Why Should I Know My Myers-Briggs Temperament?

Determining your Myers-Briggs temperament is one of the most important things you can do because it will help you understand your core needs, values, talents and behaviors!

Temperament theory suggests that we each have fundamental needs and desires that motivate us.  There are 4 basic categories of temperament.  Some people, for example, live for spontaneity and freedom (SPs), some for duty (SJs), some for control and understanding of the world (NTs) while others live for causes, self-realization and understanding of the self and others (NFs).  These 4 temperament types have been referred to by various names but I like and will use Renee Baron's description of them in her book, "What Type Am I?"  These names are:  (1) Action Seekers, (2) Duty Seekers, (3) Knowledge Seekers and (4) Ideal Seekers.

The Myers-Briggs temperaments are part of the Myers-Briggs Typing System.  There are 16 different Myers-Briggs types in this system and 4 different temperaments.  After you have learned more about your Myers-Briggs temperament you may want to learn about your Myers-Briggs type by taking the Myers-Briggs Type Test.  Each temperament correlates with 4 different Myers-Briggs types as follows:

Action Seekers:  Sensing Perceiving Types (SP Temperament)

The 4 SP types are:  ESTP, ESFP, ISTP, ISFP

SP's are motivated by the need for freedom and need to act.  They value living in the moment.

Duty Seekers:  Sensing Judging Types (SJ Temperament)

The 4 SJ types are:  ESTJ, ESFJ, ISTJ, ISFJ

SJ's are motivated by the need to be responsible in whatever social group they are in, whether it be the family, the workplace, or the community.  They value tradition.

Knowledge Seekers:  iNtuiting Thinking Types (NT Temperament)

The 4 NT types are:  ENTJ, ENTP, INTJ, INTP

NT's are motivated by a need for knowledge and competency.  They value the theoretical and the powers of the mind.

Ideal Seekers:  iNtuiting Feeling Types (NF Temperament)

The 4 NF types are:  ENFJ, ENFP, INFJ, INFP

NF's are motivated by a need to understand themselves and others.  They value authenticity and integrity and strive for an ideal world.

The Temperament Comparison Table        [back to Index of Temperament Types]

This table is partly derived from the 4 personal styles table on page 39 of "Follow Your True Colors to the Work You Love" by Carolyn Kalil and Don Lowry.

THE ACTION SEEKER (SP Temperament)        [back to Index of Temperament Types]

Action Seekers need freedom to act on their impulses, to take immediate action and have an ability to make an impact in the moment.   A zest for life in the here and now and a desire to test the limits best express their nature.  They can't stand being restricted or controlled.  They are spontaneous, optimistic and trust their impulses to lead them in the right direction.  They are keen observers of the environment and have a commonsense, hands-on approach to problem-solving.

Action Seekers enjoy a positive, upbeat partner who will share in their many experiences and adventures.  They like living the good life and are constantly making plans for fun-filled adventures.  They seem to have realistic expectations of themselves, others, and life, and don't waste energy wishing things were different from what they are.  They take what people say at face value and are not particularly interested in figuring out underlying motives or hidden meanings.  They just want to live life and experience it to the fullest.  They don't need to analyze and understand it.

As a parent Action Seekers can be enthusiastic, playful, and expose their children to many adventures.  They give their children freedom and autonomy and respect their individual wishes and desires.  They just want their children to do something practical with their lives and find work that they enjoy.  As a parent they can be overly permissive, nondirective, and fail to provide consistency, discipline, or planning for the future.

As a child and teen Action Seekers were often too busy doing activities and having fun to take time to sit down and study -- or at least wished they were.  They often jump from one thing to another, but can be involved in any activity for an extended period of time if it captures their attention.  Because they are risk-takers and enjoy immediate gratification, they sometimes find themselves in trouble when they "leap before they look."

Action Seekers dislike long lectures and explanations and often shun intellectual pursuits.  An action-centered, hands-on curriculum works best for them.  They like subjects that are practical, relevant, and immediately rewarding.  They like to make work fun and want their career to be stimulating and exciting.  They like risk and challenge and respond well to crisis.  They especially enjoy using their hands or body, as in sports or with crafts and machines.

Action Seekers with a strong Extraverting preference (ESTP, ESFP) are more talkative, gregarious, and initiate activities with friends.  Action Seekers who have a strong Introverting preference (ISTP, ISFP) are reserved and more interested in their inner world of thoughts and one-on-one conversations.

Unfortunately, Action Seeker children's natural talents and abilities are often overlooked and undeveloped in schools that use traditional teaching methods.  As a result, many Action Seeker children underestimate themselves and suffer from low self-esteem because the sit-down, follow-directions, speak-when-spoken-to school structure goes against their nature.  They are sometimes labeled as hyperactive, or as having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).  Some even drop out and return to school only if they see that an education will be useful and practical in their lives.

Typical Action Seeker Values

Typical Annoyances and Stressors for Action Seekers

Typical Action Seeker Natural Gifts and Talents

Assembling things - fitting together the parts of things

Coaching - training intensively by instruction, demonstration, and practice

Competing - challenging another for the purpose of winning

Constructing - building something

Dancing - performing rhythmic and patterned bodily movements

Displaying things - arranging something in an eye-catching exhibit

Drafting - drawing the preliminary sketch, version, or plan for something

Entertaining - performing publicly for amusement

Gardening - cultivating a plot of ground with herbs, fruits, flowers or vegetables

Illustrating - providing visual features intended to explain or decorate

Influencing others - causing an effect on others

Manipulating - treating or operating with the hands or by mechanical means

Manufacturing - making from raw materials by hand or by machinery

Marketing - planning and strategizing how to present a product or service in the marketplace

Negotiating - conferring with another so as to arrive at the settlement of some matter

Operating tools - skillfully handling tools to perform work

Operating vehicles - driving cabs, limousines, heavy equipment, etc.

Performing - practicing an art that involves public performance

Persuading - influencing others in favor of a product, service, or point of view

Promoting - persuading people to see the value of an idea, person, activity or cause

Public Speaking - expressing yourself before a group

Repairing - restoring by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken

Responding to emergencies - being spontaneous and level-headed in emergency situations

Risk taking - having a dangerous element to life

Selling - promoting a service or product with the intent of getting someone to buy or accept it in exchange for something, usually money

How to get along with Action Seekers

Tips for Action Seekers

Further Description of Key Action Seeker Characteristics

Core Needs

Freedom to Act on Impulses: To understand Action Seekers, you really must grasp the nature of being impulse driven. This does not mean that they are totally impulsive and irresponsible. It does mean that well-functioning Action Seekers have managed to arrange their lives in such a way that they get to respond to impulses. These impulses are not just about fun or zany things; they often form the basis for exceptional problem solving. These impulses build inside them, and given that impulses do not last long, there is a tremendous urge to act on them. Action Seekers trust these impulses, and when all is going well, these impulses serve them well. When the impulses are no longer there, or when they have too many restrictions, Action Seekers suffer incredible stress and say they feel bored or empty.

Ability to Make an Impact: Many of us want to have an impact, but the need for the Action Seeker to elicit an immediate response from others is stronger and more concrete (here and now) than for the rest of us. This need for impact also shows in the drive to action to get a result.

Values

An appreciation of Aesthetics, the sensuous beauty of the immediate experience, captures an essential aspect of this temperament. Action Seekers value Variety, which is the essential aspect of art. The influence of their core needs shows in their drive to Action and love of Excitement and Stimulation and Immediate Adventure. Whatever they do, they want to Perform with Skill and appreciate skill in the performance of others as well. The relationships they seek are Fraternal – camaraderie with equals.

Typical Roles

Operator or Maneuverer: Action Seekers are often found in these roles in relation to people or machines; with people there is an element of persuasion. These roles require that they define the relationship and be more directive. In these roles, they might run a business, troubleshoot problems, train others, maneuver bills through Congress, operate equipment, and so on.

Player or Performer: These roles are more informative and allow for the tremendous talent of the Action Seeker in creating variations on a theme. Take the meanings in a general sense and notice how Action Seekers, especially Informing Action Seekers, make a performance out of anything.

Troubleshooter/Negotiator: To troubleshoot means to "read" a situation and see an opportunity or a solution to a problem. It requires a here-and-now focus and an ability to improvise. Negotiation requires reading very slight nonverbal cues to know just what someone is willing to give and then getting the two sides to agree.

Crisis Manager: Action Seekers are usually quite adept at managing a crisis, even though some don't like crises. A crisis provides the opportunity to use their talents. It meets their needs and values of responding to impulses, excitement, and stimulation and making an impact.

Typical Skills

Tactics: This means skillful management for a desired result. Tactics are an immediate action to achieve a desired end. It requires reading the immediate situation and making instant decisions in line with an objective. (Note that many people do not think of Action Seekers as decisive, but they can be very decisive.)

Variation: This is the ability to vary something while keeping its essence the same. Action Seekers are masters of the free variable. It is nearly impossible for them to not vary things.

Contextual Thinking: Action Seekers tend to reference everything to the present context. This tendency allows them to see the relevance of things, how they fit, and to notice when something is awry. Action Seekers prefer to learn in the applied context and tend not to like learning in the abstract.

Promote: This refers to the ability to see what someone's interest is in something or what someone's self‑serving interest might be. Action Seekers do this especially well as they "read" very slight nonverbal cues.

Adapt: This is to make small adjustments to make something fit. Action Seekers do this themselves as well as with objects and situations.

Perform: This means to do, to get things done. Given their core need to have impact, Action Seekers are skilled at making even the most mundane act a performance.

Behaviors

Impact Centered: Much of the behavior of Action Seekers is centered around creating an immediate impact, to see people's eyes light up or get a result from their actions.

Seizing Opportunities: Constantly reading behaviors and situations, Action Seekers often see opportunities others are not aware of.

Epicurean: This refers to a love of pleasures of the senses. Action Seekers want things to taste good, smell good, feel good, sound good, and look good. Sometimes neatness is about this aesthetic sense.

Spontaneous: Action Seekers are responsive to immediate situations and needs or even the impulse of the moment.

Restless: When there is a drive for action but waiting is called for, restlessness results. This may take the form of some kind of movement.

Entertaining: Very often Action Seekers love to entertain with their performances from flamboyance to a quiet remark that makes people laugh.

Impulsive: Action Seekers are so quick to read the needs of a situation, their behavior looks more impulsive than it may be.

Present Orientation: Action Seekers are oriented to the here and now. This orientation is clearly related to the need for freedom to act on impulses as impulses only occur in the present.

Fast Reacting: Action Seekers frequently react instantly to stimuli or circumstances.

Risk Taking: Where else would you find excitement and stimulation? Also, when you trust your impulses, you may not perceive situations as full of risk. The perception of risk may be in the eye of the beholder.

Improvising: To compose or perform on the spur of the moment, without any preparation. This also means making do with what is at hand and making up or creating an adaptation.

Cynical: The basic stance of the Action Seeker is cynicism. This is an astute ability to recognize that people do things for their own benefit and therefore to automatically question the altruism or goodness of their motives.

Stories: Action Seekers communicate best with stories since stories entertain, have impact, are concrete and contextual. Anecdotes bring abstract material to life and instill it with action.

Colloquial Language: Action Seekers tend to be on the cutting edge with their language. It, too, is contextual. They are such masters at variation that they vary language in such a way that they create the current buzzword of the day.

THE DUTY SEEKER (SJ Temperament)                    [back to Index of Temperament Types]

The Duty Seeker's strengths are being realistic, practical, responsible and loyal.  They like to stick to standard ways of doing things.  They respect and honor the traditions, customs, and laws of society which give them a sense of safety, stability, and belonging.  Feeling useful and needed is important to them.  Being of service and making things run the way they should gives then satisfaction.  Consequently, they have high expectations of themselves and others.

At work, Duty Seekers like to be fully in charge of their area of responsibility.  They want to be useful and have difficulty refusing to take on extra assignments.  Their attitude is "If I don't do it, who will?"  They have a strong work ethic and believe that everyone can make something of himself or herself if they just work hard enough.

Duty Seekers want to contribute to institutions they serve and they bring stability to an organization.  They like jobs where performance is judged by established rules and explicitly stated criteria.  They pay attention to an organization's hierarchy, have respect for the chain of command, and rely on stated policies and standard operating procedures.  Their natural resistance to change can be reduced once they understand the rationale behind the change.  In order to accept new ideas, they need to see the practical applications and benefits.  Their approach to problem-solving is to apply past experience and follow the rules.  They are usually precise with data, good with facts and figures and pay attention to detail.  They can be sticklers for accuracy in fact.  They have a good sense of time so they are realistic about how long it takes to complete tasks.

Duty Seekers generally don't like surprises, and have a gift for anticipating problems that might disrupt their stability.  They have a tendency to make decisions too quickly without considering possible options.  They are famous for having a good grasp of "common sense" in whatever they do.  Unfortunately, they sometimes have a hard time seeing beyond their common sense to consider the suggestions of others.

Duty Seekers are loyal and faithful partners and take their personal commitments and obligations seriously.  They often feel more comfortable being the giver or caretaker than being the receiver.  They tend to feel at ease in the traditional roles of provider or homemaker.  When not appreciated, they can feel bitter and hurt, but they have difficulty expressing it.  They can be pessimistic and worry excessively and think people who don't worry are irresponsible.

When stressed, Duty Seekers can be pessimistic and see no way out of difficult situations.  They tend to imagine worst-case scenarios rather than positive possibilities.  They like to anticipate bad news and are generally prepared for setbacks and unpredictable events which they believe are bound to occur.  At work they are often put in charge of disaster planning.  They save their money and are willing to make sacrifices in the present for the sake of future security.

Duty Seekers provide an ordered and predictable environment for their children.  They may find it difficult to allow their children independence and self-expression.  Commitment to family is seen as a responsibility and breaking family rules is seen as disloyalty.  They can sometimes instill guilt in their children when they don't meet their expectations.  Duty Seeker parents want their children to have the "proper" social attitudes and to obey the rules of society.  They tend to place importance on grades, college, and traditional education, and they encourage practical careers.

Duty Seekers with a strong Extraverting preference (ESTJ, ESFJ) are more talkative, gregarious, and initiate activities with friends.  Duty Seekers who have a strong Introverting preference (ISTJ, ISFJ) are more reserved and interested in their inner world of thoughts and one-on-one conversations.