Leading with Heart and Mind: ENFJ and ESFJ

Combining Logic and Emotion for Effective Leadership

When it comes to personality types, it's important to remember that if you lead with the dominant function, you are led by the inferior function. This is particularly interesting for ENFJs and ESFJs, who are fundamentally driven by Introverted Thinking (Ti) but primarily use Extraverted Feeling (Fe) to interact with the world.

ENFJs and ESFJs are logically driven individuals who express their internal Ti principles through their Fe. Unlike other types that use Fe, these individuals operate based on their own logical laws and principles. They seek, live by, and promote the truth, often valuing objective feedback over their own feelings and opinions.

Introverted Thinking (Ti) is about finding a single truth or a theory of everything. While Ti-dominant types build these models, Fe-dominant types like ENFJs and ESFJs promote them. They believe that understanding the truth can set people free and improve the world. They strive for harmony by unifying others around this truth, sometimes becoming quite evangelical about it.

Many people think of ENFJs and ESFJs as being highly sensitive to others' emotions. However, this sensitivity is actually a tool they use to promote their logical principles. They might appear to be social pleasers, but in reality, they are managing egos and enforcing logical rules. They have learned to be good with people to effectively instill their truth in them, using their Fe to communicate and educate.

For example, consider a teacher instructing students in math. Arithmetic is an irrefutable truth, and the Fe-dominant teacher uses their social skills to help students overcome feelings of discouragement and understand the material better.

But Fe-dominants are inherently knowledgeable; they actively study and research to gain the necessary knowledge. This is what Ti Oppositional represents—proactively acquiring knowledge to shape the world through Fe. They aim for more than competence; they strive for excellence, putting immense pressure on themselves to be credible and knowledgeable.

Competence is meeting performance expectations, excellence is putting a face on it.

So that introduces many ways an Fe-dominant can be. The more extraverted ones may engage in debates and try to persuade others logically. The more introverted ones might keep their principles private and share them only with receptive audiences. Those who are anxious may fear disagreement and withhold their beliefs, while the more agreeable ones stick to universally accepted ideas, like humor and music, to avoid conflict. These are just a few examples. Ti, despite being seen as objective, is subjective and personal to ENFJs and ESFJs, who may sometimes struggle with recognizing this subjectivity in their pursuit of truth.

ENFJs and ESFJs are unique in how they combine their logical principles with their social skills. Understanding this dynamic can help us appreciate their drive for truth and excellence, as well as the pressure they put on themselves to be effective and knowledgeable leaders.