ENFJ Personality Type (Fe-Ni)

What is an ENFJ Personality Type?

ENFJ stands for Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging. Originally, it was a term from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (or MBTI), which was developed by Isabel Myers and Katharine Briggs. The Myers-Briggs theory (which many incorrectly refer to as just “MBTI”) originally labelled 16 personality types. Myers and Briggs drew their inspiration from Carl Jung’s theory of the cognitive functions. The 4-letter acronyms have now become commonplace within various offshoots or interpretations of Carl Jung’s original work.

ENFJ Meaning

The ENFJ personality type is Extraverted, which does not necessarily mean that they are socially extraverted, although many may be. They will, however, be cognitive extraverts. In Carl Jung’s description of the cognitive functions, Extraversion simply means a focus on the objective or external world.

The ENFJ personality type values Intuition, which means they prioritize abstract information over concrete information. Being an Intuitive does not mean the ENFJ is incapable of interacting with the concrete world in an effective way, but rather they will prioritize abstract information when making decisions.

The ENFJ personality type values Feeling, which does not mean they are irrational, cry babies. Rather, they will have a natural focus on emotional data, or on how decisions impact themselves and others on an emotional level.

The ENFJ personality type prioritizes Judging, which means they prefer a lifestyle that is more structured or planned out. Judgers are typically long term planners, who prefer to mitigate chaos or uncertainties.

ENFJ at a Glance

ENFJs are compassionate, people-focused individuals who seek connection and belonging. They prefer to live in harmony with those around them, and feel a sense of obligation toward ensuring the emotional well-being of others. ENFJs will dump a lot of their time and energy into learning and adapting a social environment to meet their needs and the needs of others. However, these types can also be bold and opinionated, for the sake of doing what’s best for the group. ENFJs are often quick to offer advice, to support and encourage others. They often do so in the form of stories or anecdotes with a lesson attached. ENFJs encourage others to draw their own conclusions, and form their own ideal for the future.

Common Strengths (when healthy)

Warm
Compassionate
Diplomatic
People-focused
Idealistic
Conceptual
Single-minded

Common Weaknesses (when imbalanced)

Overprotective
Unrealistic/Impractical
Sensitive to criticism
Emotionally manipulative
Loss of individuality and personal identity
Suppression of individual reasoning in others

Cognitive Functions of an ENFJ

The cognitive functions for the ENFJ personality type, in order, are Fe-Ni-Se-Ti. Below, we attempted to break down each cognitive function and practically explain how it will surface in an ENFJ. Please realize however that everyone is unique, and the entire world cannot fit into 16 personality type boxes. Ergo, it’s unlikely that an ENFJ will relate to or demonstrate every single quirk or trait mentioned below. However, an ENFJ should relate to the underlying principle of each function, and most of what is described below. Exceptions may occur when the ENFJ is stuck in a Fe-Se loop or in the grip of Ti. These scenarios may be briefly mentioned in the description below, but this page is not specifically written with those scenarios in mind. With all that said, we hope you find this description useful for self-analysis or understanding the minds of others.

Dominant Function: Extraverted Feeling (Fe)

The ENFJ personality type leads with Extraverted Feeling (Fe). With Fe as their dominant function, ENFJs are skilled at recognizing the emotions of others and focusing on the needs of the group. (Click here for a more in-depth description of Fe.) People with this personality will be sensitive to the emotions of those around them, perhaps feeling those emotions with everyone. Since Fe is an extraverted judging function, they’ll probably be quick to share their opinion on something. High Fe users tend to be very group oriented, focusing on what’s best for everyone as a whole and not necessarily individual people, which is why Fe users are considered to be more conformist than individualistic. An ENFJ in the negative may lash out at those who don’t conform to the societal rules or the rules of the “group” that they’re a part of. They also may be prone to telling others what they should or should not do, because they believe they know what’s best for everyone involved. The desire for harmony in lower Fe users frequently results in conflict avoidance. However, with a higher Fe users like the ENFJ, Fe may also surface as a desire to get everyone on the same page. They may attempt to convince the “group” to alter their position or “rules” in instances where the ENFJ feels strongly about something as a result of an Fe conviction. Therefore, the ENFJ may try to convince everyone of the path or opinion that the ENFJ believes is correct, especially if in a leadership position. Fe users as a whole, especially high functioning ones, are prone to using emotional manipulation to get what they want, and will be quick to appeal to emotions as a way to convince those around them.

Healthy ENFJ’s will probably be natural caregivers, desiring to invoke positive emotions in others. Unfortunately, because of this, they may be taken advantage of because they’ll go great lengths for others. It’s no surprise that Fe users are stereotypically described as doormats. Obviously, not everyone with this personality will fall within this stereotype, but it definitely happens. ENFJs will probably be very emotionally expressive people. It won’t be hard to recognize what they’re feeling. They will value harmony, common courtesy, respect, and loyalty because these are all things done with others in mind. They’ll be the ones that are quick to express their appreciation, and that adhere to social niceties like saying “please”, “thank you” and “excuse me”. An ENFJ may even rebuke others for not paying attention to common courtesy or bringing up an issue that may cause conflict. They’ll probably enjoy giving others gifts and doing the little things like sending cards for special occasions.

ENFJs will strive to connect with others, and probably rearrange their lives to do so. Their personality should allow them to be naturally gifted at this as well, good at meeting people in social gatherings or organizing social gatherings (ie: parties or weddings). This personality type may be among the ones trying to play matchmaker. They’ll strongly desire to please others and may change their actions to accommodate others. Therefore, some people may view them as fake or inauthentic.

Auxiliary Function: Introverted Intuition (Ni)

The next cognitive function in the ENFJ’s stack is Introverted Intuition (Ni). Ni is concerned with abstract principles and a singular possibility. As dominant Fe users, ENFJs will be primarily focused on people groups. Ni will be used to form a vision of how things should ultimately be, and they’ll strive to take the best path toward achieving that ideal outcome. Ni focuses heavily on gaining perspectives so that ENFJs can understand the bigger picture or overall concept. Ni will strive to see where something is ultimately leading, what the long term implications are. They won’t struggle latching on to some new idea or trend if their Ni sees an opportunity or positive outcome in it. High Ni users will be good at conceptualizing things, as opposed to an Se user’s preference or need to touch, taste, smell, and etcetera in order to grasp a concept. Ni will translate events into patterns, symbols, life lessons, and meaning and then use those to navigate the future. Ni is known for being symbolic, but chances are the average everyday ENFJ will not be expressing themselves in overtly symbolic ways, as many fictional Ni users do. Rather, most of this will be internalized. They may attach symbolic meaning to certain objects or people (subconsciously based on their past experiences) resulting in that thing being a permanent representation of that period or instance in their life.

The ENFJ personality type will probably be good at getting a sense of people as a result of their intuition, which will drive their interactions with others. They may jump to conclusions about someone quickly, based on their subconscious Ni observations and their conscious Fe observations. Ni is sometimes mislabeled as psychic because of these intuitive leaps, however the leaps are based on subconscious pattern recognition and can be wrong. As ENFJs mature, they’ll get better and better at utilizing their Ni accurately, which may lead them to surprise others with their spot on conclusions. ENFJs will place value on trusting one’s instincts and following hunches. This personality type will probably actively seek out that meaning and use the patterns they observe to support their Fe decision making process.

ENFJs will probably be great debaters as a result of their Fe-Ni. Fe will give them a natural charisma, to invoke specific emotional reactions in others. Ni will also make them good with the abstract and theoretical, which will aid them in forming arguments and supporting their viewpoint with relatable concepts and illustrations to further enhance their argument. In an argument, an ENFJ will seek to sway you emotionally, and may try to twist your logic to support their perspective.

Since all NFJs lack both Te and Si, the ENFJ personality is often among the least organized of the Judgers, although they will probably strive to maintain a certain level of control over their daily life since they don’t have a high Extraverted Perceiving function to help them deal with new experiences.

Tertiary Function: Extraverted Sensing (Se)

Following in the third spot is Extraverted Sensing (Se). Se goes hand in hand with Ni, especially considering that for ENFJs, they’re stacked right next to each other. Se is partly what will help drive ENFJs to make their vision reality for the sake of everyone. Se may also give ENFJs a craving for adventure or anything that might excite the senses. This craving can manifest in their personality in a multitude of ways, from sports to nature activities or maybe more in the culinary sense. In the case of low Se, they may find themselves focusing on presentation and visually impressing people in order to achieve their goal.

However, Se is also impulsive. Obviously that impulsiveness will have to be on their own terms though. ENFJs might be prone to bending rules if they feel it would not harm those around them, and that the rule is overall unnecessary. They also might be impulsive buyers or like splurging on expensive or desirable things. They may feel the urge to shower their close friend and family members with gifts. Their desire to do so combined with the impulsiveness of Se may outweigh the consequences of debt in the moment.

Inferior Function: Introverted Thinking (Ti)

Lastly, in the fourth spot, they have Introverted Thinking (Ti). Inferior functions tend to be stumbling blocks for people, especially early in life. While healthy Ti surfaces as making sure everything is logically consistent, inferior Ti may surface as over analysis to the point of obsession, especially when under stress. The ENFJ personality type may ascribe to or talk about things like destiny, believing there is a reason or meaning behind everything, even small coincidences or deja vu. This is due to the combination of Ni and Ti. ENFJs may tear apart everything they know and over analyze it to death, feeling as if they are drowning in the flood of analysis. While high Ti users do this naturally on larger scale things, ENFJs will probably focus on small, meaningless things like a look that someone gave them, the clothes they chose to wear, or focus in on a specific personal flaw. They’ll become very self-critical, and possibly twist logic to support something they’ve already concluded to be true, even when the logic indicates otherwise. They may even make decisions based on this bad logic, but will be convinced that their decision was logical.

Used positively, Ti can help them make objective, impersonal decisions, and perhaps balance out their desire to please others. Ti will help them stay in tune with themselves and their inner logical judgement.

ENFJ Careers and Job Ideas

At Practical Typing, we hesitate to list specific careers, because each person is far more than their personality type. Cognitive functions do not determine skills, only cognitive preferences. However, there will be certain aspects within a given career field that play better to an ENFJ’s strengths. For instance, ENFJs will thrive the best in a collaborative environment where they can work closely within a team of friends. They will appreciate an upbeat atmosphere and will enjoy working toward a common goal that is to the benefit of everyone involved. These types will be some of the most impacted by workplace culture (being invigorated by a positive one and overly crushed by a negative one). They will gravitate toward problem-solving that is people focused rather than thing focused. They tend to have great insight into what motivates others and are able to read between the lines to identify what pain points are present within a group. These types excel at managing people groups and figuring out which people work best together. ENFJs will likely struggle in an environment that is overly regimented, preferring to take a more laid-back and flexible approach to their job.

ENFJ Relationships and Compatibility

ENFJs are warm, caring partners who are very invested in the wellbeing of those they love. They often go to great length to ensure the happiness of their loved ones, sometimes to the extent of giving up their own highly anticipated plans at a moment’s notice. ENFJs are often adaptable individuals, who value spontaneity. They will enjoy spending time with people who appreciate this tendency, and join them on their adventures. These types highly value emotional feedback from those they are close to, and may perceive their partner’s failure to provide adequate feedback as indifference. ENFJs will thrive with a partner who is attentive to the ENFJ’s needs, and reminds them that they can’t take care of others if they don’t take care of themselves.