An ENFJ type of psychological personality is one who displays the Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging personality traits and is sometimes referred to as The Educator. Their emotional intelligence drives them to find ways to provide a positive impact on those around them, and they are natural leaders.

The ENFJ type is seen as the most gregarious of all personality types, able to build friendships and working relationships with almost anyone, even those who are introverted. Warm and outgoing, they have great empathy with others and can often sense how they are feeling, using this to influence both the mood and behavior of those around them.

ENFJs in Teams

Emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in how individuals react in the team environment, and that is especially true of ENFJs. Their natural instincts are to support those around them, while their ability to be sensitive to others needs fosters an encouraging culture that energizes team members and builds bonds that enhance collaborative approaches. They prefer consensus in decision making and make a point of allowing all ideas and suggestions to be heard, so that the team can constantly seek out the best possible approach in every situation.

However, that need for everyone to get along at all times, and the ability to empathize with others can make ENFJs reluctant to disagree with something if doing so could cause friction and disharmony. They can also become too involved in the choices of others and appear too interfering. ENFJs should learn that sometimes, people will not get along, and that is OK, while working on themselves to maintain a level of detachment from others they are trying to support.

ENFJs are thought of as natural leaders, and it is easy to see why. Their ability to build connections with others is enhanced by their supportive approach that encourages participation from all team members. As leaders, ENFJs create appropriate structures that allow all stakeholders to maximize their own skills and knowledge, ensuring the team fulfills the potential of each of its members.

They do have things to work on though, the ENFJs need to support and make connections with those around them can be too much for some, instead appearing as if they are interfering too much. Additionally, they can become overly focused on single issues, appearing zealous and unwilling to see alternative views. Learning to delegate, identifying those who need some freedom to find solutions themselves, and taking a step back to see the bigger picture once in a while can ease these problems.

Within the team environment, the biggest tests come when things are not going well. It is when facing stress, challenges and conflict that emotional intelligence can make all the difference, and as individuals who excel in dealing with other people, this is especially true of ENFJs. Their sensitivity to others means that ENFJs can instinctively respond to others concerns when managing conflict or other challenges, and by building consensus for solutions, are great mediators in difficult situations. Taking responsibility like this can help alleviate stress for others too, while compassion and determination to help everyone can create a supportive environment that helps individuals and the collective team better cope with both stress and challenges.

That drive to both support others and build consensus can seem overly controlling to some though and may lead to some individuals feeling that their input is stifled, and the constant positivity can be wearing to some under stress, causing a negative response. Tempering their approach for the type of person who struggles with the positive approach and making sure that they give space to those who disagree can mitigate these potential problems though.

While many issues cause stress and present challenges, dealing with change is a uniquely difficult situation for teams and individuals, ENFJs use positivity and compassion to help others deal with change, helping others in the team see the positives of change to improve attitudes towards and engagement with the change process. That need to be positive can lead to idealism though, ignoring problems instead of dealing with them and becoming too attached to people or systems, preventing change that is desperately needed.

Enthusiastic, energetic, imaginative and ethical, if there is a glaring flaw with ENFJs it is that they become too involved, too invested in situations, ideas and people. Moderating that by maintaining some level of separation can avoid most of the problems they encounter and make them more effective team members and leaders.