What is Santa’s Myers Briggs profile?

Last year I posted this Blog, and have decided to republish it.  It’s just about the only date-related article I’ve written, and I am going to use the excuse of having just moved house and thus being even more frenetically and last-minutedly busy than usual.

So, to the burning issue of Santa’s profile.  I know it’s not the foremost question on your mind right now.  Questions such as “Who just pinched those sausage rolls?“ are reverberating around my ears as I write this.  But it has been niggling me since those MYERS BRIGG folks posed it on their Blog.  They have been doing some seasonal research and come to a conclusion with which I must slightly disagree.  “So what?”, you ask.  Fair point, but I am going to press on regardless.  Here’s my guess at the Big Man’s profile.

First of all, is he Introverted or Extraverted?  That one’s easy, I’d say.  He is a man who has happily lived by himself for countless years without any attempt to integrate himself into the wider community.  He keeps all his thoughts to himself, never attempts to make conversation despite endless opportunities to do so, and likes to do his work at dead of night.  An Introvert, in my view.

Next up, what sort of information does he prefer to pay attention to – detail or big picture?  Obvious:  if he enjoys his job at all he must be the ultimate Sensor.  He has fantastic eye for detail, and is able to assimilate outrageous quantities of information from innumerable unknown sources without a wobble.  Johnny still gets the right type of train set and Gemima’s new Barbie outfit is always the one she asks for.  He never gets lost, always knows the right time and date, and reads up meticulously on how to tackle the latest in chimney design.

Thirdly, how does he prefer to make decisions:  is he a Thinker or a Feeler?  I reckon that for someone to have been so successful in his work for so many years and to get so much pleasure from it, he must be a Feeler.  His primary role is to bring happiness to people, and he cares a lot about addressing their individual needs, however demanding they might be.  He never wants to let people down, and will literally go to the end of the earth to deliver.

And finally, how does he prefer to organise himself?  Again, easy.  He is the most organised person I know. He spends all year planning his itinerary, making lists, organising his resources and managing his team of Little Helpers to make it all happen against an absolutely concrete deadline.  He measures himself on a 100% customer satisfaction rating,  and achieves it every time.  Nothing spontaneous about that.  He has the Judging preference, no doubt about it.

So that makes him an ISFJ by my reckoning. In Simpsons language, he is therefore the Marge Simpson personality type.

If that is correct, his Temperament (his outlook on life) is known as the Guardian.  According to the definition I use, that means this is how he sees the world:

“Likes standard operating procedures to protect and preserve. Hungers for responsibility, accountability, and predictability.  Serious, concerned.  Trusts the past, tradition and authority. Wants security, stability and to belong.”

Does that sound like our man?

Interestingly it also means that he is that he has the profile which is most resistant to Change.  He’s what is known as a “Thoughtful Realist“, whose response to Change is “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.“  He likes to protect what he knows and takes a lot of convincing before he is ready to change.  Is he still pretty much the same old Santa we have known and loved for years?  I reckon so.

His profile also means he tends to Avoid conflict, or to Accommodate others’ needs at his own expense.  Basically he doesn’t like conflict and will be unlikely to assert himself when he perhaps ought to.  A little too helpful for his own good, it could be argued.  Meaning others will tend to take advantage of his good nature.  Sound familiar?

So there you have it: a new insight into one of the best known but least understood people in the world.  The OPP research, by the way, had him as an ESFJ – so we disagree on where he gets his energy.  I’ll have to make a point of asking him.

Warmest wishes to you and yours for the festive season, and see you again in 2014.

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