The Sensing-Judging (SJ) Legalist — conservative, serious and responsible.
As a sensing-judging manager, you are a stabilizer, a maintainer, an organization person. You function comfortably in bureaucracies, and both those "above" and "below" you know that you can be counted on to be the image of fairness, reliability, patience and tradition. You never undertake any action frivolously, and you take responsibility for everything and everyone central to your work.
You enjoy your work best when you function in an orderly framework, and you believe that most serious enterprises benefit from that same kind of careful planning and conscientious management. You aren't hesitant to set up procedures, rules, manuals, directives, schedules, and time tables. And you fully expect that—once established and explained—they should be followed to the letter. That's why it makes sense to call you the (SJ)LEGALIST manager!
As a manager, you'll always need to be on guard for developing procedures whose only function is to maintain other procedures; policies that have outlived their usefulness; and regulations whose cost of enforcement or administration outweighs the benefits derived.
Given the chance, your fun-loving, rule-resistant (SP)REALIST employees may point out these difficulties to you. Your (NT)ANALYSTs may help you recognize regulations that limit technical creativity. And your (NF)EMPATHISTs won't let you ignore the procedures that dampen the human spirit. The trick is to remember to leave your office door—and your mind—open for suggestions from your employees.
Stated in terms you understand best, you should pay attention to these other inputs, even though the (SP)REALISTs may impress you as irresponsible, and all the intuitive types [(NT)ANALYSTs as well as (NF)EMPATHISTs] sometimes strike you as impractical. You should solicit their input, simply because it will pay off in increased productivity, stimulation and job satisfaction.
"Shoulds" are important to you in your work life. You sense obligations and commitments deeply, and you're unlikely ever to ignore or forget a promise, contract, or agreement you make. You're just as unlikely to forget a violation of trust or responsibility by someone else!
You tend to view questions of performance, reliability and responsibility in rather black and white terms, and you're prone to translate poor performance at work into a sign of being a bad person. Once someone has shifted categorically from your "good guys list" to your "bad guys list", the road to redemption is strewn with formidable barricades.
You may tend to become judgmental from time to time. In any management situation, that's a luxury you can ill afford. Judgmentalism can blind you to changes and reforms in your previously "errant" employees, as well as to declining performance in your favored ones.
Judgmentalism can cause you to prejudge or make snap decisions before enough data have been gathered.
LEGALIST managers are tough taskmasters of others, largely because they are so hard on themselves! You're unlikely to be satisfied with your own performance when it's anything short of perfect, so you may apply those same stringent standards to your employees and fellow workers.
You are highly sensitive to mistakes and to what you judge to be deficient skill, effort, motivation and productivity. You may find that you criticize others a lot.
To make matters worse, if you're a thinking-type LEGALIST, you may tend to bestow gratitude and appreciation stingily. If you give credit only to others who meet your high standards of achievement and performance, you may be reinforcing the employees who need your encouragement least!
It's wise to remember that, as a manager, you are the organization to your subordinates. Praise and reinforcement from you can be a powerful management tool—a trick which can shape, correct and reward behavior in the work place—enhancing productivity as well as morale and job satisfaction. Make a note to become more observant of the small things employees do right, the minor achievements which might otherwise escape your attention, and comment on these successes—the more immediately and warmly, the better!
If you're a feeling-type LEGALIST, that recommendation is probably already at the top of your personal "Things to Do Today" list, since appreciation comes naturally to you!
Many LEGALIST managers (again, thinkers more so than feelers) find it easier to give formal recognition—raises, citations or such—than to offer a handshake, a "Way to go!", or a pat on the back. Tangible "thank you's" just make more sense to many LEGALIST types.
Here's an example of the old rule: people give others what they crave themselves. As a manager you probably need and appreciate formal recognition from your superiors ("Money is great, thanks, but a plaque would also be nice!"), so that's what you give your subordinates.
If most of your employees are also LEGALIST types, that kind of reward system may make you a hit as a manager. But, if most of your people are of a different temperament stripe, you'll need to exercise more conscious control over your day-to-day behavior as an appreciator, because other folks need different strokes!
Comment positively on the clever, easy-going, team-playing style of your (SP)REALIST types, and on the competence, intelligence, and good ideas of your (NT)ANALYST subordinates.
Above all, remember to pay attention to the needs of your (NF)EMPATHISTs. Especially if you're a thinking-type LEGALIST, it may be difficult for you to recognize the merits of this type so different from yourself. Notice their warmth, sensitivity, ingenuity, communication skill, and the empathy that gives this type its nickname. Find some praiseworthy behavior every day. More than any other type, (NF)EMPATHISTs really require your approval and appreciation. They'll work hard to get it, and you'll crush them with criticism or neglect.
You perceive your job as a manager to be delegating tasks and monitoring performance to get the job done efficiently. In today's leadership climate of empowerment and highly participative management, you may feel distinctly uncomfortable. Giving away control may be difficult, and trusting your subordinates (now called "associates" on the flattened managerial flow chart) may make you uneasy.
The yearning of perceptive-type employees for flexibility in scheduling and task assignment is likely to impress you as instability, and the intuitives' impulses toward initiative, innovation and continual revision may strike you as basically disruptive to work quality and efficiency.
As a general matter, LEGALISTs dislike change, especially change they see as unnecessary or impractical. Consequently, as a manager, you probably tend to favor constancy and predictability in working conditions and task assignments for your employees.
When a top-down change is imposed on your administrative realm, you may grimace, but you will buckle down and put forth the effort necessary to bring that change about. As the practical person you are, you don't underestimate the number of facets which require attention in order to effect change smoothly. You plan carefully for each aspect.
Basically, you are a bit resistant to change because you are such a great detail-person. You know how complex even a small change can be. You know the time and energy costs of developing new procedures, new training programs, and incorporating them into a well-functioning system!
But, feelings aside, you'll respond to a directive from your superiors with characteristic responsibility and loyalty. You'll do the job right, and you'll do it on schedule, if at all possible.
When you find it necessary to institute a change, you'll make sure it's really required. And you'll expect your staff to follow through as you would. You're the boss, and that's their job!
You may set yourself up for disappointment unless you recognize that other personality types don't respond as you do.
First of all, other types have a much greater need to participate in the introduction of new rules and procedures. They want to have an input, make an impact. They need to understand the rationale.
For example, your (NT)ANALYST subordinates will want to do some research to project the down-the-road consequences for technical aspects of the work. Your (NF)EMPATHIST employees will want to brain-storm about the personal impact of the revision: its effects on morale or maintenance of peer groups. And, when it comes time to enact the new procedures, you'll want to involve your (SP)REALISTs by putting them in charge of getting the ball rolling!
Basically, the challenges you face as a manager center around one fact: other types are not as responsive to authority as you, and you may be inclined to distrust them for that reason.
Remind yourself: just because other temperaments don't want to follow orders blindly doesn't mean they don't like work, don't want to work, or can't provide valuable insight into the running of organizations.
LEGALIST managers, like yourself, may benefit by learning to deal with what they see as insubordination, opposition and defiance: behavior they never exhibit themselves.
LEGALIST managers need to recognize when change and reform are necessary in the work place. They need to listen to the valuable insights of their intuitive-type employees to provide the spark of initiation.
LEGALIST managers need to understand that employees need to develop as individuals through work, that work must meet their human needs. LEGALISTs must realize that other temperamental types do work for more than money alone. They work for reasons other than that they're "supposed" to work. The work environment must be nurturing. The work itself must be satisfying. They must feel valued for their unique contribution to the team.
People's needs for affiliation and self-determination must be taken into account when tasks are assigned, when groups are formed. People need to participate in goal-setting.
People have a need to feel part of their work, to see the product they help create, to be acknowledged, to take responsibility for the outcome of their labor.
Workers need to feel that they have a say in the work of an organization, the overall philosophy and spirit, the projects undertaken, the procedures employed.
This kind of participatory, human-centered management doesn't come naturally for sensing-judging types. As a matter of fact, it strikes most LEGALIST managers as chaotic, anarchical and inefficient.
No one can reasonably expect the LEGALIST manager to be all things to all people. Your managerial strength is in your steadfastness, your resistance to unnecessary change, your honesty, loyalty, and willingness to carry out directives. No one expects you to become an intuitive type or to abandon your judging characteristics.
But you can become a more effective manager by affiliating with intuitives [both (NT)ANALYSTs and (NF)EMPATHISTs] and by taking their counsel seriously. You can improve your relationships with your employees by making sure that an (NF)EMPATHIST is assigned the chore of apprising you of human needs and advising you on "people problems."
You can rely on the counsel of some well-chosen perceptive types to open your mind to new ideas, new solutions. You'll need their input to balance your judging, decisive nature.
You can use your various employee types for their strengths to create a balanced organization. And, regardless of your modesty, you'll be the one to receive the credit for extraordinary team-building and effective management!
Every organization needs a good supply of (SJ)LEGALIST employees! Loyal, traditional, steady, punctual, responsible, conscientious and product-oriented, LEGALISTS are the bedrock of any enterprise.
LEGALISTs are hard-working, almost religiously so. The Anglo-Saxon cultural tradition was built on the LEGALIST philosophy. A LEGALIST wrote "the Protestant ethic," as well as all of the Horatio Alger stories about the pay-off of hard work and diligence.
LEGALISTs plan for the future, based on experience from the past. That characteristic makes it a bit difficult for most LEGALISTs to feel really comfortable in the present moment. They are rather serious people, for the most part, more concerned with the product of their lives and work than with the process of living and working.
The LEGALIST feels responsible: to parents, society, boss, work, profession, company, nation. Feeling-type LEGALISTs are usually more accountable to people, while thinking-type LEGALISTs may feel more connected to institutions: a useful distinction to bear in mind, should you and the organization come to a parting of the ways.
A LEGALIST's version of planning involves preparation for all of the possible catastrophes which just might befall any enterprise. A LEGALIST wrote the Boy Scout motto: "Be prepared." But the LEGALIST's keen surveillance can turn to brooding pessimism. It surely was a LEGALIST who came up with Murphy's Law: "Everything that can go wrong will, and in the most destructive way possible!"
The LEGALIST employee is a good observer, a keen attendant to the details, facts, and figures of life. Given this characteristic, together with the LEGALIST's honesty and fiscal conservatism, you'll understand why many companies place LEGALISTs in key positions as financial officers, comptrollers, accountants and treasurers.
The LEGALIST finds value in tradition, in principles and procedures that preserve the human social contract: man's responsibility to man and society. It will not surprise you that many police and other law enforcement agencies selectively fill their ranks with LEGALISTs.
In the working environment you may put these LEGALIST instincts to good application. You'll find that LEGALISTs are excellent at writing rules, developing procedures and establishing time tables and schedules. LEGALISTs are also excellent at enforcing these same instruments of management from the top down. LEGALISTs make diligent members of standing committees: committees that function on a regular basis to hear grievances, develop policy, deal with regulatory agencies or respond to legal requirements at the city, county, state or federal level. The LEGALIST's unflinching sense of honesty and "the greater good" arm this type with a natural ability to be a judge or jury member, an historian or a legislator.
But the LEGALIST employee sometimes shows a problem of being rigid or "judgmental": that is, basing decisions in the "now" so solidly on what was done in the past that change, flexibility, responsiveness and creativity are totally stifled. This same characteristic can make this employee remarkably closed to new information and perhaps a bit hasty to settle on a course of action.
LEGALISTs can be quite prejudiced and stubborn in their denial of their narrow-mindedness. Given the fact that the LEGALIST sees the world as a somewhat black-white reality, a manager is always wise to know how the LEGALIST employee views a person or situation, overall. If something or someone falls on the "black" side or the "bad guys' team," then everything associated with that issue is also likely to be viewed in negative terms. LEGALISTs are fair only to a point.
As a manager of LEGALISTs, congratulate these employees on stability, punctuality, reliability, responsibility, workmanship and attention to detail.
When a LEGALIST does a really good job, acknowledge your employee formally. Ceremonies, certificates, plaques, medallions or symbolic gifts are appreciated by LEGALISTs. Money is also fine, and a LEGALIST's salary should be kept commensurate with this employee's value to the organization, especially in comparison with other employees in the LEGALIST's reference group. Otherwise, the LEGALIST may feel unfairly treated, and that—above all else—can lead to burn-out and disenchantment by LEGALISTs.
Carry that concept of fairness one step farther. If another worker isn't performing, or if someone else does something wrong or dangerous or destructive, and no punishment or disciplinary action is taken against that employee, count on your LEGALISTs to be put out with management. From the LEGALIST perspective, keeping things fair is part of management's job!
LEGALISTs like clearly defined working situations. If the LEGALIST doesn't have a well detailed job description, chances are good this employee will devise one, independently and stick to it dogmatically. LEGALISTs like the feeling that they are working in a straight-forward situation, where they have a schedule, an agenda, a clear understanding of what is required, when, and how. Unstructured or changing working environments are unnerving to LEGALIST employees.
LEGALISTs will do things exactly as you require, but they may bridle at changes they see as unnecessary. They don't like continual meddling with how they perform their job function. To them, it seems to be distracting and inefficient to be re-training all the time. They prefer tried-and-true methods.
You may expect some foot-dragging resistance to introducing new procedures, instruments, tools, computers and such into a LEGALIST-run operation. You'll be wise to preface any such modification with some practical, facts-and-figures explanations of why the changes are needed and how much time, money and material the new tools, toys and tactics will save.
The LEGALIST doesn't require a lot of stroking at a personal level. Work is work, and LEGALISTs are content to separate their working selves from their personal lives.
Nonetheless, if your LEGALIST is a feeling-type, you'll find that the small gestures of humanity are really appreciated, and that the time you invest in personal attention to this employee will yield high dividends in terms of enhanced loyalty. Still, even with feeling LEGALISTs, an impersonal, efficient working situation is quite tolerable. Work, after all, is work to the LEGALIST: a duty, not a party.
Politeness is another issue. LEGALISTs are traditional, and they believe there are right and wrong ways to do everything. Saying "excuse me," "please," or "thank you" isn't being personal—that's being proper and respectful. Even thinking LEGALISTs expect to be treated with conscientious respect. They expect some appreciation for exceptional favors, but not necessarily for work which is "just part of the job."
A word to the wise: polish your manners when dealing with LEGALIST employees. Watch what you say in mixed company. Keep the sex roles well defined. Dress like a lady or like a gentleman. Respect the hierarchy, and defer to age and rank when dealing with various managers and administrators.
LEGALISTs are traditional. They respect and participate in the formal celebrations of organizations: awards banquets, the national holiday picnics, the secretary's birthday party.
If there aren't traditional gatherings in your organization, chances are good that your LEGALIST employees may be the ones to begin them! LEGALISTs don't mind putting forth the extra effort to organize and orchestrate such celebrations. They enjoy feeling useful and needed. Feeling-type LEGALISTs, especially, see that organizational fellowship as important—well worth the trouble. And they may be right, especially if LEGALISTs comprise a significant percentage of your work force.
LEGALISTs are conscious of the role of clothing in image-building. LEGALISTs will usually try to dress appropriately for any occasion, work or social. They are mindful of status and its implications in dress. LEGALISTs will not hesitate to invest money in work or business clothing, and they are usually responsive to requests from supervisors to modify their attire for the sake of the job.
The organizational world of now and the predictable future is one of unrelenting change, and—although the LEGALIST's reflexive opposition to change has been mentioned earlier in this profile, it bears amplification. Your LEGALIST employees are the ones most likely to sabotage even the most carefully executed program of corporate response and evolution.
If you are an intuitive manager, it may cross your mind to just get rid of this inertia and stubborn resistance by pressuring the LEGALISTs out of the system. That would be a mistake. Who will provide the stability when the new changes are enacted?
Enlisting the aid of your LEGALISTs in on-going change is essential. Just remember the significance of their SJ characteristics.
As sensors, they prefer taking in information through the senses. Don't expect them to gallop off to generalization, association, pattern detection, conceptualization, ideas and imagination. They want facts and data, concrete evidence that change is necessary and that your proposed response is realistic and will be feasible in the day-to-day minutiae of running the organization.
As judges, they will ask about the plan, the structure, the schedule. They will anticipate problems aroused by the ambiguity of the changing situation. Expect them to challenge your ideas at the nitty-gritty level of "What will we do with this problem?" and "What will happen if that occurs?"
Although their knee-jerk pessimism may be a bit wearing—especially if you're an intuitive sort—listen to their valuable feedback.
They will want clear guidelines. What will their new roles be? What will be expected of them? How will they know when they've got it right? You need to have those answers in place—or work them out with their help.
From her Connections series. Read her introduction first if you want the frame.
As an (SJ)LEGALIST mate, you're both responsible and sensible. That's both the good news and the bad when it comes to your temperament's loving relationships.
The LEGALIST doesn't embark on serious relationships frivolously, nor forsake them on a whim. The promise "for better or for worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, 'till death us do part" surely was written by a LEGALIST.
Relationships are commitments to this type, and, in mating as in all other life pursuits, the LEGALIST honors commitments and expects others to follow suit.
Whether the LEGALIST first comes across as conservative, any potential mate had better believe that the LEGALIST is a solid citizen of the here and now, a practical, reliable Rock of Gibraltar.
This theme runs throughout the life and loves of the LEGALIST mate. For the LEGALIST, life has to make sense, fit in with the heritage of the past and look toward the future. For most LEGALISTs, the family is society, and it must be preserved, protected and defended in order to ensure the continuity of all we hold dear as a people.
Anyone who loves an LEGALIST had better realize that family obligations and celebrations do matter, that rituals count, and that politeness and respect are values to be honored.
The dating/courting pattern for an LEGALIST is likely to be a careful, deliberate process—if the LEGALIST is approaching the relationship as a potentially serious one.
LEGALIST men, in particular, often show two distinct mating patterns—"sowing wild oats" and "finding a wife"—and rarely does the first kind of relationship turn into the second.
The LEGALIST may evaluate potential partners on a number of dimensions, checking off characteristics as if a report card were being issued.
That's only natural: assessing, judging and deciding come second nature to the LEGALIST in all life activities. And the LEGALIST is such a good observer of details that no fault of the potential mate is likely to escape the LEGALIST's watchful eye!
The LEGALIST may be attracted to the frivolous and impulsive side of other types, but shortly into a relationship, the LEGALIST will begin pointing out the partner's faults. "Shoulds" and "shouldn'ts", "oughts" and "ought nots" may pepper conversations.
Anyone who mates with a typical LEGALIST should be prepared for "constructive criticism"—on an on-going basis.
Don't misunderstand: the LEGALIST does not require perfection in a mate. In fact, the LEGALIST may feel some special warmth for the mate's endearing flaws. Those flaws translate to "I need you" flags to the LEGALIST—and this type does need to be needed.
Love to the LEGALIST is giving, doing, sacrificing, and caretaking. Given a choice between taking and giving in a relationship, the typical LEGALIST will give.
LEGALISTs may carry this self-sacrificing pattern to extremes at times, losing sight of their own needs and wants for the sake of their partners'.
The key is this: as much as the LEGALIST wants to be loved and cared for, this type often is plagued by a deep-seated sense of unworthiness, by a feeling that love must be earned, that worth must be proven.
Some LEGALISTs just don't believe that they deserve to be loved! Remember, LEGALISTs may judge themselves by the same tough standards they apply to the rest of the world!
Understanding these LEGALIST tendencies, it is clear why this super-responsible type often ends up with super-irresponsible partners. The giving LEGALIST needs a dependent, needy mate: a taker. And if the mate isn't needy at the start of the relationship, the LEGALIST has some sure-fire tricks to create dependency.
By loving a person with almost opposite personality characteristics, some LEGALISTs feel better, more worthy. So (SJ)LEGALIST thinkers often marry (NF)EMPATHIST perceptives, and (SJ)LEGALIST feelers may find themselves attracted to (NT)ANALYST perceptives.
Since neither (NT)ANALYST perceptives nor (NF)EMPATHIST perceptives are known for the (SJ)LEGALIST's favorite personal traits (stability, responsibility, and sensibility), they trigger the LEGALIST's critical nature, simply by expressing their natural personality! The LEGALIST scowls and scolds and takes over the mate's responsibilities. In a nutshell, the LEGALIST becomes parental.
The mate—of whatever type or stripe—may shape up a bit under the critical scrutiny of the LEGALIST. There may be apologies and promises to "get better", improve, reform. The LEGALIST forgives.
Or another outcome may occur. The errant partner may fatigue of all this nit-picking criticism and attempted re-vision and become more irresponsible than ever before!
If this occurs, the LEGALIST—ironically—gets some emotional goodies by feeling even more needed and, thus, more important, but the added responsibility may oppress the super-dependable LEGALIST, and weigh down this well meaning partner with an intolerable load of obligations and duties. For anyone of any type, shouldering too many of others' burdens can lead to burning out—snapping.
The scenario we've just painted is how LEGALIST partnerships usually dissolve, with the LEGALIST feeling unfairly depended upon, smothered with worries that should rightfully belong to the "irresponsible partner."
The LEGALIST, as the other temperamental types, needs to bear in mind that relationships based on one partner's "need" to reform are destined for unhappiness. And an unhappy relationship involving an LEGALIST may very well last a lifetime, since this type takes commitments so seriously!
On the home front, LEGALISTs prefer conventional domestic relationships.
The LEGALIST man takes work as a serious obligation—an expression of love by being the family's breadwinner.
He wants a stable, predictable home environment and he expects his mate to make the household hum like a well-oiled machine. If his mate works outside the home, he won't hesitate to let her know that her familial obligations still come first in his mind.
The LEGALIST woman enjoys being provided for, even if she also works outside the home.
More so than the other temperamental types, the LEGALIST woman is likely to take time consistently to practice the domestic arts (sewing, cooking, cleaning, painting.) Her house is likely to show the signs of conscientious maintenance. Clean, orderly, safe, and functional, her home is a source of pride, and her family a badge of accomplishment.
Whether male or female, family matters matter to the average LEGALIST. Traditional celebrations, such as birthdays, holidays, anniversaries and family reunions, receive the LEGALIST's dutiful, if not always joyful, attention.
Children, too, are important to the LEGALIST. Discipline and etiquette should be taught in the home, this type believes. Rules are part of the teaching process, and respect for "shoulds" and "should nots" may be drilled into the offspring from an early age onward.
The LEGALIST's conservatism and concern for security may be issues in the mating relationship. Planning for the future, saving, and avoiding frivolous expenditures and conspicuous consumption are second nature to LEGALISTs, but not to other types.
Before the LEGALIST buys anything, a lot of questions must be answered. Do I need it? Is it affordable? Can I buy it with cash, rather than credit? Is it durable? Will it last? Won't the old one do?
To the LEGALIST, life must be sensible.
The LEGALIST enjoys an organized, well scheduled life; lists and time tables abound in most LEGALIST homes. And LEGALISTs tend to organize their mates—or create friction and resentment by trying to do so.
Work is an important activity to LEGALISTs, and after the paying job is finished for the week, LEGALISTs often plan a weekend of domestic projects, working on the house or the car.
As a general matter, LEGALISTs tend to spend their leisure time in productive activities (practical crafts, cleaning, fixing, repairing, maintaining), and LEGALISTs often expect their mates to be occupied as well. That expectation may lead to irritation and conflict on both sides.
Simply put, LEGALISTs believe that work is the business of life and playtime must be earned.
LEGALISTs tend to plan their leisure time, just as they plan the rest of their lives. Vacations are scheduled. Reservations are made well in advance. Suitcases are packed the day before departure.
Impulsive, spur-of-the-moment trips may be fine for the other types, but not for an LEGALIST.
The idea of taking a cross-country jaunt without a detailed itinerary would be more than unsettling to the typical LEGALIST. It would be a veritable nightmare!
When it comes to matters sexual, the LEGALIST applies the same rules that govern the rest of the loving relationship.
Oh, the spontaneous, impulsive and passionate affair may last for a while, but pretty soon, sex—like all other life pursuits—will show up on the LEGALIST's mental checklist of tasks to be accomplished on schedule. Needless to say, this attitude is difficult for the other types to comprehend.
The romantic and passionate (NF)EMPATHIST won't consider sex unless the feeling's there, no matter what day it is. The (NT)ANALYST, totally absorbed in some project or idea, isn't likely to shake that preoccupation, just because "It's Friday night, and we always make love on Friday night." And the fun-loving (SP)REALIST, who hates being tied down to a schedule even at work, is sure to balk at the LEGALIST's objection: "Not tonight, dear. It's Tuesday, and we just made love yesterday."
Whenever two LEGALISTS mate, you can count on their relationship to be responsible, organized, scheduled, and completion-oriented. Roles within the relationship are likely to be well-defined, and "shoulds" and "ought to"s will be popular, even when they're not expressed.
"His and hers" tasks may be readily distinguished, and conventional sex roles are likely to determine the assignments of who does what.
In a LEGALIST marriage where there are children, boys and girls are likely to be allowed different levels of freedom and exploratory behavior. The girls will be reared to be "ladies," and the boys will be reared to be "men" (meaning macho, act-it-out men).
Age, too, is likely to be a predictable determinant of freedom. Older children will carry greater responsibility and earn greater freedom than younger ones.
In most domestic matters, both parties will tend to do what they believe they're "supposed to do"—or deal with their deviance by blaming each other or feeling guilty themselves. And—please believe me—LEGALISTS can be just as hard on each other as they can be on themselves!
Work, productivity, cleanliness, safety and health will be stressed, and domestic chores will be likely to receive systematic attention. The home of a LEGALIST-LEGALIST couple is certain to be a clean one!
To the LEGALIST couple, family matters, and children are likely to be part of the picture. In a general sense, extended family responsibilities usually are taken seriously by this couple, and clan reunions and celebrations will probably figure in the relationship.
Birthday cards and anniversary presents will not be tardy or forgotten by the LEGALIST couple, particularly if one or both are LEGALISTS who prefer feeling over thinking. Should other friends or relatives forget an important event, the LEGALIST couple may be counted on to discuss the lack of thoughtfulness and caring.
Organizations—whether professional, religious, fraternal, or recreational—will probably fit in to both mates' schedules, and both are likely to allow each other adequate space and time for boys' night out or girls' night out. (And you can be sure that boys' night out will usually get precedence over the girls' recreation!) But these "vacations" from the relationship are more likely to be regular, predictable occurrences than spontaneous, spur-of-the moment events to interrupt the predictable rhythms of the relationship.
Shared goals and material acquisitions are likely to be important to the LEGALIST couple, and they're more likely to save and spend, rather than to spend and pay off debts. If living on credit is unavoidable, you can count on some level of reflexive discomfort on both sides.
But, things are not always going to be smooth sailing for the LEGALIST pair. Both are stubborn and opinionated, with a clear idea of how things are "supposed to be" and a resistance to change, no matter how small. Criticism and suggestions for reform and improvement are likely to be handed out by both parties from time to time.
If the LEGALIST man decides he wants to become the house-husband, for whatever reason, he can expect a stormy response from Ms. LEGALIST. And if Ms. LEGALIST decides that she wants to go back to school, she'd better have ready answers for "How in the world the house and kids will be taken care of with her in class all day and studying at night?!" In other words, neither party is likely to be reflexively supportive of the other's carrying on in any way contrary to habit and expectation.
When career problems, economic reversals, illness, accidents, or other family emergencies force the LEGALIST couple to restructure their marriage along non-conventional lines, count on the adjustment to take a lot of time and energy.
For instance, if he gets laid up or laid off, and she suddenly becomes the only breadwinner in the family, she may be surprised to discover that she's still expected to take care of all the household responsibilities (which have never been his job and aren't likely to become such without an argument!).
Along those same lines, if Ms. LEGALIST decides she wants to join a politically oriented "liberated woman" organization, she can expect less cooperation for her monthly meetings than she'll receive for the Homemaker's Club and the church's charity bazaar.
LEGALIST-LEGALIST pairs, as all other "like likes like" couples, may look at their relationship with the "glass is half empty, not half full" attitude, focusing only on their differences, rather than on their similarities.
First of all, the partner whose preference for sensing is stronger may see the other as a way-out intuitive! And the partner who's more comfortable with the judging attitude may regard the other as a wishy-washy perceptive type!
In other words, LEGALIST couples who differ markedly in the strength of their preferences for sensing and judging may actually regard each other as "foreign" types!
Other important conflicts and misunderstandings may revolve around the dimensions of thinking-feeling and introversion-extraversion.
For example, a LEGALIST who prefers feeling may consider a thinking-type partner to be cold-hearted and mechanistic in interpersonal affairs. The thinker, in turn, may call the feeler soft-headed and emotional. In either case, they may minimize their areas of compatibility and focus on their differences.
By the same token, introverted LEGALISTS may find their need for peace, privacy, and personal territory continually violated by extraverted LEGALISTS, whose requests for socializing, contact, conversation and feedback are frustrated by introverted partners. Neither may recognize the other as a kindred soul because their needs for interaction are so different.
The significance of differences along the introversion-extraversion dimension cannot be overstated. An ESTJ and an ISTJ represent vastly different personality styles in a close relationship. And an ESFJ and an ISFJ may have to work very hard at understanding each other's needs—even though they have three out of four of the personality factors in common.