ENFJ workplace style and practice shows their outgoing and assertive nature. In office settings, these individuals will always strive to attain perfection. They will always look for possibilities that will enrich their career and will help them rise above others in the professional ladder.
ENFJs are methodical and prefer structured work settings that allow them to work under strict guidelines. These individuals love to nurture workplace relationships because of their friendly nature.
In this post, we will specifically highlight an ENFJs communication style and how they perform their various hierarchical roles in the job world.
ENFJ Workplace
One of the most prominent characteristic traits of an ENFJ is that they are outgoing and proactive. They always want to be at the forefront of every event or occurrence. This is why many people call ENFJs “the protagonist”.
People with an ENFJ personality type are quite sociable. They enjoy talking with people. They are also quite friendly and amicable. For this reason, they thrive in jobs which involve talking with a large number of people on a regular basis.
Common ENFJ careers which meet this requirement include sales executives, insurance agents, etc. ENFJs have a natural talent of being able to easily convince or influence others, or sway their opinions. This helps them excel as sales personnel.
ENFJs also have an altruistic side to them. They are kind at heart. They always want to reach out and help others. Some ENFJs may even go to the extent of not caring about their own well-being, in order to help others.
This makes them natural caregivers. So, they can adapt well to careers which require this aspect of the human personality. Some examples of jobs like these include a nurse, therapist, teacher, counselor, flight attendant, customer service executive, and the like.
Individuals with the ENFJ personality type also have a strong affinity for rules and regulations. Not only do they strictly follow all established rules and norms, but they also want other people to follow those rules as well. For this reason, many ENFJs tend to take up jobs related to law enforcement, such as police officers, lawyers, and judges. Their intuitive side also gives them an added advantage in these roles.
It is important to note here that not all types of police roles can satisfy an ENFJ. Certain roles like that of a traffic police officer can truly disheartened an ENFJ.
In general, any job in which there is lack of interaction with other people can be unsuitable for an ENFJ. For this reason, ENFJs tend to become upset with jobs roles like a librarian, museum curator, or record-keeper at some archive.
They would also not like to be professionally involved in individual sports like cycling, chess, or adventure sports like paragliding and skydiving.
Normally, ENFJs can thrive in a wide variety of roles. They are comfortable with any level of seniority as well. We will now take a look at how ENFJs behave as a colleague, a manager, and as a subordinate.
ENFJ as a colleague
As we have mentioned before, ENFJs are extremely sociable. They have the ability to make others like them easily. For this reason, they can mix well with their colleagues quite easily. They have a strong desire to collaborate and work together with others.
ENFJs can be good team members. They are generally quite flexible and open to change. For this reason, they can quickly adapt themselves to any company culture.
Because of their sociable and extraverted nature, ENFJs generally have excellent communication skills. For this reason, they can flourish in team environments.
But in some cases, all of their positive qualities may actually cause problems in the workplace.
ENFJs are “protagonists”. They want to take charge of any situation. They always want to be at the helm of things. But this may anger some of their coworkers, who would not want to be dominated.
That being said, ENFJs are generally good at conflict resolution. So, if they see that their coworker is upset because they are taking charge, they would be willing to take a step back and compromise.
ENFJ as a manager
People with the ENFJ personality type can easily fit into leadership roles. This is because they have natural leadership qualities. A great example of an ENFJ with an undeniable leadership quality is Martin Luther King Jr. Former American president Barack Obama also falls under this category.
ENFJs also have the ability to make others like them quite easily. So, they end up becoming a friendly manager who is loved by all subordinates.
Even as a manager, ENFJs can interact with their subordinates as close acquaintances. As a matter of fact, ENFJ type managers often end up being good friends with their employees. They may even socialize together and go out to have drinks or food.
At the same time, ENFJs as managers know how to get the job done. They are action-oriented individuals.
They also have a good idea of the bigger picture. So, when an ENFJ manager is tasked with supervising a certain job, they can understand the long-term implications and complications that can come from it.
ENFJs give strong importance to rules and regulations, as well as deadlines. So, if an ENFJ is in a managerial position, their supervisor can be rest assured that the ENFJ can take responsibility for a certain work and deliver it within the desired time.
People with an ENFJ personality have a natural talent of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of other individuals.
So, when they have to assign different tasks to their subordinates, they have a good idea of which person would do well in which job. They can thus appropriately allocate jobs to the right people based on their skill level.
Managers with an ENFJ personality type know exactly what makes their subordinates happy. They know how much work to extract from their subordinates without making them dissatisfied. They are also good at conflict resolution. So, an ENFJ manager can quite easily resolve problems if his or her subordinates are not gelling well with each other.
In some cases, however, an ENFJ’s personality can be too overwhelming for their subordinates. Sometimes they can be too assertive.
They give a strong importance to their own sense of morals and ideals. They may thus unwillingly dominate their subordinate employees. On some occasions, this may create strife with their subordinates.
In spite of that, most individuals with the ENFJ personality type have some kind of a natural charisma. They have their own way of inspiring others. This is why their subordinates look up to them.
Subordinates under ENFJ managers willingly want to go the extra mile. They feel it is a valuable and meaningful experience to work under a manager with an ENFJ personality.
As we have said before, ENFJs are “protagonists”. They like to take charge of events. As such, a managerial position is perfect for an ENFJ.
ENFJ as a subordinate
We have mentioned before that ENFJs are very friendly and sociable. They can make others like them quite easily. For this reason, ENFJs can be good subordinates.
People with an ENFJ personality type have a strong desire to adhere to rules and regulations. They like following instructions. They are also quite hard working, and they value morals and ethics. For this reason, managers often love subordinates of the ENFJ personality type.
But this has a negative aspect as well. Other colleagues may feel jealous of ENFJs because of their manager’s favoritism towards the ENFJ individual. This can lead to conflicts in the workplace.
That being said, ENFJs are good at conflict resolution. They may even be willing to accept difficulties in their own career to make sure that there are no conflicts with their colleagues.
Another negative impact of an ENFJ’s amiable nature is that their manager may overwork and exploit them.
But at the same time, an ENFJ is not afraid to speak up. If they feel that their manager is taking advantage of them, they will not hesitate to speak against their manager.
ENFJ Personality Type and Workplace Communication
Individuals with an ENFJ personality generally have good communication skills. They can efficiently express their needs to other people.
ENFJs have a way of endearing themselves to everyone. They can effortlessly engage in conversations with anyone. ENFJs can have a 5-minute conversation with a person and end up developing a good connection with them, even if they had not known that person beforehand.
In a work environment, ENFJs like to have small talks with their colleagues. They have an underlying kind and compassionate side. Through these conversations, the ENFJ individuals always try to find out if their colleagues are having any problems or difficulties in their personal lives.
Most ENFJs are also good at written communication. While interacting through emails, ENFJs like to engage in conversation, rather than just diving straight to the main topic at hand.
ENFJs themselves like opening up to other people. So, they also prefer it when others open up to them. They want to be friends with their colleagues. But this can be particularly difficult in a work environment, where their other colleagues may prefer only formal interactions.
Having a Meeting with the ENFJ Personality Type – What it looks like
Let us now talk about how having a typical meeting with an ENFJ goes about.
One of the important character traits of an ENFJ is that they love things to be organized. This is something that one must keep in mind while having a meeting with an ENFJ personality type.
If you want to have a meeting with a coworker who has an ENFJ type of personality, the first thing you must do is properly schedule the meeting.
This is because ENFJs give strong importance to following proper routines and procedures. For the same reason, you must also be punctual to start the meeting, as well as end it on time.
ENFJs also like to have a proper written agenda before any meeting. After the meeting begins, you should indulge in a little bit of casual conversation or small talk before getting into the main topic.
ENFJs consider this to be really valuable. It is also more likely to make them feel comfortable during the meeting.
After a meeting has finished, ENFJs also expect to receive the minutes of the meeting which sum up the important points that have been discussed in the meeting.
ENFJ Personality Type and Conflict Resolution in the Workplace
People with the ENFJ personality type are conflict avoidant by nature. They do not like fights or even minor disagreements. They are extremely supportive towards all of their coworkers.
ENFJs tend to seek out consensus and harmony in the workplace. They have a natural tendency to help others. On some occasions, they may even be willing to accept derailment or difficulties in their own career path for the sake of resolving conflict.
As a subordinate, ENFJs would be willing to accept punishment if they realize that some conflict is occurring because of their actions.
ENFJ individuals can easily figure out the assets and flaws of other individuals. They know what makes another person insecure or angry. So, if they see multiple parties having a conflict, they know exactly how to appease each of them.
People with the ENFJ personality type strongly believe in collaboration and cooperation between different individuals to make sure that there are no disputes in the workplace between coworkers.
To Sum Up
Overall, in this article, we have discussed how ENFJ individuals behave in the workplace. To recap, ENFJ refers to individuals having an extraverted, intuitive, feeling, and judgmental type of personality.
Because of their friendly, sociable, and outgoing nature, ENFJs can easily make themselves liked by others in the work environment.
They prefer jobs where they can talk and interact with other people, and get the opportunity to help others.
ENFJs generally excel at conflict resolution. They also give strong value to rules and regulations, as well as deadlines and schedules.
Because of their well-rounded character, they can do well in a wide variety and jobs, in different levels of hierarchical structure.
Their career choices are not limited to teachers, health professionals, sales personnel, social workers, customer service executives, and politicians.
But perhaps they are most well-suited to managerial positions, as they can truly utilize their character attributes in such a role.
