True idealists (as defined by Keirsey) make up only about 1/10th of
population, which you may think is a good thing if you’re hard-driven, nose-to-the-grindstone, bottom-line type. Like other "difficult" types, they can make fantastic contributions to your relationship or organization if you understand how to deal with them and their lack of practicality.
As Keirsey (www.keirsey.com) defines them, "educationally they go for humanities, avocationally for ethics, and vocationally for personnel work." They're people who are guided by ideals, and are more interested in ideas than practical action. This can make them both slow out of gate, and agitators if they thing something is "wrong."
1. They will ferret out unethical behaviour.
Therefore, if you intend to hire one, you'd better have your ducks in a row and your ethics together (if you don’t, why don’t you?). On other hand, if you have a multicultural or diversity program to introduce, they would be ones to do it, and they’ll also know who’s mobbing, harassing and bullying others.
2. Translate abstract to concrete for them.
They tend to be highly intelligent as well as intellectual and abstract. This means they may know what they want, and even how they'll get there (many are great strategists), but be either unable to explain it to others, or too impatient. Either trust them to accomplish what you ask them to do their own way, or ask them specifically for step-by-step methods.
3. Don't underestimate their power of influence. They aren't light-weights.
Like many "difficult" types, they represent something within us all. Idealists appeal because they have a light that shines. They're interested in a better world, after all, and so are we, but who's got time?
Consider Gandhi whose "nobly principled, highly disciplined, courageously ethical strategy of non-violent passive resistance . eventually brought British to their knees." (Source: Keirsey)
So keep Idealist channeled and be watching your ranks. If you're playing fast-and-loose, they'll be one to challenge it, and you’d rather have them coming to you than just talking about it. If you can institutionalize such a program – how things are done, and how people are treated – idealist would be ideal (smile) for this position. One US insurance corporation has an ethics hotline, for instance, and someone was put in charge of it. Perhaps an idealist.
