I once heard that the majority of Foreign Service Officers are strong Js. For those not familiar with Myers Briggs vernacular, that translates to hardcore planners. And yet, the foreign service lifestyle requires us to live with ambiguity. Ever since I received that letter from the State Department almost 9 years ago telling me to drop what I was doing and report to Washington 6 weeks later (this after more than a year of silence since passing the oral exam), I have grudgingly eased my compulsive need to control my fate.
I wonder why Js are drawn to this career, or why the Department seems to go after Js. We get new leadership every few years. Priorities change at the drop of a hat. There's a new strategic plan every year. Perhaps Js bring a necessary balance to a line of work that shifts gears every 5 minutes. If the foreign service replaced all the list-making Js with go-with-the-flow Ps, would chaos ensue or would the the Department actually thrive?
I wonder why Js are drawn to this career, or why the Department seems to go after Js. We get new leadership every few years. Priorities change at the drop of a hat. There's a new strategic plan every year. Perhaps Js bring a necessary balance to a line of work that shifts gears every 5 minutes. If the foreign service replaced all the list-making Js with go-with-the-flow Ps, would chaos ensue or would the the Department actually thrive?
1 comment:
Chaos isn't presently ensuing? What a relief!
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