SJ
Copyright January, 1974
Marilyn Bates, D.W. Keirsey
MANAGER STYLE: TRADITIONALIST/JUDICAL
Myers-Briggs Types: ESTJ (Natural leader of this type); ISFJ, ISTJ, and ESFJ’s will have to work a
little harder at their leadership.
Values: Relatedness, Social Solidarity, Belonging
Managerial Style: Strengths:
The Traditional/Judicial leader will establish effective managerial routines and create a stabilized
system. He is decisive and excellent at the decision-making process. He understands the values of the
organization as it exists and conserves these values. He understands policy and honors its intent. He is
preserving, patient, works steadily with a realistic idea of how long a task will take, seldom makes
errors of fact, tends to be outstanding at precision work, and can be counted on to follow through on
commitments. Before he takes action, he will weight the consequences and will try to see the practical
effect of the decision. He possesses and admires “common” sense and is himself orderly and admires
this in others. He will himself be on time and on schedule. The Traditionalist/Judicial leader is best
when he can plan his work and follow through on that plan. He likes to get things clear, settled, and
wrapped up, and may be restless until a decision is reached on a thing, situation, or person. Others
with whom he works will know where he stands on issues.
The Traditionalist is an applied thinker and wants an organization to be run on facts. He is able to
absorb, remember, manipulate, and manage a great amount of details, objects, or facts within a system.
He is a super-dependable leader who is an extraordinarily steady, hard worker. A good day’s work for
a good day’s pay makes sense to the Traditionalist. The superiors of the Traditionalist can count on
him, as can his subordinates, to know, respect, and follow the rules. He will run efficient meetings,
will be most comfortable with a well-ordered, well-planned agenda. He will establish a formal,
impersonal style of relating with colleagues until he is well acquainted. He enjoys established routines
and is a painstaking, hard worker. The Traditionalist/Judicial leader is thorough about the business of
the organization and is briefed to the last detail.
Possible Weaknesses:
The Traditionalist may be impatient with projects that get delayed by complications. He may be
inclined to decide issues too quickly at times, and, at times, may not notice new things, which need to
be done. He is excellent at preserving the effective procedures of an organization, but also may
preserve less successful rules and regulations. He may not be as responsive as desirable to the
changing needs of an organization, especially in times of rapid change.
The Traditionalist is likely to hold that some people are good and some people are bad and the latter
should be punished. From this position, the Traditionalist leader can fall into relationships, which
create tensions, derived from his being, at times, blaming, denigrating, and negative. He may find
TRADITIONALIST/JUDICAL page 2.
himself responding to the negative elements of people as he becomes overtired and under pressure. If
he does not make a conscious effort, he may slip without awareness from “this is a bad act” to “this is a
bad act and therefore this is a bad person.” A pressure point for the Traditionalist, which may exist, is
his possible tendency to be over-concerned about the possibility of dire happenings. He may
exaggerate the probability of things going wrong and thus may find himself using energies anticipating
having to deal with crises, which never occur. An additional element of the Traditionalist’s belief
system is the notion that people can make something of themselves if only they worked hard enough
and long enough. This can pressure the Traditionalist into being highly competitive and use his
energies in pursuit of the perfect organizational system.
Characteristic Ways of Dealing With Colleagues:
The Traditionalist leader wants his colleagues to stick to the point and to get to the point. He wants the
facts and likes stable, sensible people. He believes that he is a realist, which, in fact, he is when
dealing with data systems. When he deals with human systems, however, he may not always be
accurate in his perceptions of interpersonal transactions. He will be clear-cut in his dealings with his
colleagues and if he feels they are not observing the agreed-upon procedures and policies, will call this
to their attention. He may find himself verbalizing the weaknesses of himself and others while taking
their strengths and his own for granted as obvious and expected; therefore not needing comment.
Stroking Patterns:
The Traditionalist manager uses strokes as an organizational tool and may withhold strokes unless he
believes they are fully deserved. He may have difficulty in accepting strokes from others, any may
find the giving of symbolic strokes such as honors, trophies, appointments to coveted positions, etc.,
more comfortable than the giving of verbal or contact strokes.
For Effective Management Team With:
The Traditional manager is well teamed with a Catalyst who will bring strong focus onto people as
people while the Traditionalist will supply an effective, smooth-running system.
Most Effective When Placed in an Organization As:
The Traditionalist/Judicial leader is excellent at organization and in keeping the system running. He
can maintain an excellent data flow and can supply stability to people systems flow. He will be a
steadying influence when teamed with a Catalyst.
Use of Organization Time:
The Traditionalist understands and respects time as a commodity to be used efficiently and wisely. He
is realist about time requirements and works evenly and smoothly with time.
TRADITIONALIST/JUDICAL page 3.
Institutional Deficits If This Type Is Not Present:
If an organization does not have a Traditionalist on the management team, the environment may not be
used effectively and efficiently. Plant utilization may be poor, there may be poor control of material
and organizational procedures. Waste of time and material may be present and stability may be
lacking. A system without a Traditionalist may find itself in a constant state of change without a base
of “tried and true” policy and regulations from which to work.
SP
Copyright January, 1974
Marilyn Bates, D.W. Keirsey
MANAGER STYLE: TROUBLESHOOTER/NEGOTIATOR
Myers-Briggs Types: ESTP (Natural leader of this type); ESFP, ISFP, and ISTP’s will have to work a
little harder at their leadership
Values: Freedom, Spontaneity, Action.
Strengths:
The Troubleshooter manager is a practical pragmatist who can deal with concrete problems in a
methodical fashion. He can analyze a system and see how it works, can find where breakdowns and
errors occur and can determine the corrections needed. Under this leader, change will be easy and
welcomed and he can adapt easily to new situations. As a leader, more than any other, this type will
know what is going on in an organization, for he has acute powers of observation regarding the
environment. Under a Troubleshooter/Negotiator’s leadership, things happen, apparently effortlessly,
with an economy of motion on the part of the Troubleshooter/Negotiator. This leader does not fight
the “system” but uses what is there and available to solve problem situations, rather than try to change
the reality of what is. Assets, personnel, procedures, and policies are all negotiable in the crisis.
Possible Weaknesses:
The Troubleshooter/Negotiator might be reluctant to accept radically new theory and may be impatient
with abstractions. He does not like the unfamiliar and will react negatively to extreme change. He is
very adaptable until the system is violated. His notion of goal and philosophy statements is that these
are mere academic exercises with no relevancy to the real world. The Troubleshooter lives so fully in
the immediate moment that he has difficulty honoring commitments and decisions of the past;
yesterday is quickly gone and forgotten and current demands preempt anything else. This belief leaves
the Troubleshooter/Negotiator in a position of being somewhat unpredictable to his colleagues and
thus, may, in time, find people turning away from him because they see him as unreliable and
friendship expendable. When there is nothing to troubleshoot, the Troubleshooter/Negotiator tends to
become rigid.
Characteristic Ways of Dealing With Colleagues:
The Troubleshooter/Negotiator easily responds to the ideals of others if they are concrete. He is
flexible, patient, open-minded and adaptable in working with colleagues who find this person easy to
get along with. He is not threatened by the possibility of failure in himself or in others, so will take
risks and encourages others to take risks. He changes his position easily as facts and new situations
arise. He is willing to take orders from superiors, and will not fight the leader, although he may not
always carry out orders he had said he would. The Troubleshooter is very matter-of-fact about reality
and does not chafe about what might have been, but deals with what is. He is non-judgmental of his
TROUBLESHOOTER/NEGOTIATOR page 2.
fellow-workers and accepts their behaviors matter-of-factly rather than seeking underlying motives and
meanings.
Stroking Patterns:
The Troubleshooter/Negotiator gives strokes to others to motivate them. He is the true “stroke
economist” who will issue strokes before the fact of accomplishment in order to encourage followers.
For Effective Management Team With:
The Troubleshooter/Negotiator can be teamed with a Visionary who can furnish new ideas and
technology, who can supply ingenuity to problems, and who can see possibilities. The
Troubleshooter/Negotiator needs a Visionary, but the Visionary may have trouble working with him.
The Troubleshooter should acquire a secretary who is an excellent writer of reports, who will record
decisions as they are made, who will provide reminders of scheduled appointments, who will schedule
“unpleasant” jobs and remind the Troubleshooter/Negotiator manager concerning these, and who will
see to it that long-term issues are given closure.
Use of Organizational Time:
The Troubleshooter/Negotiator lives very much in the moment, in fact, moment to moment, and
responds to the demand of the immediate as it arises.
Institutional Deficits If This Type Is Not Present:
If management does not acquire a Troubleshooter/Negotiator, small problems of annoyance may go
unattended for long periods of time, until they become large problems. Operations may not run
smoothly because no one noticed the early signs of developing problems. Productivity may lag
because of operations breakdowns, and people in the organization may become irritable over
trivialities and grumble about comfort, working conditions, and easily correctable situations.
NF
Copyright January, 1974
Marilyn Bates, D.W. Keirsey
MANAGER STYLE: CATALYST
Myers-Briggs Types: ENFJ (Natural leader of this type); INFJ, INFP, and ENFP will have to work a
little harder at their leadership
Values: Integrity, Authenticity, Meaning Worth.
Managerial Style: Strengths:
The management style of Catalyst leaders is marked by personal charisma, and commitment to the
people they lead. They usually have a gift of language and through talk communicate their caring and
enthusiasm. They are gifted at seeing the possibilities of both the institution and particularly the
people with whom they work. They seem to focus on the strengths of people intuitively. Catalyst
leaders excel in working with and through people and are happy working in a democratically run
institution. They are comfortable in unstructured, group-centered administration and decision-making
meetings, and are usually very much in touch with the climate of their institutions. They are patient
with complicated situations and can wait for the right time to move forward. Catalysts are complicated
situations and can wait for the right time to move forward. Catalysts are excellent as heads of
organizations where they “sell” the organization and the people in it.
Possible Weaknesses:
Catalyst leaders may find themselves making administrative decisions on the basis of their personal
likes and wishes rather than on the basis of criteria. They will work with great bursts of energy
powered by enthusiasm, but may need “rest periods” inconveniently. They need the approval of their
subordinates and superiors, and find these, at times, incompatible. Catalyst leaders may find that they
are seen as champions of two opposing groups because they have listened to both sympathetically and
have really understood each side’s point of view, especially their feelings. They are so in tune with the
emotions of others that the Catalyst leader is very vulnerable to them and may want to “please all of
the people all of the time,” which inevitable gets the leader in difficulty as a manager. If their
institutions are under public criticism or if things do not go well internally, they may lose selfconfidence, internalizing what may be the failures of others as Catalyst leaders’ failures, due to their
superior powers of empathy. They allow much freedom to others and therefore may have some
difficulty carrying out rules and regulations.
The pressures which might “get to” the Catalyst leaders and which may render them ineffective are
likely to stem from their belief system which states that it is absolutely necessary for every person in
the institutions they manage to approve of them and love them. This is especially true of significant
others. Because they believe this, the Catalyst leaders spend much time seeking approval and are
constantly checking that they still retain that approval. Gradually they may get out of touch with their
own wishes and feelings, and become reactors rather than actors. They may lose their ability to love
creatively because that they are loved for themselves and not for their accomplishments which they
CATALYST page 2.
devalue. They may become so responsive to the will of others that they lose sight of their own values
and belief systems and goals.
Other pressure points to which Catalyst leaders are vulnerable are that they may find themselves
avoiding unpleasantness and difficulties and shirking unpleasant responsibilities, in the mistaken hope
that if they do not face these difficulties, they will somehow disappear. They may find themselves
taking the temporarily easy way out, only to find larger problems resulting, both institutional problems
and interpersonal problems.
An additional dynamic which can cause the Catalyst managers to be less than effective and vulnerable
is the idea that they, as administrators, should be upset continually over other people’s problems or
they are not “sensitive.” They may not have thought through the notion that by taking over others’
troubles as they would their own, they are implying that they have the power to change others. From
the base of this mistaken belief, the managers find themselves overwhelmed trying to solve the
problems of the world, and in the process find themselves trying to “improve” others according to the
managers’ perceptions of what the others “should” be, with or without their permission, and usually
without!
Characteristic Ways of Dealing With Colleagues:
Catalyst leaders relate well with and often are popular with colleagues. They hunger for personal
contacts and go out of their way to seek these. They are sociable and enjoy being where people are
gathered. They touch base frequently with their staffs and know a great deal about their problems.
Catalyst leaders know their staff’s feelings and listen long and frequently to their woes! They will
seek close, interpersonal relationships with their colleagues, and find their work a source of social
satisfaction as well as a place to toil. They may find themselves being “Rescuers” to various
“Victims” of the system, and this may lead them into difficulties with their superiors. They find
themselves often assisting colleagues in a variety of ways, and thus tend to create dependent
relationships, a condition which they claim to abhor.
Stroking Patterns:
Catalyst leaders tend to be the best and the most abundant givers of strokes. They use appreciation as a
main catalytic agent as they work with people. They also are the most needy of strokes. If they
themselves receive sufficient strokes, they are super-catalysts; if they are not sufficiently stroked, or if
they are met with too much disapproval, they will be ineffective, discouraged, uninvolved, and will
look outside their organization for priorities. They are not too discriminate as to the source of the
strokes they receive, unlike the Visionary leaders, but value all strokes, regardless of the giver’s
qualifications to judge. They will tend to respond verbally to the positive rather than to the negative,
when they are at their best. They respond well to praise.
For Effective Management Team With:
Catalyst leaders need to be teamed with Traditionalists to provide stability and to help Catalysts
consistently to hold to policy. Traditionalist leaders can contribute significantly to the implementation
of rules and regulations, while Troubleshooters can provide environmental control.
CATALYST page 3.
Catalyst leaders need the clerical support of secretaries who can keep track of details, who can keep the
Catalysts on schedule if necessary, can protest their time from OPP’s (Other People’s Priorities), can
follow through on non-people facets of projects, and who can complete paper work which is routine
detail.
Most Effective When Placed in an Organization As:
Catalyst leaders are excellent for public relationship work. They shine as spokesmen for organizations
for they work well with all types of people and can “sell” the organization to its consumers and make
the people who work with them within the organizations feel good about themselves and about the
organizations.
They are excellent as heads of organizations if given free reign to manage, but they may rebel and
become disloyal if they perceive themselves as having too many constraints. They can only too easily
nurture a following which is loyal to them personally rather than to the organization. They may have
authority figure problems and thus may intentionally undermine the organization if they see authorities
as being in conflict with their personal value and belief systems.
Use of Organizational Time:
These leaders may find that OPPs eat up much of their time because they are responsive to
interpersonal transactions and seek them out. They will be generous with their time, but may have
difficulty with using time effectively.
Institutional Deficits If These Types Are Not Present:
In an organization does not have Catalyst leaders present, the members of that organization may find
the environment cold, sterile, joyless, dull, and they may complain about the absence of
companionship. Esprit’de corps may be low and enthusiasm may be low. While there may be an
excellent data flow system, people may not be used effectively.
NT
Copyright January, 1974
Marilyn Bates, D.W. Keirsey
ADVISORY STYLE: VISIONARY
Myers-Briggs Types: ENTJ (Natural leader of this type); INTJ, INTP, and ENTP’s will have to work
a little harder at their leadership
Values: Competency, Ability, Knowledge, Capabilities.
Managerial Style: Strengths:
The Visionary manager is the architect of progress and ideas, interested in the principles on which the
organization is built or is to be built. This type of manager seeks answers to the “why’s” of events and
elements; is able to see relationships among components of the organizational system in which the
manager works, and between that system and other systems. The Visionary manager understands the
system both in its actuality and in the meanings behind the events and elements. Focusing on
possibility, the manager approaches possibilities with impersonal analysis. For example, upon moving
into an organization, the Visionary manager is likely to immediately analyze the power base and power
structure from an impersonal point of view. This managerial type is intellectually ingenious and an
excellent pioneer in technical or administrative areas.
Possible Weaknesses:
The Visionary manager involved in the creative process has enormous drive, but once the ‘castle’ is
designed, this type is more than willing to allow someone else to take over. Because of the focus on
principles and on thinking, this type may, at times, not be aware of the feelings of others, and be
oblivious to the hurts and joys of others. The Visionary manager may be intellectually oriented and
not value subordinates (or superiors) who are not intellectually competent.
The Visionary leader often gets into difficulty in interpersonal transactions because of the leader’s
belief system that implies thorough competence, adequacy and achieving in all possible respects (for
both self and others). This leads to expecting a great deal of the Visionary and others, often more than
can be delivered. The Visionary needs to be reminded frequently that people with great strengths also
have great weaknesses; and characteristically feels restless and unfulfilled, tending to escalate
standards for self and others, and often demonstrates an intolerance of miscues and snarles and an
impatience with going over same ground once a decision has been made.
Characteristic Ways of Dealing With Colleagues:
The Visionary leader typically tracks the thought processes and ideas of others rather easily and enjoys
doing so. Responsive to the new ideas of colleagues as well as enthusiastic about one’s own, the
Visionary leader enjoys solving problems, and when faced with a colleague’s problem will be
stimulated rather than weighed down by the prospect of solving the problem. This type has the
courage of convictions and is willing to stand alone against the crowd; and likes to make decisions so
VISIONARY page 2.
colleagues will know where the Visionary leader stands, but only if they ask, since the leader’s
position is quite obvious and therefore redundant to verbalize. The Visionary type can be counted on
to be frank when solicited for an opinion, for this type admires logic, reason ad intelligence in
colleagues. The type may, at times, be too nonconforming and ahead of the crowd to have public
acceptance. Since typically the type has “self-power awareness” the leader tends not to be competitive
nor demonstrate a need to minimize the contributions of colleagues.
The Visionary leader is an excellent decision maker and can be counted on to remember and to honor
decisions, even when under great pressure. In an organization, the Visionary is the “Portrait Painter of
Ideas.” Because the Visionary manager can so easily conceptualize the outcomes staff members
suggest as their contributions, this manager is comfortable in a management system which has focus on
results rather than on procedures.
The Visionary type, either manager or “producer” may quickly leave an organization (either physically
or psychologically) if talents are not used.
Stroking Patterns:
The Visionary manager may need to make a conscious effort to stroke others, and when that is done
will probably appreciate their conceptions rather than their sentiments. The manager will need to make
a conscious effort to remember appropriate social rituals which other types find important. While the
Visionary manager may be most appreciative of the ideas and contributions of others, this type may
fail to verbalize this. This type will be most likely to respond to strokes which involve recognition of
own accomplishments, and the type will value recognition of the influence on own work on others.
Visionaries are likely to be in a constant state of stroke deficit themselves as their level of achievement
is very high and therefore their need for strokes is very high. They mainly will value strokes from
other Visionary types who are their intellectual equals or superiors.
For Effective Management Team With:
Visionary managers may tend to prefer to work with other Visionaries, but they need Troubleshooters
who can persuade, conciliate and negotiate cooperation in troubled units. The presence of a Catalyst
would be advantageous so that such a type can interpret the Visionary to others so that they will not
reject the ideas of the Visionary because of style and rhetoric of presentation.
Visionary leaders should be supported by staffs of “leg” people who can carry out the details of their
projects and ideas. They need Administrative Assistants and secretarial support who can read over
contracts, keep track of details, check records, proof read, score tests, notice details of what needs
attending, have patience to do and redo, and who will monitor the physical environment for health and
comfort.
Use of Organizational Time:
The Visionary manager is an excellent judge of alternatives and is aware of time as a commodity
which can be used or misused. Time is a tool through which commitments are made and honored, both
VISIONARY page 3.
past and future. The Visionary may use too much time planning rather than executing the plans if left
on his own.
Institutional Deficits If These Types Are Not Present:
In an organization does not have a Visionary on the management team, change may be minimal and
sooner, if not later, deterioration will occur. The status quo will be supreme in the Zeitgeist of the
organizational climate. The intellectually superior employees will drift off or will form quiet pockets
of passive resistance, being inclines to sabotage out of sheer boredom.