If you Google the term personality test, thousands of results will pop up asking you to assess yourself. MBTI or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is the most popular personality assessment that has been around for quite some time. While many have accused MBTI of inaccuracy, it continues to be used worldwide.
The ISTP MBTI type is one of the 16 personality types identified. It stands for Introverted, Sensing, Thinking and Perceiving. Read on to learn more about ISTP meaning, characteristics and pros and cons.
Exploring ISTP Meaning
The ISTP personality type is also known as the virtuoso personality type. It’s because they enjoy hands-on experiences and are fiercely independent. They prefer working at their own pace and actively seek out new experiences. They’re interested in practical application of their knowledge and skills and can become bored with routine work very quickly. They thrive while exploring and doing new things and are logical in their decision-making. They have an individualistic approach to life and tend to follow their own path.
The defining characteristics of ISTP people are:
1. Solution-Oriented
The virtuoso personality enjoys solving problems as they have an intuitive understanding of available resources. They aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty and are ready to roll up their sleeves and seek out solutions whenever possible.
2. Realistic
Other introverted personality types are often idealistic. However, the virtuoso personality types are more rooted in reality. They don’t enjoy abstract concepts and theoretical explanations or experiences. Instead, they like to work with tangible things and use their hands to solve problems.
3. Experimental
The crafter personality is always hungry for something new. They get easily bored and want to move on to the next thing. This also means that they thrive in high-risk situations such as adventure sports.
4. Curious
Curiosity is one of the defining virtuoso personality traits. The need to explore something new makes ISTPs incredibly curious beings. Whether it’s learning new information or skills, they can get started easily. However, they tend to lose interest pretty quickly as well.
5. Flexibility
Being fiercely independent comes with plenty of confidence and self-assurance. ISTP people don’t resort to traditional structures and often find ways of breaking out of them. They don’t enjoy routine life and prioritize freedom and autonomy over other things.
If you’re a virtuoso personality type, these are the key characteristics you should pay attention to.
ISTP People At Work
People with virtuoso personality use technical skills and expertise to solve problems. Fulfillment comes from seeing their work getting converted into positive results. They receive satisfaction from getting things done and seeing the change for themselves. They value logic and efficiency and like to act on things instead of spending too much time thinking. Let’s look at how ISTPs can make a difference in the workplace:
- They live in the moment and aren’t too worried about the future. This allows them to stay relaxed and make logical decisions
- While they can be spontaneous in the pursuit of something new, they’re also realistic and rational while making important choices
- Their enthusiasm for something new pushes them to be creative and seek out new experiences most of the time, allowing them to step out of their comfort zone
- They do well in crises and are often willing to take the leap. With hands-on creativity and spontaneity, they navigate crisis situations pretty well
- They are cheerful and optimistic. They don’t get easily stressed out by situations
While there are several benefits that an ISTP guarantees, there are some weak points that come with this personality type.
- Their spontaneity can lead to unpredictable behavior. While boundary-pushing is useful, they can get involved in high-risk situations
- They dislike commitment as they don’t enjoy routines and schedules, making it difficult for them to stick around in personal and professional roles
- Although they enjoy novelty, they get easily bored with things and want to move on to the next thing
- They are quite comfortable with their habits and lifestyle. If someone tries to change or challenge them, they can get irritated
- They choose logic over emotions in most cases, which prevents them from extending emotional support to others when needed
Keep Practicing Excellence
Personalities are complex and it depends on people how they want to work on their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. If you’re an ISTP and you want to overcome your weaknesses while focusing on your strengths, Harappa’s Practicing Excellence course is here to help. This in-depth course will teach you concepts that will help you continuously improve your performance, deliver beyond everyone’s expectations repeatedly and practice excellence consistently. The 1% Rule framework, in particular, will help you make small improvements for better performance. To go beyond your call of duty at work, start your free trial today!
Explore Harappa Diaries to learn more about topics such as Development Of The Myers Briggs Test, Who are the ISTP Famous People and ISFP Characters and Understanding ISFJ Personality to build strong professional networks.