ESFJ Personality: Definition, Strengths, Weaknesses, Development And More.

The ESFJ personality enjoys and joyfully observes traditions, they are generous in giving, especially when custom prescribes. All other things being equal, ESFJs enjoy being in charge, see issues clearly and easily delegate, work hard and play enthusiastically, like most SJs, are very faithful to seniority rights, volunteer service ( embodying the meaning of life) and expect the same from others.

ESFJs are easily injured and when injured their emotions will not be contained, they by nature “wear their hearts on their sleeves”, often exuding warmth and kindness, but not infrequently seething with the irritation of their souls. Some ESFJs channel these vibrant emotions into dramatic moving performances on stage and screen.

What is the ESFJ personality?

ESFJs are conscientious helpers, sensitive to the needs of others and energetically dedicated to their responsibilities, they are very in tune with their emotional environment and attentive to both the feelings of others and the perception that others have of them, they like a sense of harmony and cooperation around them, and they are eager to please and toast.

They value loyalty and tradition, and generally make their family and friends their top priority, are generous with their time, effort, and emotions, often take the concerns of others as their own, and will try to implement their important organizational talents to bring order to other people’s lives.

Many times they can be found as hosts or hostesses, they tend to take on the role of organizer without hesitation, and they want to make sure everyone is in charge. Roles such as committee leader, event planner, and church volunteer are well suited to the ESFJ, generally engaged in their communities and working hard to do their part in maintaining social order, they are interested In other people and they like to know the details of their lives.

Gossip is the favorite hobby of many ESFJs, they love to share stories about the people around them, they have a clear moral code that guides their behavior and their expectations of others, they have strong opinions on how people should behave and what to do.

Manners and other codes of social interaction are often of great interest to ESFJs, they can think in terms of black and white, right and wrong, they can judge others who do not think they are acting appropriately, but have the best intentions, they just want everyone to follow the rules so everyone gets along. The ESFJ wants things to be okay with the people around them, and can become very involved with the problems and concerns of others.

Functional analysis of the ESFJ personality

Extroverted feeling

ESFJs live in their extraverted feeling functioning. Sentiment, a rational (that is, decisive) function, easily expresses opinions in the E world of objects and people. ESFJs have the ability to express warmth, anger, and a variety of other emotions. Actions are encouraged or reprimanded depending on how they affect other people, especially those close and dear to the ESFJ, the vocal decision of this type predisposes many of its members to administration and supervision.

They are quick to express their feelings, opinions and grievances, this can be both a strength and a weakness. On the one hand, it contributes to the responsiveness and leadership capacity of ESFJs and on the other hand, it may dispose them to judge prematurely or too harshly.

One characteristic of this involves meeting the needs of others, they work to ensure that everyone gets along and is well cared for, sometimes conceiving of themselves as sacrifices, deferring their own needs for the collective good. In their attempt to cultivate good feelings in the social environment, they tend to show a happy face, showing great warmth, kindness and sympathy in their interactions.

Introverted detection

The secondary detection function assists and stimulates the dominant feeling that sensitive data is immediately collected and compared to internal forms or standards. The data on which decisions are made are focused and given a contrast that tends to be stronger and clearer than the original stimuli, the strengthening effect of sensation detection may be responsible for the reputation of this type of carrying their “Hearts on their sleeves.” In any case, ESFJs reflect the “black and white” view of reality that is common to SJ types.

Sometimes they continue in the beliefs and worldview of their youth, including matters of politics and religion. The longer they are immersed in particular circumstances, the more difficult it will be for them to open up to other alternatives.

Extraverted intuition

Intuition is tertiary: as the ESFJ matures, and when situations arise that require suspension of criticism. Under the leadership of the sensation function, intuition allows a loosening of the more rigid rights and errors, teasing and mocking humor emerge. ESFJs are also capable of discerning patterns and philosophies, but such perception is subject to the weakness of the tertiary position, and the results often lack the variety and complexity of connections that more complex systems require.

Since she’s in the bottom half of the ESFJ functional stack, they have a love-hate relationship with her. On the one hand, they can imagine themselves smart, resourceful, creative or knowledgeable, this can be seen, for example, in their desire to generate creative solutions or conjure up intelligent comments, they can also employ it in a variety of arts and crafts or work to find creative ways. to help or teach others.

The “hate” part of ESFJ’s relationship with his extraverted intuition may involve the way he injects uncertainty into his beliefs and worldview. ESFJs seek a firm and unequivocal worldview on which to base their lives and because abstract analysis is not their forte, they struggle with ideas that contradict their worldview.

Introverted thinking

Like other types, ESFJs can easily become blinded to the extent that their lower function affects their decisions and behavior, even without sufficient understanding of their lower function, introverted thinking , ESFJs will continue to feel incomplete and prone to making unhealthy decisions. in their careers, lifestyle and relationships.

In fact, they may be offended by the distant and aloof nature of dominant types, or on the contrary, be attracted to them. Some ESFJs construct reasons that have the appearance of a logic of thought, but under scrutiny they are in fact command performances of “Thinking in the service of feeling” (that is, conclusions of thought that do not obey the principles of impersonal logic, more they well construct scenarios from only those “cold hard facts” that support the conclusion reached by the dominant function of extroverted sensation.

ESFJ personality strengths

Strong practical skills

ESFJs are excellent managers of day-to-day tasks and routine maintenance, and they enjoy good care from those around them.

Strong sense of duty

People with the ESFJ personality type have a strong sense of responsibility and strive to fulfill their obligations, although sometimes this may be due more to a feeling of social expectations than an intrinsic drive.

Very loyal

By valuing stability and safety very positively, ESFJs are eager to preserve the status quo, making them extremely loyal and trustworthy partners and employees, they are true pillars of whatever group they belong to, be it their family or In a community club, you can always trust people with this personality type.

Sensitive and warm

To help ensure stability, ESFJ personalities seek harmony and care deeply for other people’s feelings, taking care not to offend or hurt anyone. ESFJs are strong team players, and win-win situations are what smiles are made of.

Good for connecting with others

These qualities combine to make ESFJs social, comfortable, and lovable. ESFJ personalities have a strong need to “belong”, and have no problem with small talk or following social cues to help them take an active role in their communities.

ESFJ personality weaknesses

Concerned about your social status

These strengths are related to one main weakness, ESFJs’ concern with social status and influence, which affects many decisions they make, which can limit their creativity and open-mindedness.

Inflexible

ESFJs attach great importance to what is socially acceptable, and can be very cautious, even critical of anything unconventional or outside of the mainstream. People with this personality type can also sometimes push their own beliefs too hard in an effort to establish them as mainstream.

Reluctant to innovate or improvise

Just as they may criticize the “unusual” behavior of others, ESFJs may also be unwilling to step out of their own comfort zones, usually for fear of being (or simply appearing) different.

Vulnerable to criticism

It can be especially challenging to change these trends because ESFJs are so averse to conflict. ESFJ personalities can get defensive and hurt if someone, especially someone close to them, criticizes their habits, beliefs or traditions.

Too needy

ESFJs need to listen and appreciate a lot, if their efforts go unnoticed, people with the ESFJ personality type may start looking for praise, in an attempt to make sure how much they are valued.

Too disinterested

The flip side of this is that ESFJs sometimes try to establish their value carefully, something that can quickly overwhelm those who don’t need it, so ultimately it’s unwelcome. Also, they often neglect their own needs in the process.

ESFJ personality development

Phase I (adolescents – 20 years)

Phase I is characterized by the development and use of the dominant function of ESFJs, the extraverted feeling, by developing and strengthening it, Phase I ESFJs can appear inflexible and stubborn, quick to make judgments and draw conclusions about the world Since their judgments are not yet being weighed and balanced by their auxiliary and tertiary functions, they are especially prone to jumping to conclusions.

As it is an evaluation function, they tend to take themselves and their lives seriously, even from a relatively young age, they tend to strive for excellence in everything they do, they can differ markedly from ISFJs in this phase, whose function dominant is a function of perception. This leads ISFJs to be more open and take life less seriously than Phase I ESFJs usually do, as both types use feelings, they are more interested in perceiving the world, while ESFJs are already working to change or control it.

Phase II (late adolescents – 30 years)

While the bottom function isn’t completely inactive or inert in Phase I, the epic tug of war between the dominant and the bottom doesn’t come to the fore until Phase II. Once ESFJ’s dominant feeling reaches a certain threshold of strength and dominance, its lower function, Introverted Thinking, begins to assert itself and play a more prominent role, this makes it a bit confusing as thinking is not the next in the functional row of ESFJ, however, this can be understood as derived from the bipolar relationship of thought with the dominant feeling of ESFJ.

They also show increasing use and development of their auxiliary function, introverted sensing, and may even begin to take advantage of their tertiary function, Extraverted Intuition. These perception functions allow ESFJs to open and modify their judgments. They help you loosen your grip on life, temper your drive for external order and control.

Phase III (30 years, 40 years, and more)

If all goes well and they are lucky enough to enter Phase III, ESFJs become increasingly aware of the insidious effects of their lower thinking. By increasing their self-awareness and learning to function more authentically as ESFJs, they can negotiate better balance, and as they cultivate conditions that support their natural strengths, Phase III ESFJs can experience an intensified and enduring sense of peace, wholeness, and satisfaction.

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Hello, how are you? My name is Georgia Tarrant, and I am a clinical psychologist. In everyday life, professional obligations seem to predominate over our personal life. It's as if work takes up more and more of the time we'd love to devote to our love life, our family, or even a moment of leisure.