ESTJ strengths and weaknesses symbolize those personality qualities and lack of proficiencies that makes them idiosyncratic and exclusive in precise ways.
These personal attributes make an ESTJ stand out in the crowd. It determines their happiness, confidence, value systems, and much more. It actually makes them who they are in reality.
ESTJs are organized managers and are one of the most disciplined and active Myers Briggs 16 personality types.
ESTJ strengths and weaknesses
ESTJs possess an aura that makes them socially attractive and dynamic. Others are drawn towards them because of their attractive demeanor and charisma.
Another key strength that these individuals possess is their unique organization skills. They love to do everything with order and prior planning.
ESTJs also have their share of weaknesses. People with this personality type are inflexible and stubborn. They will stick to only what they think is right. Thus, they feel ignored if others try to dismiss their viewpoints and opinions.
ESTJs are also not good at handling human emotions. They have poor emotional intelligence. Moreover, ESTJs are also judgmental in specific ways. They may nullify others’ opinion if they think it’s not the correct one.
They are non-compromising and arrogant at times. This also makes them unpopular in social setups. Because of their assertive nature, they cannot sugar coat their sayings. Others get a negative vibe about them and may find it hard to mingle freely.
But in reality, ESTJs are socially active. They love to interact and free-mix with others in large social groups.
ESTJ can build excellent strategies for effective problem solving. They are critical thinkers, resourceful, and put their best foot forward to get things done.
Since they never allow emotions to cloud their rational judgments, you can find them making decisions that are not biased and aim to do good to everyone.
Knowing the ESTJ strengths and weaknesses will help you to interact with them in a better way. Moreover, if you are an ESTJ yourself, you should know your key strengths and shortcomings well, so that you can leverage your strengths for personality development.
The weaknesses need to be overcome so as to become a better individual in all respects.
10 ESTJ Strengths
Some of the key areas of proficiencies that these strong-willed people possess are as follows:
1. Dedicated
ESTJs are devoted people. They fulfill their life’s aspirations with utmost precision and excellence. Armed with hard work and dedication, they will not leave a stone unturned when it comes to realize their long term life goals.
These individuals are serious, committed, and are willing to invest their time, energy, and skills in fulfilling the mission that they are walking along.
If you are ESTJ, you’ll be the champion or master who knows how to overcome roadblocks to realize the ultimate goal.
At the same time, you will inspire others to surrender themselves whole-heartedly to the mission. You are not the one to leave things halfway.
You will be committed to accomplish the assigned task till it’s complete and finished from the true sense of the word.
2. Strong willed nature
ESTJs are unshakeable and level-headed. They are patient and tenacious also. This quality makes them pursue complicated tasks that others may not even think of.
ESTJs never give up to adversities. For them, each and every roadblock is a challenge to be overcome. They are the real fighters who are strong, bold, and possess a robust mindset.
Nothing can make them lose their focus and dedication from the work that they have taken up.
3. Direct and honest
ESTJs are direct and prefer straight talk. They cannot understand hidden agendas, secrets, and emotional dramas that people do to get things done.
Being an extrovert, they possess good communication skills but they use these skills just to be straight, clear, and to the point.
If they are to explain something to others, they will use direct words that are clear and precise. They will get straight to the agenda. People with ESTJ personalities never hit along the bush. They do not know indirect ways of telling or doing things.
In all their interaction, you will find them conveying a direct message. ESTJs are clear with what they want to say or do in a social setup. They will speak up only the truth and that too in a direct and assertive manner.
4. Faithful and trustworthy
ESTJs are reliable and faithful. They are the people of words and promises. ESTJs will keep their word if they have ever promised anything to anyone.
They are honest and trustworthy. In workplaces, they will take charge of the project and will help every member of the team to accomplish their individual tasks.
If you are ESTJ, people will find you someone who is always there to offer help and support, if required. They will never say a ‘no’ to commitments.
They are relied upon in the family, society, and workplaces equally well.
5. Loves to create order
ESTJs enjoy creating order and discipline wherever they go. Since they do not like change and unpredictability, they love to place everything in its right place.
These people will have neat and tidy homes, well-organized work desks, systematically designed closets etc.
They cannot thrive in unorganized and messy places, thus preferring to make it as systematic as possible. ESTJs enjoy routine life. They will have no problem if you tell them to do the same work every day.
They thrive well in situations where rules are in place and instructions of what is expected from them are clearly said in advance.
6. Leadership ability is awesome
ESTJs make excellent leaders. They are good at organizing human resources in such a way that the organization’s productivity and profits increase overtime.
They have the ability to put clear instructions in front of the team members. Working with an ESTJ means everything is put in its right place and at the right time.
ESTJs can organize resources and delegate tasks in perfect order and sequence. Teammates find it easy to work because they find it so systematic and methodical.
7. Good communicators
ESTJs are good communicators. They are clear and distinct with their instructions. Since they cannot follow hidden words and meanings, they prefer to keep things easy, clear, and straightforward.
ESTJs can clearly express their thoughts. Being a logical and organized thinker, they will always be clear and precise in whatever they actually want to convey to others.
They do well in jobs that demand public speaking. In their personal lives, ESTJ partners are clear-cut. They will not use ambiguous words to confuse their partner. They will clearly express their true feelings with the right word.
8. Logical minds
ESTJs are logical thinkers. They never talk rubbish or engage in unproductive tasks. They will never allow their emotions to rule their decision making ability.
Thus, ESTJs are also misunderstood as rude and haughty. Their decisions are based on observable facts and evidence. They do not judge things on ambiguous cues rather look for a proof to validate what they think and feel about the situation.
If you need someone to help you overcome emotional problems, your ESTJ friend is not the right choice. But if you tell them to help you resolve a complicated life issue, they will excel best in such a task.
9. They are fiercely confident
ESTJs are bold, courageous, and confident about their skills and abilities. People with this personality type know that whatever struggles may come their way; they will overcome all odds in life.
ESTJs are not scared to take risks and win over all challenges successfully. You will never find an ESTJ losing the vital battles in life.
10. They uphold laws and rules strictly
ESTJs are great community builders. They are the pathfinders of integrity and success. Regarding their values, they hold them dearly and will not commit mistakes knowingly.
ESTJs can follow society rules, traditions, and customs without even asking a single question. For them, rules bind people in common ways. Thus, rules are a must for healthy living.
They are the gatekeepers of society conventions. Sometimes you will find them inspiring others to follow them in upholding the rules strictly.
10 ESTJ weaknesses
We are all born with certain negative traits that make us who we are. ESTJs are no exception to this rule. They have certain shortcomings that they should overcome for their overall personality growth.
Some of them are described below –
1. Too stubborn at times
ESTJs prefer to base their opinions on facts and evidence. They are sensing personalities. As such, they rely on sensory stimulations to perceive information and create ideas surrounding them.
They do not change their ways of work. You can find them acting stubborn when it comes to change and altering their opinions for others.
ESTJs are rigid with rules and will not thrive in situations that are unpredictable and demand too many changes.
These individuals are reluctant to trust others because they will stay stubborn until things are proved according to what they can understand on their own.
ESTJs are inflexible in situations that are not as per their beliefs and values.
2. Uncomfortable with unique situations
ESTJs enjoy being in their comfort zones. These people always like situations that are predictable and structured.
They are in love with traditions because they are tried and tested and generally considered as best practices for all.
They do not embrace new ideas because they consider them as lacking validity and worth.
ESTJs are not keen to change their structured routine unless there is clear evidence that the new ways of life are better and more effective than the previous one.
3. ESTJs are judgmental in nature
The ESTJ personality type is critical and judgmental. They are always good at forming opinions about others or the situation. They may be critical of others’ working styles. Sometimes, ESTJs will be frank in discussing critical issues related to others openly in a social space.
As their feeling function is not well developed, ESTJs are less compassionate. They fail to understand the simple fact that people will not take it easy if they are openly criticized. ESTJs lack empathy skills. They cannot realize how others might be feeling in a situation.
Thus, they criticize and talk about others openly and this makes an ESTJ appear haughty and rude in social circles.
4. Cannot express emotion
It is the greatest weakness of an ESTJ. People of this personality type cannot express emotions and feel empathetic towards others.
These individuals have their focus on gathering facts and implementing effective means to carry out tasks. Due to this reason, ESTJs do not think of others’ sensitivity.
5. Tend to take control even when the situation is inappropriate
ESTJs tend to take the lead, despite not being in charge. It can frustrate others, even when they are good leaders and can have a lot to offer to a situation.
People of this personality type can get rid of this drawback if they can recognize the exact point where they should step back and only offer their support, if needed.
6. Too much focus on personal social status
ESTJs prefer praise and appreciation from others. This is typical of their extrovert qualities. They remain bothered about how others perceive them in social circles. At times, you may find them trying to please others so that they can dominate the social space in subtle ways.
For an ESTJ, social status gives them their due recognition. They love to be in the spotlight and remembered as a confident person. They take pride in how their family members and friends, coworkers and larger society perceive them in reality.
7. They find it tough to relax
ESTJs are always on a move. They are action-oriented and prefer not to waste time or sit behind doing nothing. They prefer to finish off their assigned duties on time. This makes them workaholics as well.
They struggle to take some time out for relaxing and rejuvenating as per their wishes and preferences. They struggle to put a stop to their work even on weekends.
This negative trait makes them feel stressed out at times. They do not relax as much as needed. Thus, you may find them struggling to meet everything in a calm and composed manner. ESTJs can appear agitated and annoyed most of the time.
8. Impatient
ESTJs are impatient and want to get things done at the earliest. They hate to slow down, pause, or wait for others even if the situation demands such a modification in their behavior.
They cannot wait for the results or outcome to happen slowly. ESTJs are always in a hurry. They are impulsive and lack the ability to wait and watch what is coming up next in line.
Sometimes, you may find them making decisions in a hurry without a thoughtful consideration of all the available options lying in front of them. In this way, their decisions could be wrong as well.
9. Perfectionist
ESTJs love to do things perfectly. They hate messy things and as such expect the same level of perfection from others working with them in a project.
This means that they will always set high standards for themselves and others. If they fall short in some ways, they will be too critical.
They cannot tolerate imperfections and inadequacies. Sometimes, they will work very hard to put everything in its right place so that it looks picture perfect.
10. Uncaring and insensitive
ESTJs have poor feeling function. Thus, they are less expressive and fail to understand the finer emotional notes of others. They appear cold and affectless in social setups where compassion and empathy are expected.
ESTJs will not realize when they are too rude and direct with others unless pointed out. ESTJs have a tough time understanding others’ feelings. They remain insensitive in situations that demand a lot of emotional expression.
ESTJ personality growth
ESTJ personality growth refers to developing those behavioral traits that are deficient, so that they can live better lives. It includes improving some key areas that are lacking and negatively impacting their overall behavior patterns.
In order to develop their key personal skills, ESTJs should take some positive measures such as the following ones-
1. Stop judging without having all the details
ESTJs should not judge others without knowing the whole story. At times, they become too critical and start evaluating other people or a situation without knowing the background fully.
This behavior backfires quite often. ESTJs may become unpopular. They are seen as arrogant, haughty, and unapologetic in the social spheres.
Instead of doing things in a hurry, ESTJs should ask more questions about the incident, so that they get to know the entire story. They should wait for more details to surface before vital decisions are taken.
Sometimes, ESTJs may become too confident. They should realize that in spite of having the best piece of information that they may have, there are still some details that are unknown. Thus, hasty decisions and judgments are to be avoided for an overall personality growth.
2. Allow others to live the way they want
Another drawback that needs to be corrected is their lack of flexibility and intolerance for change. ESTJs are stubborn and feel that what they know is the ultimate reality.
They fail to realize that there could be a different way of doing things and what they know is not the best one.
There are other good options given by someone else that could be more meaningful. So, if ESTJs become more open-minded and flexible, they will be able to create a more positive impact on community living.
3. Get close to your feelings
ESTJs appear cold and expressionless at times. As their feeling function is not well developed, they find it hard to express their feelings freely. In most cases, they do not acknowledge their feelings.
At the same time, they cannot understand the feelings of others. If ESTJs open up more often and express their feelings, it would be a good progress towards personality growth. They should also work hard to appreciate the feelings of others.
4. Learn to take things easy
ESTJs do not like a sloppy and slow lifestyle. Thus, they are too serious about certain things in life. This puts them under a lot of mental pressure.
Thus, they should realize the fact that relaxation is equally important. They should learn to take things easy and not overwhelm themselves with too much seriousness about everything in life.
An easygoing approach to life will make them slow down and recharge their batteries
They should take out some time for pursuing a hobby, or go for a vacation, just to rejuvenate themselves. Meditation and exercise, walks and breathing exercises should be undertaken regularly for feeling good and relaxed.
To Sum Up
ESTJs are analytical thought leaders. They are driven by perfection and excellence. These qualities make them notable leaders and public figures whom everyone adores and respects.
They also share some shortcomings that can overshadow their positive traits. One of them is their lack of ability to show compassion or empathize with the needs of others.
In order to reach their ultimate potential, they should try to overcome the weaknesses and develop the positive traits through practice and application.
