Lesson 4

Your Personal Formula for Career Satisfaction

How understanding your Personality Type can help you make the most appropriate and satisfying career decisions.

The Four Temperaments

The notion of four temperaments, or “natures,” has a long-standing history. In 450 BC, Hippocrates wrote about four dispositions. Paracelsus proposed a theory of four spirits during the Middle Ages. Similar to the temperaments, the American Indian Medicine Wheel suggests four spirit keepers. And Hindu wisdom discusses four central desires.

Fascinated by the consistency of this notion, psychologist David Keirsey found that four combinations of Type preferences correspond to these notions of four temperaments.

Identifying and Understanding Your Temperament

In our last lesson, you verified your Personality Type. You should be convinced, by now, that Type is real. It should also be clear that knowing your Type can help you make better career choices.

But how can Type be even more useful?

• By helping you understand your core values
• By identifying natural strengths that must be used in order for you to enjoy and succeed at your work

Before we proceed, it’s important to realize that there are four aspects (“temperaments”) of Personality Type that are critical to one’s search for a genuinely satisfying career. These four temperaments are compatible with four combinations of Type preferences. Part Two of Do What You Are (“Fourmula for Career Satisfaction,” pages 53-72) outlines these four temperaments. For our purposes, this lesson only concentrates on two of them, although I encourage you to read about all four!

We all know that people have different natures — one person is responsible, serious, and cautious, while another is playful, fun-loving, and a risk taker. Some people are perpetual learners who love being intellectually challenged. Others are searchers, perpetually questing for the meaning of life.

Fortunately a California psychologist, David Keirsey, perceived that throughout history, philosophers, writers, psychologists, and other observers of humanity noted four distinct “natures” into which all people fit (see sidebar). Keirsey realized that these four temperaments essentially described the same characteristics. When he learned about Personality Type through the work of Isabel Briggs-Myers, he investigated the relationship between Type and temperament.

Keirsey determined that four combinations of Type preferences correspond to the four temperaments people have observed throughout history. The four combinations are:

• SJ (Sensing, Judging)
• SP (Sensing, Perceiving)
• NF (Intuition, Feeling)
• NT (Intuition, Thinking)

Each of the 16 Personality Types falls into one of these categories. One way to determine your temperament is to check the letters of your personality Type. With SJs and SPs, they are the second and fourth letters. With NFs and NTs, they are the middle letters. Remember, Chapter 4 of Do What You Are provides a full description of these four temperaments.

Why is it helpful to know your temperament? Because our temperament identifies the essence of our Personality Types — our core values, key drives, and motivations.

Once you’ve identified your temperament, move onto the next lesson page where we’ll look at the core values and their potential workplace applications.

Personality Type Inconsistent with Your Temperament?

Don’t fret! A possible explanation may be simply that you’re growing. As we age, we tend to naturally “round out” our personalities by working on our weaknesses. This process is called “Type Development.”

One example: you’re an ENFP, but you’re working on developing your Thinking, which draws you more to the NT temperament. Continue to work your way through the lesson and textbook materials. Once finished, you should be able to make a final decision.

Temperaments in the Workplace

Here are some of the core values for each of the four temperaments, along with a brief discussion of workplace situations that suit them. Look them over, paying especial attention to your own temperament.

SJ Core Values
responsibility	conservative values
service	hard work
duty	respect of authority
tradition	following the rules

Work that Makes Good Use of These Values

A satisfying position for an SJ might include working in a stable and predictable environment, with a clear reporting hierarchy and a high level of responsibility. For most SJs, the more structure and clarity, the better. They like being evaluated and rewarded for their hard work and their ability to get things done in an efficient and organized way. They don’t like a lot of change, preferring co-workers who also take their responsibilities seriously and who follow the rules.

SP Core Values
freedom	excitement
fun	variety
spontaneity	autonomy
action	skill

Work that Makes Good Use of These Values

Satisfying work for an SP might include a job with a great deal of variety and change, where each day is not exactly like the one before. They love responding to spontaneous challenges, preferring to live in the moment. They enjoy flexible and relaxed environments without a lot of bureaucracy and rules. They like being evaluated on their skillfulness and their ability to get work done without a lot of help from others. They like working with real things, often excelling with tools, crafts, or at artisanship.

NT Core Values
intelligence	creativity and ingenuity
competence	excellence
mastery and constant new learning	logic
independence	power

Work that Makes Good Use of These Values

Satisfying work for an NT might include an environment of high intellectual pursuits and achievements. They enjoy mastering new technologies. They also like using creativity to solve complex and theoretical problems. They need to work with other people they respect, especially those to whom they report. NTs need constant challenges and numerous opportunities for working on new and original projects; they dislike repetitive tasks or repeating themselves. They are best at perfecting flawed systems and can be ingenious in solving problems.

NF Core Values
harmonious relationships	originality and creativity
personal growth	personal expression
integrity	meanings and possibilities

Work that Makes Good Use of These Values

Satisfying work for NFs is personally meaningful and rewarding. They need to believe in their work, and be able to see the positive impact it has on other people. NFs like their work environment to be as tension-free as possible and enjoy working among caring people, where they feel appreciated and liked. Solving global problems in creative ways is especially enjoyable to NFs, as is work that allows them, and others, to develop their greatest individual potential.

To Get the Whole Story . . .

Understanding your temperament, along with your Dominant and Auxiliary functions, gives you a much deeper appreciation for what you need to find career satisfaction. To gain even deeper insights, I recommend you read Chapters 4-7 in your textbook, Do What You Are.

Identifying and Understanding the Most Important Part of Your Type

Knowing your temperament is important. Likewise, so is understanding your greatest strengths. You may be surprised to learn that while all individuals are unique, people of the same Type frequently share the same natural strengths and weaknesses.

Why is it especially important to know your strengths? Because using them is both rewarding and energizing. In contrast, when we’re forced to use the less-developed parts of our Types, we don’t perform nearly as well, actually draining our energy — think back to the handwriting exercise in Lesson 2.

Each personality Type has what is called a “hierarchy of functions.” This hierarchy ranks your functions from strongest to weakest. While we all grow and change during our lives, our hierarchy of functions remains the same.

The hierarchy of functions ranks only the middle two letters, called FUNCTIONS. Since everyone uses all four functions to some extent, the hierarchy includes the functions you use most often (the preferences that are reflected in the letters of your Type), as well as the functions you use less often (the letters that don’t show up in your Type). For example, an ISTJ uses Sensing and Thinking (which appear in his or her Type code) more than Intuition and Feeling, which do not.

For each Type, one function is the most important characteristic of that Type — called the dominant. It’s always one of the four functions: Sensing, Intuition, Thinking, or Feeling. There is only one dominant function for each Type, and it never changes.

The next function in the hierarchy is called the auxiliary. There is only one auxiliary function for each Type, and it also never changes.

There are two other functions in your hierarchy that I’ll present below, the Third and Fourth Functions. We won’t spend much time talking about these two functions here.

The third function, sometimes called the tertiary, in the hierarchy is always the opposite of your auxiliary function. The fourth function in your hierarchy, sometimes called the inferior, is always the opposite of your dominant, and is therefore usually your weakest.

# 1 Dominant Function # 2 Auxiliary Function # 3 Third Function (opposite #2) # 4 Fourth Function (opposite #1)

Although each of your functions plays an important role in your personality, it is the dominant and auxiliary which are most influential as regards career satisfaction. Therefore, we’ll spend a little time describing their roles in our next section.

The Essential You

Have you developed an appreciation for how you naturally use your dominant and auxiliary functions yet? Try noting how you use these functions at work and in your everyday life. You should begin to see the dynamic between your dominant and auxiliary. Use your newly heightened awareness in the workplace; what situations will most likely be more satisfying for you now that you know your own core values?

Understanding Your Dominant and Auxiliary Processes

Let’s look at the role of the dominant and its relationship to career satisfaction. As the most developed function, your dominant must be utilized a great deal in your work for you to achieve a sense of fulfillment or satisfaction. Remember, everyone uses all four functions to some extent, but the dominant is the one you naturally use most often — and usually with the most success. People with the same dominant have a lot in common, but because their auxiliary and other preferences may vary, they can also be very different.

• If Sensing is your dominant (ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTP, ESFP), you need to be able to collect and use the many facts and details you naturally notice. Work that lets you gather information, as well as use your keen powers of observation and realistic perspective, will be the most satisfying.
• If Intuition is your dominant (INTJ, INFJ, ENTP, ENFP), you are most interested in possibilities and the connections between facts, rather than the facts themselves. Work that allows you to brainstorm and develop new ways of solving problems, use creativity and unconventional approaches, and not be limited by what has been done in the past offers you the most potential for satisfaction.
• If Thinking is your dominant (INTP, ISTP, ENTJ, ESTJ), logic is fundamental to all your decisions and conclusions. Work that involves objective criteria, follows a fair set of standards and principles, and rewards logical reasoning and sensible decisions will be the most satisfying.
• If Feeling is your dominant (ISFP, INFP, ESFJ, ENFJ), you base your decisions and opinions on your personal values. To be satisfied, you must feel good about the work you do and the impact it has on other people. How humanely and kindly you and other people are treated will influence your perception of the quality of the work place.

Now it’s time to examine the role of the auxiliary and how it influences career satisfaction. Your auxiliary function acts to balance your dominant function. If your dominant is a perceiving function (Sensing or Intuition), then your auxiliary is a judging function (Thinking or Feeling). Whichever function is your dominant and auxiliary, the work that is most satisfying is the work that allows you to use both your favorite and second favorite processes a large amount of the time. Using your favorite processes is energizing, comes naturally, and is both easier and fun. The obvious result is that you are typically more successful and have a more positive work experience.

The opposite is true when you are forced to use your fourth, and sometimes even your third functions, a lot at work. Typically the experience is more difficult, requires more concentration and effort, and is fraught with more anxiety and stress because you know you aren’t doing the tasks as quickly or competently as you might. The result is that you find yourself drained. People who have to use their fourth and third functions excessively at work often suffer the common and sometimes debilitating experience of job burnout.

The following chart illustrates the hierarchy for each of the 16 Types. Find your Type, and then look across horizontally to discover your dominant, auxiliary, third, and fourth functions.

The Hierarchy of Functions for each Type Organized by Temperament Groups

	Type	Dominant #1	Auxiliary #2	Third #3	Fourth #4
SJs	ESTJ	Thinking	Sensing	Intuition	Feeling
	ISTJ	Sensing	Thinking	Feeling	Intuition
	ESFJ	Feeling	Sensing	Intuition	Thinking
	ISFJ	Sensing	Feeling	Thinking	Intuition
SPs	ESTP	Sensing	Thinking	Feeling	Intuition
	ISTP	Thinking	Sensing	Intuition	Feeling
	ESFP	Sensing	Feeling	Thinking	Intuition
	ISFP	Feeling	Sensing	Intuition	Thinking
NFs	ENFJ	Feeling	Intuition	Sensing	Thinking
	INFJ	Intuition	Feeling	Thinking	Sensing
	ENFP	Intuition	Feeling	Thinking	Sensing
	INFP	Feeling	Intuition	Sensing	Thinking
NTs	ENTJ	Thinking	Intuition	Sensing	Feeling
	INTJ	Intuition	Thinking	Feeling	Sensing
	ENTP	Intuition	Thinking	Feeling	Sensing
	INTP	Thinking	Intuition	Sensing	Feeling

If you look at your hierarchy, and have verified your Type correctly, you’ll probably agree that your dominant and auxiliary functions represent your greatest strengths. If you’re honest with yourself, you may concede that using your third and fourth functions often results in personal frustration and stress. The good news is: We all have weaknesses . . . and it’s the people who learn to recognize and compensate for their weaknesses that end up the most successful!

Moving Forward

This lesson was pretty technical, so give yourself credit for working your way through it! Plus, think of all the information you’ve learned about yourself and your career needs. You now know what your basic temperament is. Additionally, you’ve identified your Type’s strengths and weaknesses. In the next chapter — not nearly as complicated as this one — we’ll pinpoint exactly what you need in a career for it to be satisfying.

ASSIGNMENT: The Most Important Parts of Your Personality Type

Assignments are designed to give you the chance to do further reading in the course text and to practice applying the knowledge learned in activities and class discussions. We encourage you to discuss the assignments with your instructor and classmates.

1. Review the descriptions of the four temperaments.
2. Try to identify which temperament describes you best.
3. See if your temperament is consistent with your Type. If it is, the letters of your temperament should also appear in your Type.
4. For example, if you previously “verified” your Type as ENTJ, then you should also agree that the NT temperament describes you well. If, however you feel the NF temperament describes you best, then go back and reread both the ENTJ profile and the ENFJ profile to see which one fits best. If you have any difficulty finding your “true” Type, this exercise should be helpful.
5. Look up your Type on the hierarchy chart, writing down your dominant and auxiliary functions.
6. Make a list of the activities — work or recreational — that you enjoy most, and try to determine how you get to use your dominant and auxiliary in those activities.