The ENFJs
ENFJs are known for their unique ability to inspire people and bring about positive change in communities and cultures. They are intensely insightful about the human condition and have a knack for seeing into each individual’s unique potential. They are often called The Givers because they believe so strongly in compassionately serving the human race and improving the world. These personality types use a combination of Extraverted Feeling (Fe) to empathize and relate to others, as well as Introverted Intuition (Ni) to form insights about the future and grasp underlying patterns and themes. If you look up many of our great motivational leaders and teachers you will find a host of ENFJs; people like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and even Oprah Winfrey!
What Does ENFJ Stand For?
E = Extrovert. “I gain energy from the people and things around me. I look to the outer world before looking inward to reflections and subjective ideas.”
N = iNtuition. “I focus more on the abstract or potential of something than the concrete or existing reality.”
F = Feeling. “I apply personal values and empathize in order to make a decision. I want what is best for the group or humanity as a whole.”
J = Judging. “I like having things settled, decided and structured. I prefer to get my work and responsibilities taken care of before I play or relax.”
ENFJ Motivations and Weaknesses:
- Driving Force: To understand and work with people to create unified direction and harmonious, shared values.
- Backup Strength: To understand the “dance of the universe.” To see the underlying meaning of all things and predict the future.
- Weaknesses: Can sabotage themselves by looking to others’ needs before their own. May disregard logic in favor of maintaining good connections with people. Can lose touch with details and surface realities by looking for a deeper meaning.
- Stressors: Lack of positive interactions, too much time alone, chaos, procrastination in themselves or others, having to focus on nitty-gritty detailed work, conflict, or criticism.
ENFJ Personality Traits:
While people vary based on their background and their Enneagram type, people who prefer Extroversion, Intuition, Feeling, and Judging often have the following characteristics:
- Friendly and persuasive
- Big-picture thinkers
- Readily empathize with others
- Easily notice societal expectations and standards
- Enjoy discussing philosophical, meaningful, even controversial subjects
- Prefer being scheduled and having a plan to “winging it”
- Crave regular social interactions
- Skilled at anticipating the future effects of current experiences.
- Read people easily
- Intellectually curious
- Gifted at reading between the lines
- Good at organizing people for overall harmony and unity
Careers for This Type:
For ENFJs, job satisfaction means getting three things: Variety, Creativity, and Teamwork. They thrive when they are able to develop creative solutions to problems that people face. Whether they’re counseling, inspiring, or comforting, they want their work to benefit others in some way. They crave frequent exposure to new ideas, challenges, and perspectives. Juggling several projects at once is exciting to them as long as they have a supportive team at their side and a sense of order and control. They want to feel like they’re being a catalyst and improving the world, one person at a time. Regular feedback is important to them.
Career Suggestions: Public Relations Expert, Journalist, Life Coach, Guidance Counselor, Teacher, Sociologist, Holistic Health Practitioner, Eco-tourism specialist, Travel consultant, Religious Teacher, Therapist.
Related Article: Can an ENFJ Succeed in a Non-Leadership Position?
Famous ENFJs:
We have to tread carefully when we type any celebrity. After all, we can’t exactly sit down with Martin Luther King Jr. and conduct a questionnaire! But based on the work of myself and other typologists we believe that the following influential people had the ENFJ personality preferences:
Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Johann von Goethe, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Tony Blair, Daniel Goleman, Alfred Adler, Erich Fromm, Maya Angelou, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Oprah Winfrey, Bono, Kate Winslet, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Dakota Fanning, Emma Stone, AnnaSophia Robb, Dr. Drew, Rashida Jones.
ENFJ Characters:
Sometimes fictional characters with our personality types help us to recognize and identify how type can show up in a more relatable way! While fictional characters can definitely be exaggerated, they’re a fun way to explore type with your friends or on your own. Some popular ENFJ characters include: Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games, Neil Perry from Dead Poets Society, Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer, or Diana Prince from Wonder Woman. You can find more in our article about ENFJ fictional characters. We even have an article solely dedicated to ENFJ anime characters!
ENFJ Relationships:
When it comes to relationships, any type can be happy with any other personality type. If you’re an ENFJ, there are various upsides to a relationship with any of the 16 personality types. Typically, ENFJs prefer relationships that they can see as going somewhere in the future. They don’t want to spend a lot of time and energy on someone only for it to be a fling or something trivial. Depth and a meaningful connection mean so much more to them than a fun one-night stand.
Judgers can get along well with ENFJs because they tend to map things out, take relationships seriously, and plan for the future. Sensors can be good for ENFJs because they balance their intuition with a more grounded, practical outlook on life. Intuitives can be like-minded souls for ENFJs because together they can explore abstract concepts and far reaching insights into the future. Thinkers can be the counterbalance to ENFJ’s deeply feeling, empathic side. Feelers can connect with ENFJs on a raw, emotional level and understand their decision-making more easily. Perceivers may help ENFJs to shake things up, go with the flow, and find fun in spontaneity! As you can see, there are pluses to literally any relationship combination you can think of.
Some people like to say that there is an “ideal” type for every Myers-Briggs® personality type. Instead, I like to look at each person as an individual regardless of their type. Some ENFJs will want a spontaneous, free-spirited Feeling-Perceiving type. Others will find comfort in the grounded, stable nature of an STJ type. What you prefer is largely up to your unique values, life experiences, and special tastes.
ENFJ Cognitive Functions:
The cognitive functions explain how we use our mind and which cognitive processes we give the most priority. You can see the ENFJ’s specific cognitive functions in the infographic below!
You can also find out more about the ENFJ’s specific cognitive functions in our article, A Look Inside the ENFJ Mind.
Your Important Links:
24 Signs That You’re an ENFJ, the Mentor Personality Type
The ENFJ Personality Type and the Enneagram
7 Ways That ENFJs Make an Impact
What ENFJs Do When They Get Really Stressed Out
The Top 7 Gift Ideas for ENFJs
10 Things You Should Never Say to an ENFJ
