https://www.16personalities.com/isfj-personality
Defenders are considered to be sensitive, reserved, have strong people skills and social relationships, conservative, but open to new ideas. I believe I have all of those qualities, so I was pleasantly surprised that the test described my personality so accurately.
Some strengths of a Defender include being supportive, reliable and patient, imaginative, enthusiastic, loyal and hard working, and having good practical skills. The only one that I cannot really identify with is being patient. I am an impatient person when it comes to things that I really want or want to accomplish. However, the rest of the strengths do fall in line with how I view myself.
Some weaknesses include being humble and shy, taking things personally, repressing feelings, overloading themselves, reluctant to change and being too altruistic. Again, most of these qualities describe me very well, especially being humble and shy. I was talking to my mom about this test this morning and I shared an example with her about my shy and humble personality. I have ridden horses for almost 17 years and I have competed for the past 8 or 9 years. I have goals and high standards for what I like to accomplish during my horse shows. When my friends ask me how I did at a show, I do not like to brag or boast about how I accomplished a goal or did well. Usually I will respond with "I did pretty good, but I still have a lot to work on." The same goes for my work and school life as well.
One of the comments made on the website about a Defender's personality in the workplace had me nodding my head in agreement. It states that Defenders want a friction-less environment and a tight knit group of people who work together and help each other. This ties in to the next topic of conflicts. I have a perfect example of a conflict in my workplace right now due to personalities and preferences clashing. At work I am task oriented and focused and like to check things off my list when I complete them. I have a coworker who is the complete opposite and will often times forget to do certain job duties and responsibilities, resulting in me getting frustrated and having to do the work myself in order for it to be completed on time. Due to my aversion to conflict, I often take on more work than I should and get stressed out because of it. Rather than just setting aside my fear of conflict and asking my coworker to do her part, I take on extra responsibilities and get stressed, which leaks into my home life. Understanding personal preferences may help me to solve this issue in the future. Now that I have fully accepted the type of personality I have, I can work to set aside my fear of conflict and ask for help, rather than getting frustrated and angry. I cannot change how another person works, but I can change my reaction to it.
I very much enjoyed Susan Cain's talk about embracing introverts.
https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts
I liked her story of going to camp. It seemed that no one there could understand why this girl would want to read books at camp. They were supposed to be getting "rowdie" and having lots of camp spirit. In fact, this is the reason why I hated going to camp, the very few times that I did. I didn't want to have camp spirit with a bunch of other kids who I didn't know. I certainly didn't want to embarrass myself in front of others for acting silly or "rowdie."
In her talk she states that it is now her job as an introvert, to talk to others about introversion. As a nurse I don't have to talk to my patients about being introverted, but I do have to go into a stranger's room, often times with a group of family members around, and present myself as a leader and as a healthcare professional, even if I want to run and hide in my comfort zone. After hearing her talk I am determined to embrace myself as an introvert and not try to change it, but to be comfortable with it.
Pat Ebright's definition and explanation of Complex Adaptive System Theory was very easy to understand and I really liked the example she used about trying to explain an awful day at work to a spouse or friend who was not there.
It is difficult to convey the emotions and everything that goes into a day as a nurse when it just didn't go right. There are so many small and complex situations, attitudes and scenarios that all come together as one to make the day go bad, but it is difficult to explain it to someone who was not physically there.
I find myself being a leader in my place of work all the time. I can especially say I am a leader when it comes to my patient's care. However, when it comes to my colleagues I don't always feel comfortable being the leader. When a change arises in our area of the hospital, I struggle with embracing it quickly unless I can imagine the immediate positive change it will bring to me, my patients and my coworkers. So when asked how I model embracing change to my colleagues it is difficult for me to give a clear answer. I find that it also depends on the work week we are having. There have been so many changes recently on my unit, that I have been struggling with modeling my embrace to my colleagues. The best way I can say that I am being a leader in those situations is by having a positive attitude about the changes and trying my best to overcome the negative aspects. I am always open to listening to my coworker's frustrations and complaints. Often times this will bring about a new idea that can transition the change more smoothly in the long run. I present these ideas to the charge nurse whenever my coworkers and I feel that it would benefit everyone. I believe that feeling like your voice and opinion has meaning can greatly increase work morale and the embracing of change.
References:
mentorsgallery. (2010, February 2). Pat Ebright - Complex adaptive system theory. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNFFEJqz9YA
TED. (2012, February). Susan Cain: The power of introverts. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts
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