Extraverted
Sensing with
Introverted Feeling
STRENGTHS
ESFPs are warm, friendly, supportive
individuals. Exuberant, optimistic and fun-loving, they enjoy variety and change
and actively seek out new, exciting challenges. Spontaneous and easy-going,
they have a great capacity to enjoy life to the full. Using their Sensing function
directly to perceive the known facts in a given situation, they approach problems
in a pragmatic, realistic, down-to-earth way. Having little interest in abstract
theoretical issues, they will be concerned to find practical solutions to concrete,
real-world problems. Moreover, when solving such problems, they will be concerned
to bear in mind others' needs and feelings. Tolerant, open-minded and flexible,
they may resist too much structure and routine. Having a natural empathic understanding
of people, they are accepting of others' idiosyncrasies, and are not judgmental,
dogmatic or opinionated. Focusing on practical realities and the achievable,
they do not needlessly cling to traditional, out-moded approaches.
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Orientated towards the Extraverted world
of people and external events, ESFPs are lively, talkative, outgoing individuals.
Sensitive to others' feelings, they will not needlessly criticise colleagues
in meetings and discussions. Others will generally be quick to warm to them,
appreciating their enthusiasm and zest for life, and the active support and
encouragement they freely offer. Expedient and goal-directed, they will want
to achieve results with a minimum of effort and fuss, and a maximum of fun.
Flexible and free-thinking, they are open to alternative points of view. Averse
to conflict and discord, they may resist organising colleagues, preferring instead
to work alongside people in an egalitarian manner. Sympathetic, tactful and
understanding, they will work to resolve disagreements by actively seeking compromise
and consensus. Disliking routine, they will plunge into things with great energy
and enthusiasm, creating innovative solutions to problems as they arise.
THINKING STYLE
Having little interest in abstract theoretical
debate and discussion, ESFPs are known for their pragmatic approach to solving
problems, and tendency to focus on the known facts, and practical realities,
in a given situation. However, their pragmatism and down-to-earth realism does
not cause them to be dogmatic or closed minded, with them being open to new
methods and ideas - particularly when they can see the practical advantages
of adopting new approaches. Flexible and free-thinking, they will be concerned
to understand others' points of view, even if these are radically different
from their own perspective. Sensitive to others' feelings, they will wish to
consider the impact their actions will have upon those around them, before deciding
on a course of action. Inclined to focus on the 'broader picture', they may
not always see the point of closely adhering to set procedures and systems.
Similarly, attending to the detailed requirements of a task may not come naturally
to them.
HOW OTHERS MAY SEE YOU
Colleagues will value their pragmatic,
down-to-earth realism and their lively enthusiasm for all that goes on around
them. Open and accepting of others, they will be viewed as fair-minded and tolerant.
Co-operative and egalitarian, they will be happy to help colleagues and friends.
However their egalitarian style, and desire to manage by consensus, may be misinterpreted
by some as indicating an inability to take unpopular decisions. Avoiding dogmatism,
they will be seen as open-minded, independent thinkers. However, more cautious
colleagues may at times worry about their readiness to discard established systems
and procedures, when seeking immediate solutions to current problems. Moreover,
some colleagues may view them as being a little disorganised at times. Thoughtful
and considerate, others may at times try to take advantage of their altruism.
Willing to listen, and sensitive to others' feelings, colleagues will value
the active support and encouragement they offer.
After publishing his seminal work on psychological types in 1921, Jung did little further work in this area. However the importance of his work was recognised by the mother and daughter team, Elizabeth Myers and Catherine Briggs. Realising that if Jung's ideas were to have any practical application it would be necessary to develop an easy method for assessing a person's psychological type, Myers and Briggs published the first type indicator in 1949. Moreover, they developed the now famous four-letter type code as a short hand way of describing a person's type.In addition to providing a short-cut route for describing a person's psychological type, the four-letter code also reveals a set of complex personality dynamics which provide insights into the order in which the preferred psychological processes are likely to manifest themselves in the person's daily life.
The way to discover the dynamic relationship between these psychological processes is by examining the middle two preferences; SN for perceiving, and TF for judging, types. These are referred to as functions. For any type, one of these functions is dominant and this dominant function is used in the preferred world (external or internal as indicated by the EI preference), with Extraverts using their dominant function in the external world and Introverts using their dominant function in the internal world. Moreover, the function which the type code indicates is not preferred is called the auxiliary function. Thus, if either the S or N function were indicated as being the preferred function, then either the T or F function would be the auxiliary function.
So, introverts are more likely to exhibit their auxiliary function when relating to the outer world, whereas their dominant function will be used mainly when relating to the inner world, and will thus not be readily accessible for others to see. In contrast, because Extraverts use their dominant function in the outer world, it will be available for all to see.
