Different people value different things, and it is in this, the domain of values, that the four types of personality stand apart most noticeably. The temperaments differ in their preferred mood, in what they put their trust in, in what they yearn for, in what they seek, in what they prize, and in what they aspire to. These contrasts in values are usually what people see first in others, when they begin to recognize the four temperament patterns, and are indeed much more easily discernible than differences in other domains, such as the self-image, or the forms of intelligence. Let’s look at the following chart:
Value Guardians Artisans Idealists Rationals
Being Trusting Yearning Seeking Prizing Aspiring Concerned Authority Belonging Security Gratitude Executive Excited Impulse Impact Stimulation Generosity Virtuoso Enthusiastic Intuition Romance Identity Recognition Sage Calm Reason Achievement Knowledge Deference Wizard
The Values of Guardians 97 trust authority, yearn to belong to groups, seek security, prize expressions of gratitude, and sooner or later aspire to be an executive. These values are radically different from those of the other temperaments. Therefore it will serve us well if we study these six kinds of value in the case of Guardians lest we are surprised and disappointed to find them, for instance, less excitable, less intuitive, or less reasonable than the rest of us.
Being Concerned
The prevailing mood of Guardians is one of concern. They are concerned about their homes, their jobs, their families, their neighborhoods. They are concerned about their duties and responsibilities, their health, their finances, about how they dress, and whether they’re on time. SJs are concerned about big things, like crime and punishment, school standards, public mo rality; and they are concerned about little things, like doing the dishes, aphids on the roses, their gas mileage. Of course, others concern themselves with many of these matters, too, but not as extensively or as seriously as the Guardians. Of all the types, Guardians can truly be said to be the “concerned citizens.”
Such thoroughgoing concern about anything and everything makes Guardians vulnerable to being down in the dumps, which is very likely what prompted Galen to name them the “Melancholics.” To put it simply, SJs tend to worry too much, especially about their loved ones, but also about the direction of society in general. To many SJs, society seems to be decaying, morals and manners aren’t what they used to be, no one shows respect anymore—what’s the world coming to? These grave concerns can furrow the brow of even the happiest SJs, and worry those around them, as Oscar Wilde shows us in his comedy with the perfect Guardian title, The Importance o f Being Earnest
CECILY: Dear Uncle Jack is so very serious! Sometimes he is so serious that I think he cannot be quite well.
MISS PRISM: (Drawing herself up.) Your guardian enjoys the best of
health, and his gravity of dem eanor is especially to be com m ended in one so comparatively young. I know of no one who has a higher sense of duty and responsibility.
This is not to say that Guardians don’t lighten up and have just as good a time as others. SJs can have a great sense of humor, lots of friends, and will usually cultivate a full and satisfying social life. But even when giving a party Guardians can find things to worry about. Bilbo Baggins, Tolkien’s hospitable little hobbit, enjoys having friends over for tea, but frets about invitations, service, and supplies:
He liked visitors, but he liked to know them before they arrived, and he preferred to ask them himself. He had a horrible thought that the cakes
might run short, and then he...found himself scuttling off to the cellar to fill a pint beer-mug, and to the pantry to fetch two beautiful round seed-cakes which he had baked that afternoon for his after-supper morsel. As the host, he knew his duty and stuck to it however painful.
Trusting Authority
Guardians trust authority. They believe in a hierarchical structure of authority—rule from the top down. They believe there should be subordi nation and superordination, that the actions of members of communities, schools, churches, and corporations, but also of families, should be governed by those in the highest positions. SJs tend to take the word of authorities in matters of education and medicine—their unquestioned assumption is “the doctor knows best.” Moreover, SJs have an abiding trust in the heads of church and state, and popes and pontiffs, presidents and prime ministers, and royalty of all types seem to capture their trust and their loyalty. And many SJs believe that an even higher authority keeps an eye on us: “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained.” So said George Washington, the father of his country.
The Guardian’s belief in authority makes its appearance early in life. If we watch a newly convened kindergarten class, we can .easily observe about half of the five-year-olds earnestly and tensely looking to their teachers to tell them what they are “s’posed to do.” The rest of the children (mostly SPs) are more like puppies, tussling, sniffing, and chewing the happy hours away, while a smattering of NFs and NTs will seem self-conscious and somewhat lost in the shuffle. By the way, in elementary and secondary schools usually two out of three, and more often, three out of four of the teachers are Guardians. This occupational choice makes sense for many SJs, since the traditional school is committed not only to supplying students with certain basic clerical skills and a core body of factual information, but also to handing down to the next generation a sense of order and a respect for authority.
Yearning for Belonging
Perhaps hoping in some degree to fulfill their search for security, Guardians are prone to join a number of social and civic groups. Maintaining
their membership status in such groups is fundamental to the SJ character; it is not too much to say that Guardians actually yearn to belong, needing each and every day to confirm that they are a member-in-good-standing. To this end, Guardians, far more than others, create and foster the social arm of the institutions they serve: the church auxiliary, the PTA, the com munity service club, the lodge, the municipal or political organization, the professional association. George Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis’s finely observed Guardian businessman, belongs not only to the Presbyterian Church, and the Chamber of Commerce, but he is a member of the Brotherly and
The Values o f Guardians 99 Protective Order of Elks, vice-president of the Boosters’ Club, and serves on a committee of the State Association of Real Estate Boards. Lewis tells us that Babbitt’s various memberships “made him feel loyal and important...a Prominent Citizen,” well-respected in his profession and his community.
Seeking Security
While the Artisan is the Sensation Seeking Personality, the Idealist the Identity Seeking Personality, and the Rational the Knowledge Seeking Personality, it is safe to say that Guardians have little interest in any of these other pursuits. The SJs’ concerns are more pressing than sensations, identity, and knowledge, for they are more aware than the other types of the dangers of living. What, after all, is a guardian but one who stands guard, prepared for the worst, a warden of safety and security?
Guardians know better than the rest of us what dangers lurk nearby, ready to pounce. Property can be lost or stolen; health can fail; relationships can fall apart. The world can go to hell in a handbasket. Perhaps this is why they put such trust in institutions. Institutions are bastions of security in a chaotic world, and SJs devote themselves to establishing them, tending them, and perpetuating them. Observe how one Texas social worker defends public institutions, and expresses himself in a Guardian’s oft-used terms of “guilt and innocence,” “good and bad,” and “accountability”:
It is important for people to be connected to institutions....If you say I’m conservative because I think the family’s important, I plead guilty. If you say I’m conservative because I think the church is important, I plead guilty. If you say I’m conservative because I think communities are important, I plead guilty. If you say I’m conservative because I think the public schools can be made to work, then I plead guilty....We can’t rely on people by themselves to be good. They have to participate through institutions...that hold people accountable and teach them certain values. Guardians seem drawn to the role of social protector, standing watch against the insecurities of life, searching for ways to defend—both themselves and others—against loss, defeat, and disappointment, but also against what many of them regard as the irresponsibility of human nature. Let us then think of the Guardian as the Security Seeking Personality, and be glad that such a one rightly has grave concerns about matters of safety in a dangerous, unstable world. “Better safe than sorry” SJs are wont to say, and rightly so.
Prizing Gratitude
More than other types, Guardians feel appreciated in the degree that others are grateful for what they, the Guardians, have done for them. It is galling to them when others take their services for granted and express no gratitude, but they can never say that they’re galled. In truth, no one
deserves gratitude as much as Guardians. Their guardianship is conscientious and unstinting, their attention to duty unflagging. Yet of all the types the Guardians are least able to ask others to express gratitude. Perhaps this is because they shift from the position of the child to the position of the parent far sooner than the other types do, and imagine that parental respon sibility far outweighs parental entitlement to gratitude.
Their attention to duty has a natural consequence: they help others, often doing the many thankless jobs, cleaning up, washing, record-keeping, and all the other routine and burdensome—but usually crucial—tasks as sociated with meeting logistical necessity. Imagine what happens to the glorious two-week family vacation if nobody remembers to check the car’s gas and oil. These are important tasks, but by their very nature they are almost invisible to others. The result is that Guardians may not be (are almost certain not to be) thanked for what they have done. In fact, these jobs may be noticed only when they are not done. Finally the Guardian is likely to protest resentfully that he or she has worked long and hard, and his or her efforts have not even been noticed—“After all I’ve done, this is the thanks I get.” And well might they protest, for those they help do owe thanks that is all too seldom given.
Aspiring to be an Executive
Many a Guardian’s loftiest aspiration is to become a distinguished head of an important and well-regarded institution. To run the show, to be in charge of things, to direct operations, to hold the reins of power—in a word, to be an “executive”—appeals strongly to the Guardians’ feeling for the rightful exercise of authority. Perhaps this is why royalty, where it still exists, seems to have a special place in the heart of most SJs, particularly someone of royalty who has the common touch, as did Lady Diana Spencer, fondly known as “Princess Di,” the ill-fated “people’s Princess.” However, whether the institution is a royal family or something less exalted, such as a business, a school, a church, a military unit, a local community, or a democratic nation, Guardians dream of becoming its Director, its Chief Executive Officer, its Chairman of the Board, its Commanding Officer, its Supervisor, its Commissioner, its Regent—or its President. Indeed, nearly half of the forty-one Presidents of the United States have been Guardians, their attitude toward the office summed up in the words of Jimmy Carter: “The President of the United States is the steward of the nation’s destiny.” Interestingly, William Howard Taft coveted his appointment to the Supreme Court even more than his time in the White House. Though elected to the Presidency, he was not truly content until he became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court—presiding over the nation’s legal hierarchy and thus achiev ing, for a Guardian, the most honored executive status of all.
The Social Roles Guardians Play 101
The Social Roles Guardians Play
There are two kinds of social roles, those that are allotted to us by virtue of our position in our social milieu, and those that we reach out and take for ourselves. It is impossible not to play a role in all of our social transactions. We perforce play offspring to our parents, siblings to our brothers and sisters, and relatives to our extended family members. On the other hand we willingly play mate to our spouse, parents to our offspring, superior to our subordinate, subordinate to our superior, friend to friend, and so on. Allotted or embraced, we have no choice but to enact our social roles, since to interact with others can never be role-free.
Three of our social roles are of special importance in the context of the study of personality: mating, parenting, and leading. In enacting these three roles the different kinds of personality differ significantly in the effects they have on mates, offspring, and followers. Let us consider a chart which shows the four ways that the mating, parenting, and leading roles are played:
Social Roles Mating Parenting Leading
Note the striking difference between playing the Helpmate role in the case of the Guardians, and the Playmate, Soulmate, and Mindmate roles in the cases of the other three temperaments. These different mating roles will require careful study and so a chapter on this topic is provided in Chapter 7.
Separate chapters (Chapters 8 and 9) are also required for defining and describing the noticeable differences in the parenting and leadership roles of the four temperaments. The Guardian Socializer parent plays a far different part in the family than the Artisan Liberator, the Idealist Harmo- nizer, or the Rational Individuator, just as the Guardian Stabilizer leader performs a vastly different function in a business operation than the Artisan Negotiator, the Idealist Catalyst, or the Rational Visionary. Still, a few remarks on each of the Guardian’s social roles can give outlines of how they are played.
The Helpmate
In their spousal role, Guardians regard themselves as Helpmates, ready to roll up their sleeves and work side-by-side with their spouses to build a comfortable, stable family life. In addition, SJs are extremely loyal to their mates and feel obliged to stand by them in times of trouble and help them straighten up and fly right. As a result, Guardians more easily than any
Guardians Artisans Idealists Rationals
Helpmate Playmate Soulmate Mindmate
Socializer Liberator Harmonizer Individuator Stabilizer Negotiator Catalyst Visionary
other temperament can be hooked into becoming the rescuer of troubled mates. Remember that SJ self-respect rests on doing good deeds, and so, to be good mates, they must help their spouses, and want to help their spouses. Other types, of course, wish to be helpful to their mates, but they do not pursue this objective with the seriousness of Guardians.
The Socializer Parent
In the parental role, Guardians are more often than not set upon seeing to it that their children are civilized, enculturated, fully in support of and in step with the community—in a word, “socialized.” A Guardian’s children are to be increasingly helpful and productive in the home, at school, at church, at scout meetings, and other social gatherings, and certainly at gatherings of the extended family. It is not too much to say that the SJ parent’s highest value for his or her children is that they fit in smoothly and helpfully with the community, and are in all ways conducive to its welfare. Guardian parents are far more concerned with this project than they are with the concerns of other types, that is, with encouraging their children’s venturesomeness, nurturing their positive self-image, or strength ening their independence.
The Stabilizer Leader
The soundest basis of leadership in the Guardian view is carefully considered administration of what is to be done, how it is to be done, and who is to do it. This means that there ought to be schedules, regulations, and standard operating procedures that employees know about and are ready, willing, and able to follow. If no such routines exist, then it is up to the SJ leader to establish them and disseminate them, and make sure that the mavericks and nonconformists (who are itching to set aside protocol and go off on their own) conform to the leader’s regimen. Even when some individualist does better with his own unique style of operating, the Guardian leader has cause to question this show of initiative, regarding it as possibly destabilizing and disruptive of the normal flow of work, besides being upsetting to some members of the staff. Rules and regulations are there for the good of all, and are to be observed, lest there be chaos and discontent. In the Guardian view, the leader who fails to stabilize an enterprise by not standardizing operations is liable to be met with misdirected efforts and diminished returns.