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[ISTJ] How can I survive my ISTJ boss?

ENFPEmployee

New member
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
4
MBTI Type
ENPF
Hi everybody!

I only just heard about this personality typing thing from a friend last night, and I must admit, I find it very illuminating. I heard about it thanks to a friend to whom I was speaking about my work situation (which could be better – in particular my boss) and he used my mobile phone to find a personality profile online and asked me to read it. It sounded exactly like my boss, and it was the profile of an ISTJ.

He then asked me a question or two, and asked me to read another profile that he got up on my phone. It sounded exactly like me. It was the profile of an ENFP.

So here’s the problem: I work for an incredibly difficult person. Based purely on personality profiles as shown to me by my friend yesterday, I understand that there’s a basic difference between the way we see the world, but two other people work for Boss full time, and one part-time, and the full-timers at least do not find her easy to work for, either (the other person works in an adjacent office and therefore manages to avoid much of the fall-out that occurs). I was wondering if you could offer any advice as to how to navigate working with this Boss, and to avoid the nuclear fall-out for the rest of the time?

Examples of my boss’s behaviour:

• SHOUTING AT PEOPLE LOTS FOR NO REAL REASON AND BEHAVING IN AN UNPLEASANT AND UNNECESSARILY AGGRESSIVE MANNER WHEN DISPLEASED WITH THE TINIEST THING;

• Throwing HUGE temper tantrums over small things, stomping around the office and slamming the same file down on the desk repeatedly between my colleague and I, a bit like an overgrown toddle throwing a tantrum;

• OCD-like behaviour…I’m an adult…I leave my desk set up tidily but in the best order for me to get straight back down to work the second I come back from lunch, I do not appreciate finding that it has been ‘tidied’ in my absence…I can do that myself when required, thank you very much;

• Micromanaging us all – particularly me as the newbie - to death. Then getting incredibly angry when, as my concentration has been interrupted from the task I have been doing, I do not tell Boss a figure with the currency attached to it when Boss asks, due to the fact I have been interrupted and my head is half elsewhere;

• Shouting at one of the other people who works there, who then replies a little in kind, to the point where I will be on the telephone with a client/supplier and have to put the call on hold as neither I nor my interlocutor can hear each other, so I have to put the call on hold and ask them to keep it down;

• Never giving us any praise in the slightest, just to give us an idea that we are working in the right direction (perhaps not such a concern for the others, rather me, as I’m quite new and it’s my first time working in this industry), only criticising the slightest mistake we make more viciously than proportional to the size of the mistake;

• Possibly bugging the office – not the phones, or monitoring the computer usage, but I mean actually bugging the office to listen to our general chit-chat when Boss is not there (all of the full-timers have reason to think this might have been done due to an incident in the last few weeks, but it’s just a suspicion – there’s no proof …yet…);

I have been in this new job for a few months – but hopefully not many more – and I need to find a way to navigate my way through so that when I leave I get a good reference. I’m also worried about the potential for her to ‘take me into the other office for a talking to’ regarding the issue with the figures plus currency as I have accidentally done that more than once, and Boss is really annoyed about it. I try really hard not to do it, but it is going to take a bit of time to get it into my head as I think it’s a habit I have, and habits take a while to break, and I think that Boss’s idea of ‘taking me into the other office for a talking to’ will essentially be Boss screaming at me for 15 minutes or so, and there is literally NO WAY I am going to take that…I will walk out of the office first.

So, any tips?!

Thanks in advance! :)
 

Haven

Blind Guardian
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
1,075
MBTI Type
ESFJ
Enneagram
2w3
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
What made you come here and not some kind of forum about abusive bosses? I just think problem is beyond the scope of the MBTI.

I mean, what if I came here and said "help I'm going to be murdered by an ENTJ, what should I do?" or "My ESFJ stepmom just chained me up in the basement, how do I escape?"
 

ENFPEmployee

New member
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
4
MBTI Type
ENPF
What made you come here and not some kind of forum about abusive bosses? I just think problem is beyond the scope of the MBTI.

I mean, what if I came here and said "help I'm going to be murdered by an ENTJ, what should I do?" or "My ESFJ stepmom just chained me up in the basement, how do I escape?"

Lol - you're right! I think I just got excited at the idea that maybe this new thing I learned about could somehow help me deal with an otherwise very difficult situation and thought I would try to gain some insight as to what I could do to help myself.

At least you saying 'I think [the] problem is beyond the scope of the MBTI' makes me remember that it's totally irrational, unreasonable behaviour and that's it's not me having unrealistic expectations!
 
H

Hate

Guest
What made you come here and not some kind of forum about abusive bosses? I just think problem is beyond the scope of the MBTI.

I mean, what if I came here and said "help I'm going to be murdered by an ENTJ, what should I do?" or "My ESFJ stepmom just chained me up in the basement, how do I escape?"

Majority of questions here are pretty much beyond the scope of MBTI. What does it matter to you if this person wants to start a thread here and ask for advice?
 

Haven

Blind Guardian
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
1,075
MBTI Type
ESFJ
Enneagram
2w3
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
What a pointless and stupid post.

Majority of questions here are pretty much beyond the scope of MBTI. What does it matter to you if this person wants to start a thread here and ask for advice?

I gave her advice. I'm sorry you don't approve. There's no need to start throwing around insults now.
 

Thalassa

Permabanned
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
25,183
MBTI Type
ISFP
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6w7
Instinctual Variant
sx
Shouting and throwing tantrums is not an ISTJ trait, just FYI. Even by Keirsey standards, SPs are most likely to impulsively lose their temper then get over it quickly (anywhere from five minutes to a couple of days, lol) ...so if your boss is losing his temper, it's not because he's ISTJ. I know an ISTJ who prides himself on being stubbornly quiet when people are yelling, and only loses his shit occasionally ...very occasionally ...but he's also an E9.

I would think a Te dom (ExTJ) would be more likely to micromanage then flip out or seem overly aggressive. Or possibly an ESxP.

If he's really an ISTJ, and he really has OCD, then that's why, and he can't help it, and probably needs help.
 

Thalassa

Permabanned
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
25,183
MBTI Type
ISFP
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6w7
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sx
What made you come here and not some kind of forum about abusive bosses? I just think problem is beyond the scope of the MBTI.

I mean, what if I came here and said "help I'm going to be murdered by an ENTJ, what should I do?" or "My ESFJ stepmom just chained me up in the basement, how do I escape?"

I think your post is excellent. Gold star.
 

Thalassa

Permabanned
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
25,183
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
sx
Majority of questions here are pretty much beyond the scope of MBTI. What does it matter to you if this person wants to start a thread here and ask for advice?

Because they're incorrectly making it about being ISTJ and the person themselves thinking they're ENFP. This is not about that, s/he's probably mistyped him, and even if s/he has typed him correctly, he clearly has issues that have nothing to do with MBTI if he constantly screams at people and is bugging their office.
 
H

Hate

Guest
Because they're incorrectly making it about being ISTJ and the person themselves thinking they're ENFP. This is not about that, s/he's probably mistyped him, and even if s/he has typed him correctly, he clearly has issues that have nothing to do with MBTI if he constantly screams at people and is bugging their office.

Yeah I'm aware of all that, I was just sTrolling by.

 

CzeCze

RETIRED
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Sep 11, 2007
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GONE
Tell your boss that when you're concentrating on something and then she interrupts your work flow its not an efficient use of time. If she frequently interrupts you for the same question, consider emailing her the answers ahead of time.

She doesn't sound iSTJ, she sounds extroverted r just a very stressed introvert, perhaps work with the other coworkers on managing her,

Also, get out of there while you still can.
 
T

The Iron Giant

Guest
[MENTION=16029]ENFPEmployee[/MENTION]

While the others in this thread have a point about this not being so much about type, I think I may still be able to shed some light on what's happening, assuming she is an Si user like an ISTJ, which is certainly not improbable.

Si, our perceiving function, is kind of a pain in the neck when it comes to accepting the differences between ourselves and others. Si and Te, the two lead functions of an ISTJ or ESTJ, are particularly difficult in this regard. It sounds like your boss has a certain set of impressions about her workers: they're untrustworthy, they're lazy, etc. She will project this impression upon all her employees, and it will be very, very hard for any of you to break free of it. It sounds like you've already tried to talk to her... now I'm questioning whether the recommendation you're hanging around for is worth the ordeal.

Particularly if your boss is an ISxJ and you are ENxP, your dominant and inferior functions are directly at odds. Your lead perceiving function is the one that she trusts the least, and vice versa... because they're opposed in your functional lineup (you lead with Ne and trail with Si, she leads with Si and you trail with Ne).

I wish you the best of luck with this. It sounds like a very challenging situation.
 

Mike5609

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Joined
Jun 26, 2012
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23
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INTP
On the OP facts as stated, the problem goes well beyond interpersonal relationships and into the realms of employment law. You're from the UK, and you surely must be well aware that in the UK this sort of behaviour by your boss is grounds for legal action against your employing organisation (via internal grievance procedures initially), with the employer 'kept in line' to deal with the situation by the availability of Unfair Dismissal and Constructive Dismissal lawsuits.

If the boss is xxTx, she will know at some level that her behaviour is inappropriate and unreasonable. And if she's xSxx, she'll find it tough to rationalise away her outbursts. So an xSTx boss is well on the back foot here. You need to keep written records of her behaviour - there must be a mass of information on the web about (UK) employees' rights and how to gather and present evidence to best effect. You'll need to be alert to properly filter your Ne 'gathering' of her outbursts into appropriately detailed and specific Se-type records.

You're an employee, not a therapist. This is a problem that shouts out to be dealt with within the framework of employment law. If, and only if, your boss gets herself under control will the use of MBTI Type dynamics be helpful or relevant.
 

Fluffywolf

Nips away your dignity
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Mar 31, 2009
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9,581
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9
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sp/sx
Get an enneagram 9 boss. Everyone loves me.

Either way, whatever the situation is, I think this is good universal advice.

You work firstly for yourself and secondly for your company. You don't work for your boss.

If you feel like you work for your boss you're not in a good place. That never works out well, since you will take everything he says personally. However, an overstressed boss is usually a sign that things aren't going well. I would (secretly) look for other places to work, so you at the very least have other options.

Also, make sure he pays you in time, he the payments start to slack or come in late, that's a good sign you probably need to hurry out of there.
 

EntangledLight

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Jun 27, 2012
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?
[MENTION=16029]ENFPEmployee[/MENTION]

if this is type related... i'd say it might be closer to an Te-dominant/Fi-inferior, but in a bad way, as in the relationship between the two (dominant and inferior) is very lopsided and unbalanced which can cause an 'childish tantrum'.

something you can do? well, if you want that good recommendation, i'd just find out what it is that she wants and do it to the 'T', while appealing to the fact that she is most likely overworked and that you can understand that she stressed to the max with others not doing what she sees "simple work". this can get you on a relational level with her that will allow you be closer to a peer-level. not that you'd ever be there with this person in your current position, but that added element will definitely make things easier for you and will cause her to view you a "one of the good ones", and think of how much you can help both sides of the equation with that power before you move on.

my 2 cents :p
 
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