ Stand For?

ISTJ stands for Introversion, Sensing, Thinking, and Judgement and is one of 16 personality types studied from the MBTI test (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). The MBTI personality assessment developed by Isabel Briggs Myers, Katharine Cook Briggs, and David Keirsey from the work of psychiatrist Carl G. Jung, the types of psychology based on theories of cognitive functions. Keirsey named ISTJ The Inspector/ The Logistician because they place great emphasis on the small details and precision of doing something. ISTJ is one of the four personality types of The Guardian.

II. Personality Traits of The ISTJ Group

ISTJs are people of logic, organization, rationality, and seriousness, who like to keep their life and working environment well regulated. They are fairly reserved and serious, thus, success comes to them through thoroughness and reliability. 

ISTJs live a very realistic and responsible life, they are like a hardworking bee and always try to strive for their goals. Being an introvert type, it is easy to understand when ISTJs have difficulty meeting the need to share their feelings with people around them, but it is not a form of isolation or separation from others. In general, ISTJs are a traditional type of people who always care about maintaining social order and standards.

ISTJs are incredibly thorough and always check the facts and don't assume anything. They are considered truly loyal people, especially at work. Accuracy, patience and high concentration make them the ideal employees in many industries. So not surprisingly, when they are drawn to the fields such as public services, law, military, etc.

ISTJs are always the one who takes responsibility for their actions and they love the power that comes from this responsibility. They are often the jack of all trades so they can be successful in many fields – ISTJs are transparent, rational and wise, they want to have a stable and settled life.

ISTJs tend to keep their subjective views confidential unless someone asks them directly. People with this personality are often very direct - for them, the truth is always more important than the emotions. Harsh rulings (in court, disputes, etc.) always shake people but not ISTJs because they do not let their emotions dominate the decision.

As a variation of Plato's The Guardian and Aristotle's The Proprietary, the ISTJs also differ slightly from other SJs in every respect. Like other Guardians, ISTJs talk in a rather concrete way and are willing to cooperate to realize common goals. They will be interested in learning about certain commercials and preoccupied with some ethical issues. They also work well with machinery. 

ISTJs tend to believe in fate, a little pessimistic and stoic as if they are gatekeepers and keep looking at the past. Others will feel that ISTJs are trustworthy, compassionate, and respectable. They also often worry about things, trust in authority, desire to belong to someone/somewhere, always seek security, appreciate a grateful attitude, and also aspire to be a manager. 

In terms of intellect, ISTJs tend to grow logically rather than strategically and diplomatically. Moreover, with their hard-headed and non-sentimental personality, they will likely choose a commanding executive manager over the role of a sentimental and soft-hearted protector. And because of their somewhat reserved and gentle personality, they will be more suitable for the role of an Inspector than a Supervisor.

III. The Cognitive Functions of The ISTJ Group

Dominant: Introverted Sensing

Si - the main function of ISTJs - focuses on inner feeling and sensory information. That makes them very aware of their body, health, and performance. This is a very specific, practical, highly detailed, accurate, and efficient function. Si is highly compatible with social construction; ISTJs have a deep understanding of how the world really works; they see and recognize patterns easily. However, Si focuses a lot on existing and available data, which sometimes makes it difficult for ISTJs to innovate – they are more tradition-oriented. They also have vivid memories of the past and rely on the memories of these experiences to shape expectations for the future.

Auxiliary: Extraverted Thinking

This function provides ISTJs with reasonableness and efficiency in making explanations for events. They prefer to focus on details rather than thinking about abstract information, appreciate the knowledge that has practical and immediate application, and make decisions based on logic and objective data.

Tertiary: Introverted Feeling

ISTJs often come up with individual interpretations based on their intrinsic set of values. This is often described as an instinct or intuition about a situation. ISTJs can make a decision based on logic just so that this feeling motivates them to trust in their feelings rather than just facts.

Inferior: Extraverted Intuition

Despite being the personality's least prominent function, it balances every aspect of ISTJs and directs them to new ideas and experiences.

IV. ISTJ Values and Motivations

1. ISTJ values

ISTJs often spend a lot of time and effort to perform the tasks that they think are important, especially contributing to achieving a specific goal. However, such a commitment also has a negative side – they will not give in and only take a little time to do things that they do not find meaningful, or impractical, such as social etiquette. They like to work alone, but when necessary, they can still work in groups. 

ISTJs respect tradition and do their best to comply with applicable regulations and principles. In some cases, ISTJs will not break the rules, even if it will reduce the consequences.

ISTJs' motto is the truth and only the truth, so they respect it and tend to acquire a lot of information and remember it for a long time. One of the important contributing factors that make ISTJs capable of analyzing things, phenomena and people in the surrounding environment is based on the S characteristics.

ISTJs will be determined to learn and perform an idea if they know that it is valuable and workable – they will consider their responsibility to establish and maintain a stable operation. As soon as new ideas prove their usefulness, ISTJs will try their best to succeed favorably even if their health is harmed.

Nostalgia, classics, and heirlooms are particularly important values for the ISTJs, holding a respectable traditional role – they will prefer things that are somewhat old-fashioned over modern things. Even during their vacation, ISTJs are not the type of people who will joke around or talk nonsense and not even be attracted to strange foods, unusual drinks or some new fun places.

2. ISTJ Motivations

Traditional thinking makes them always strive to deliver harmony in their family. They are serious and responsible parents and are often generous supporters of their families. They care deeply for their loved ones, even though they feel uncomfortable expressing their feelings. 

ISTJs will work for a long period of time and put a lot of effort into whatever job they feel is important to achieving their goals. However, they will refuse to do what they find useless or things that have no practical application. They prefer to work alone, but if the situation requires teamwork, they cooperate well too. They are always responsible for their actions, and they enjoy the position of a moderator. Theories and abstract thinking have little effect on ISTJs unless they can apply them in practice.

V. Strengths and Weaknesses of ISTJs

1. ISTJ Strengths

ISTJs have an excellent ability to plan, organize, and execute something until its completion. They are hard workers and do not let any obstacles get in the way when they do their jobs. They often do not praise themselves for their achievements, because they take it as a matter of their duty to do so.

ISTJs have a very good sense of space and function, and they appreciate art. Their homes are always elegantly decorated and always clean. They are quite sharp in their sense, and they want the surrounding things to match their needs of structure, order, and aesthetic.

According to Dr. Dario Nardi, ISTJs show 47% of their prefrontal activity is on the left side of the brain, with 53% of their prefrontal activity on the right side. They also designate brain activity that reflected their training, background, and area of expertise. This allows them to easily recall information they have learned about the job and helps them specialize in different subjects.

ISTJs rarely lose their temper, they always approach everything from a calm and rational perspective. They believe that emotions are not part of the decision-making process and that they can quickly take action. Not surprisingly, this also makes ISTJs fully capable of coping with criticism in most situations.

2. ISTJ Weaknesses

With introverted personality and quite developed T characteristics, ISTJs are considered indifferent and unconcerned. That is understandable because ISTJs have difficulty expressing their emotions or feelings. But that doesn't mean they are heartless or insensitive.

ISTJs are easily frustrated with the shortcomings of others – they consider the promise to be important and cannot understand how a conscious person fails to fulfill his/her duty.

ISTJs have a lot of difficulties when they need to understand the emotional needs of others. On the contrary, they rarely have trouble dealing with emotional situations – they always keep a cold head and act rationally.

Because of the direct and straightforward approach, ISTJs may have difficulty accessing conflicting hypotheses or ideas. 

Being in the IT group, the first impression of ISTJs is distant, sometimes a bit aloof. It is difficult for them to express warm and abundant feelings and it may take up a lot of their energy.

VI. Personal Relationships of ISTJs

1. Romantic relationship

ISFJs are truly loyal, profound, and strive to build enduring love. A serious and long-term relationship is ideal for this personality group, even though they are not that conservative and overly cautious. Male ISTJs often show what they expect from their partner, while female ISTJs tend to satisfy their partner's needs. Even so, everything that goes too far from the traditional makes them uncomfortable.

ISTJs always believe that they are right, meaning that others just need to obey. In love, this is beneficial because they know what's good for them (and for their love), but the problem is that when a disagreement occurs, it often turns into a winning argument. This often causes their partner to feel the pain that builds up and breaks in the relationship. In sex life, ISTJs regard physical bonding as a physiological need rather than love and emotion. Although their emotions are very intense, they still have difficulty expressing them outward, especially the feelings deep in their hearts.

As a husband and wife in the family, ISTJs will be a source of strength for their spouse. As a loyal and faithful partner, they will seriously fulfill their duties and devote wholeheartedly to their partner and their children. In family matters as well as other issues, responsibility is the word that ISTJs always understand and implement. The general tendency in showing the masculine temperament of all ISTJ men is the patriarch. They consider themselves the leader in the house, and the main labor in the family. However, they will also be pleased to let their wives have careers and social interaction, as long as they don't shirk their family responsibilities. ISTJ women will be solid and reliable spouses, however, always building a respectful image suppresses their desire to speak out their sexual needs, they need their partner's lead and understanding in this regard.

2. Friendship

ISTJs always aspire to fulfill their duties and obligations till the end, they do it with all their ability and enthusiasm. Regardless of the position, they still try to accomplish their responsibilities such as husband-wife, parent-child, leader-employee. They often have trouble expressing their emotions, but they can show it through action. For that reason, ISTJs are the leaders in the types of personalities about showing off their efforts.

ISTJs may not be affectionate or talkative, but they will certainly be loyal and trustworthy. People with this type of personality often approach things slowly and methodically – and this includes their friendship. They can be quite hesitant when making promises, but once they have made one, they will do everything they can to meet their commitments. Honor and loyalty are very important to ISTJs, especially with close friends.

ISTJs are quite sensitive to their friends, although they may find it difficult to express affection. They like to convey that feeling through their efforts, not words. They will have no problem communicating and having fun with extroverts.

ISTJs often seek for friends who share the same principles and views. Therefore, they are directed towards those who belong to the SJ group. ISTJs certainly can understand and appreciate the strengths of others, however, they still do not narrow the differences and lower their ego to make friends with other people even though they know them well. Surprisingly, ISTJs tend to form strong friendships with type N, although SN's barriers are sometimes too difficult to overcome.

In summary, ISTJs are people of honor and prestige, they always keep their promises and absolutely follow their commitments. Therefore, they are very careful and serious when making promises, once saying "I agree", that means that they accept the relationship until "death separates them". 

3. Parenthood

In the role of parents, ISTJs will be reliable, steadfast, and consistent in educating their children. They will compose a family rule that is clearly understandable and they want their children to follow it. A rebellious, stubborn, and unconventional child will have an uneasy life with their ISTJ parents, and vice versa, their parents don't feel good either. 

ISTJ parents also engage their children to follow the housework rules by asking for help from them, not by force. They will patiently teach the kids basic housekeeping skills, cooking, gardening, carpentry – and these activities will take a lot of time, so sometimes they may have less chance to play with their kids. ISTJ parents tend to be quite focused on tradition and are great at providing safety and stability to their children. Their kids often find that their parents will treat them with care and respect and that they expect a similar approach.

As children, ISTJs have a tendency to obey and are consolations and blessings of both parents and teachers. The parents of ISTJ kids will find that providing consistency can help their children feel more secure. Sticking to habits, introducing gradual changes, and giving them time to adjust to new situations are all ways to help an ISTJ child to fully develop.

4. Relationship with other personality groups

ISTJs communicate directly and simply, they are usually very specific and clearly orientate the details. When communicating, they are trying to have a real conversation and are willing to share their knowledge if they feel there is a need. Their stories often have a certain meaning and are driven in action, they only say what they know and need to do.

For ISTP, ESTJ, ISFJ groups: they have similar characteristics and many things in common so it is easy for ISTJs to share values, interests, and approaches with these groups

For INTJ, ESTP, ESFJ, ENTJ groups: they have some differences but these differences are attractive to ISTJs. They still have something in common to create a balance in their relationship with each other

For ISFP, INTP, INFJ, ESFP groups: at first, ISTJs may have some difficulty accessing and connecting with these personality groups. However, after interacting for a while, they will discover commonalities as well as other points of view that can complement each other

For INFP, ENFJ, ENFP, ENTP groups: these personality groups are opposite and conflicting with ISTJs, but if it is possible to develop a relationship, this is an opportunity for ISTJs to learn and grow themselves, the challenges always come along with great opportunity.

VII. ISTJ Career Paths and Development Areas

From a very young age, ISTJs prepared themselves to fulfill what they started with. In terms of career options, they tend to choose large and stable organizations because it gives them financial stability and security. Above all other personality groups, they tend to devote their whole working life to a group and organization when it ensures a stable income, and they will not leave even if they are completely troubled with their work.

ISTJs have one quality that gives them the advantage to become successful careers, which is consistency. An ISTJ can do whatever he/she has decided to do. However, they do feel more content and comfortable in certain areas. An ISTJ will do everything if it allows him/her to use his/her excellent organization and the power of concentration to create order and structure. ISTJs seem to be extremely suitable for office management and administration.

ISTJs are meticulous, detailed and trustworthy people at work. An ideal job for ISTJs must ensure logical factors and clear rules. They have the ability to work independently but also appreciate the value of teamwork. They are suitable for the following career fields:

• Business, Sales and Finance (Financial Advisor, Accounting, Business Management);
• Office and Administration;
• Manage;
• Architecture and Engineering;
• Science and Life (Agroforestry Technicians, Environmental Biologist);
• Agriculture and Forestry;
• Repair and Technical Maintenance (Automobile Mechanic, Refrigeration Staff, Electronic);
• Transport;
• Manufacturing;
• Entertainment and Sports;
• Community and Social Service (Health Education, Counselor, Social Worker)
• Health care (Nutritionist, Doctor, Nurse);
• Education (Teacher, Administrator, Librarian);
• Police, Bodyguard, Firefighter, Military;
• The law (Court, Lawyer).

VIII. How ISTJs perform in the work and learning environment

At school, because ISTJs do what they need to do whether they like it or not, it makes them diligent students. They don't like theory and prefer subject areas with real application. Documents and instructions must be clear and accurate with no errors. Their learning environment should be oriented towards a division of tasks with well-defined goals and deadlines.

They avoid fields that require brief thinking and spontaneity, instead, they want to follow established rules and tend to be attracted to careers that require them to achieve practical and measurable results as accountants, surgeons, dentists, technicians, and soldiers.

At work, ISTJs will get their job done on time based on their presets, they never undercut any part of their approach. ISTJ subordinates need stability, structure, rules and duties that are clearly divided, once their conditions are met, they will thrive till the end. The truth is they are among the most loyal of all personality types.

ISTJs prefer to work independently, but they can cooperate well in a team if the job position requires it. People with this personality type favor structured and clear roles and work environments. However, they may encounter challenges at sensing other people's emotions – a completely pragmatic approach makes it easy for ISTJs to alienate people with high sensitivity and emotions. Soft and compassionate communication strategies are quite difficult for them to absorb. For this reason, they may want to shy away from roles that require direct interaction with clients and colleagues.

A typical ISTJ will not seek leadership positions but they are easily offered such a role due to their loyalty, commitment, and trustworthiness. As managers, ISTJs are likely to follow the traditional hierarchy and approach. They will reward those who are right, law-abiding, and trustworthy; in other words, to please ISTJ managers, their employees just need to be like them. Forget about constructing and experimenting and trying to think of something pure and intelligent – all they need to do is get things done and follow the rules. In general, ISTJ managers have fair approaches to everyone, are clear about their expectations of others, consistent and predictable.

IX. 10 Things you might not know about ISTJs

1. This is the third most popular personality group in the world and accounts for about 9-13% of the world's population.

2. By gender, only 7% of ISTJs are women and 16% are men.

3. ISTJs look at the world tree first then the forest.

4. ISTJs depend well and focus on contrasting aspects of events and structure them, but they do not take it seriously. Their details lie in their exciting recollections and flashbacks of what they attract toward to structure their beliefs.

5. ISTJs are not people who like extravagant things, especially clothes and interiors. They disfavour flashy things; their homes are usually tidy, minimalistic, and neat. They shun luxury because price and durability are their main choice.

6. ISTJs are not risk-averse, the more they don't do it with their money, this also means that they rarely tend to be self-employed or freelancers.

7. Up to now, ISTJ is the personality group that can generate the most income after ESTJ and ENTJ.

8. The ISTJ personality group is also the most popular personality group among men.

9. ISTJs have very high standards for their own manners and those of others.

10. ISTJs tend to think that they are always right. 

X. ISTJ famous people

• Arthur Wellington, the 1st Duke of Wellington;
• George Washington, the 1st President of the United States;
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States;
• Augustus, Roman statesman and military leader;
• Warren Buffett, an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist;
• Jeff Bezos, an American internet and aerospace entrepreneur, media proprietor, and investor; the founder, CEO, and president of Amazon.com;
• Angela Merkel, leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union;
• Johnny Carson, an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer;
• Xenophon, an Athenian-born military leader, philosopher, and historian;
• Henry Ford, an American industrialist and business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company;
• Ross Geller, one of the six main characters on Friends (1994–2004).