A balanced workplace is one where all personality types have the opportunity to shine, contribute, and advance. Wise organizations and managers recognize how diverse personalities can offer unique qualities that strengthen the whole team. And yet there’s a group of personality types that might not always get – or seek – the recognition that they deserve. Here, I’m going to shine a light on some core virtues of the Sentinel Role group: Logisticians (ISTJs), Defenders (ISFJs), Executives (ESTJs), and Consuls (ESFJs). We’ll explore what they bring to the workplace and why that’s a reason they might want to consider pursuing advancement or even higher positions of authority.
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Respectful of Structure
Every team and organization has some kind of structure – like operating guidelines, a chain of command, established methodologies, or a list of objectives. Too much structure can be limiting, but realistically, it takes a fair amount of organization and harmony for any team to be their most effective. Sometimes, more importantly, well-defined structure is what helps individuals perform well and make the most relevant and useful contributions to the group. To put it simply, teams need structure to do their best work.
It’s especially important to have enough structure when innovation and experimentation are prime parts of a team’s culture. Ideas can get out of hand if not directed purposefully. Most people know the joy of working alongside others who are on the same page and how much easier teamwork is when everyone shares a cohesive understanding of what needs to be done and how best to do it. In a group, Sentinels are the personalities who are most likely to value and adhere to that kind of organized path with dedication. They’re also the most likely personalities to say that some degree of social conformity is a good thing. And they’re significantly more likely than most personalities to try to stop others from breaking rules.
That might sound off-putting to more independent personalities, but in truth, it’s likely a valuable thing in the workplace. Productivity suffers when too many people question or break with necessary structure, and a team might flounder if they don’t maintain a shared focus on their objectives. As members of a team, Sentinels can provide a stabilizing influence on those around them, encouraging organization and harmony both by example and by their expressed values. Sentinels believe wholeheartedly in the value of cooperation and structure, and they help reinforce the backbone of any effective team.
None More Responsible
There’s little that’s more valuable in a workplace than responsibility, though it can take many forms. The idea that people feel engaged enough with their work to invest sincere personal effort in it is the heartbeat of productivity, and supporting that mindset is a big part of any manager’s job. Workplace responsibility represents something beyond just transactional thinking or the habitual embrace of mere adequacy. Responsibility is insistent personal intent and awareness – the willingness to act, provide oversight, and attempt to ensure good outcomes. It represents care.
Responsibility is a personal attitude and array of behaviors that can be turned toward any objective when backed by proper motivation. It’s valued by organizations and individuals alike because it tends to foster trust. Whether or not a responsible person chooses to cooperate in the workplace is up to that person, but everyone else will probably be able to rely on them and their choices, whatever they are. That reliability is a valuable commodity. Responsible people lower the level of uncertainty in any team, project, or company, which benefits everyone involved. So, what’s the most responsible group of personality types?
Probably Sentinels. Any personality may be responsible when they choose to be, but none are more likely to make that choice than Sentinels, because for them, responsibility is a source of pride and identity. They’re responsible not merely because they want to earn external rewards – which is totally appropriate – but because it naturally gives them internal rewards. Sentinels are the most likely personalities to say they enjoy most of the responsibilities that they have, take pride in them, and get a sense of security from having them. What’s more, among all four Roles, Sentinels are the only group of which a minority say they avoid new responsibilities if they can. Some personality types can handle responsibility, others see it as a burden, but most Sentinels actually like it.
Stepping Up
So, we’ve sung some statistically backed Sentinel praises here, but what’s the point? What’s the takeaway for these personality types? For one thing, many Sentinels might not have an accurate view of their own virtues, and information like this can help them undertake a positive self-inventory. But there’s something else: in the workplace, Sentinels deserve to benefit from their virtues and can take an active approach in promoting themselves.
There’s often a lot of status and glamour associated with “creative types,” especially in industries focused on innovation. But for every good idea, there might be 10 bad ones, and sometimes it takes a grounded, responsible person to help focus a team’s creative energy where it can actually do some good. Imagination can lead to some amazing accomplishments, but there are a lot of things that have to happen in between the inception and fruition of an idea. A concept that cannot be turned into a result can even be a liability, draining resources and distracting attention from viable courses. Sentinel personalities can help balance a team’s ideation toward the realistic in a way that not only assures efficiency but promotes success.
Furthermore, some of the most inventive people are terrible at executing ideas (sometimes because newer ideas get in the way). They might come up with a vague plan but put the responsibility for investigating specifics and making it happen onto the shoulders of others. That may or may not be fair, but there’s something to be said for a division of labor. Even in a balanced team where everyone has an equal voice and role to play, those roles do not have to be similar to be equal. Sentinels have their own ideas, yet they might also enjoy carrying out solid ideas that are a product of team input. The opportunity to excel is exciting to them when they’re handed a torch to carry, and everyone benefits from that excellence.
In many workplaces, the skilled and reliable execution of goals may be more important than innovative tweaks, theories, and experimentation, yet those things might be more attention-grabbing. And, of course, in the right amount, they’re also extremely valuable to any team or organization. But Sentinels do themselves a service in pointing out the essential role that they play and the critical importance of foundational norms and functional operations. A lightning storm is thrilling, but keeping the lights on is necessary. To promote themselves and their own career progress, Sentinels can step up their efforts to make their value known.
That might mean leveraging their virtues to become something more than efficient cogs in a group, even as they appreciate being depended on. Sentinel personalities can grow in their careers by voicing their ideas and views and seeking leadership opportunities. That’s far more comfortable for the Extraverted members of this Role group than it is for the Introverted ones, but all Sentinels are highly capable as leaders in the right circumstances.
For example, Logisticians typically prize technical performance, which is usually a good thing in a professional context. As leaders, Logisticians’ focus on efficiency can create the kind of smooth flow that makes everyone’s workday easier and more productive. People rankle at being told to do things that don’t make sense or in a way that doesn’t make sense – wasteful or arbitrary management is often a morale killer. A leader who provides calm, clear, sensible directives can give others a reassuring sense of purpose. Logistician leaders can easily foster an environment of respect and security, even without much hand-holding (which is usually not their thing). They expect and appreciate competent effort, and in turn, people under them appreciate being treated as if they’re capable and their efforts matter.
Defenders, on the other hand, may opt for a warm leadership style, preferring to create order through subdued empathy. They don’t enjoy pushing people or having to deal with antagonism and competitiveness. In many workplaces, Defenders’ focus on harmony can be a refreshing reprieve from harsher management styles and stress-inducing motivational techniques. When Defenders flex their “soft power,” people working under them will likely appreciate having their best performance drawn out by kind support rather than pressure. Under Defender leadership, a team might take on tones of family, with even the more difficult team members being treated as if they have a meaningful place and gently encouraged to fit into it.
Executives share a love of efficiency that’s on par with Logisticians – but with an even more energetic management approach. Where Logisticians might prefer to shape their team’s functionality and then step back and let it function, Executives enjoy staying involved and communicating openly and vigorously. For them, being a leader means being part of the action, including being up-to-date on what’s happening and giving frequent feedback. Some people might find that involvement intrusive, but when it’s balanced with support and approval, it can create a level of dynamic cooperation that moves mountains and propels a team forward.
Consuls tend to have a similar effect on groups as Executives do, save that their involvement with others often has a social, personal flavor. Even when the focus is on work matters, they can give off a companionable energy that helps support positive morale. While they have no trouble exercising authority as leaders, they seek to build an emotionally harmonious environment whenever possible. They might give strong encouragement, but they rarely do so without a willingness to involve themselves alongside anyone who needs help. Consul leaders are usually as eager to be bright participants as they are to mentor others.
These are just some examples of the strengths that Sentinel personalities bring to leadership roles, and their approaches to workflow, motivation, mentorship, and productivity can yield surprising benefits. In fact, because imaginative ideas and speculation can so easily become a path to nowhere, many industries and teams prosper from welcoming Sentinel personality types into leadership positions. And even if Sentinels don’t want to lead, they can reap the rewards of their capability by documenting their performance and using it to negotiate raises, favorable job roles, or whatever else brings them satisfaction and benefits.
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Conclusion: Getting Comfortable with Change
Sentinels have many virtues but may also face some personality-based obstacles to their own success. The flip side of their amazing dedication and responsibility is often a sense of discomfort with change and a resistance to the unfamiliar. Sentinels do extremely well in their careers by using tested and reliable methods, but they sometimes risk stagnation in an ever-changing world. Part of growing as a professional is being willing to improve, even if there’s some risk in trying new things. For Sentinels to reap (or offer) the full benefits of their abilities, they must step out of their comfort zones.
Taking a more vocal stance with their ideas and opinions might require practicing some boldness for the Introverted Sentinels, Logisticians and Defenders. And likewise, the more outgoing Sentinels, Executives and Consuls, might need to practice more flexibility and compromise than they naturally prefer. Each person has their own growth areas to discover, but whatever these are, all Sentinels can benefit from working to make some conscious personal advancements in their careers. Change isn’t as comfortable for these personality types as it is for others, making it an essential part of their future success. Practice makes perfect, and Sentinels’ steadfast mindset and methods will still serve them well, even as they dare to walk a new path.