Short Descriptions:

       "Theme is providing, ensuring that physical needs are met. Talents lie in supporting others and supplying them with what they need. Genuinely concerned about the welfare of others, making sure they are comfortable and involved. Use their sociability to nurture established institutions. Warm, considerate, thoughtful, friendly. Want to please and maintain harmonious relationships. Thrive on helping others and bringing people together."³

       "Warm-hearted, talkative, popular, conscientious, born cooperators, active committee members. Need harmony and may be good at creating it. Always doing something nice for someone. Work best with encouragement and praise. Main interest is in things that directly and practically help people's lives." ⁴

       "ESFJs take their energy from the outer world of people and external events. They prefer dealing with facts, and making decisions on the basis of personal values. They like dealing with people, and organizes life on a personal basis. They are very warm people, seeking to maintain harmonious relationships with colleagues and friends, who are a very important part of their life. They can find conflict and criticism very difficult to handle. They have a strong sense of duty and loyalty, and are driven by a need to belong and be of service to people.
       ESFJs are helpful people who place a high value on harmony. Paying close attention to people's needs and wants, they work well with others to complete tasks in a timely and accurate way. They follow through on their commitments. They like closure and prefer structured, organized situations in which warmth and compassion are shown. They contribute to others by anticipating their day-to-day concerns and handling them with warmth and efficiency. They are at their best in organizing people to get a job done."⁵

       "For ESFJs the dominant quality in their lives is an active and intense caring about people and a strong desire to bring harmony into their relationships. ESFJs bring an aura of warmth to all that they do, and they naturally move into action to help others, to organize the world around them, and to get things done. Sensing orients their feeling to current facts and realities, and thus gives their feeling a hands-on pragmatic quality. ESFJs take their work seriously and believe others should as well."⁶

       "ESFJs direct their energy towards the outer world of actions and spoken words. They seek to build harmony in personal relationships, engendering team spirit and being an encouragement to others. They like dealing with people, and organize life on a personal basis."⁷

       "The theme is providing. They use their interpersonal skills to maintain important relationships by being helpful. Warm-hearted. Active team members. Sociable and supportive. Always doing something nice for someone."⁸

       "Friendly, talkative, and concerned about others, even strangers. Expressive voices, faces, and eyes. Speak with great conviction, using plenty of personal, value words. Decisive, enthusiastic, energetic. Tips for communicating with ESFJ: Respect their feelings! Look them in the eye and respond to what they say. Mention points of agreement first. Be clear and specific - lay out the steps whenever possible." ⁹

The Negative Side of ESFJ

       "One of your problems is an excessive waste of energy. You can waste your time on matters that do not guarantee reliable returns. You often get caught up with domestic duties. You try to keep everything in order, but from time to time you still manage to collect hoarded items that then pile up and suffocate you. Another of your problems is a difficulty managing your time. You always appear to be in a hurry and could often be late for appointments. You also find so many necessary yet minor things that need doing that you often forget about important matters. It is also difficult for you to predict the consequences of your actions. This often put you in situations where the unexpected happens." ¹⁰

ESFJ Under STRESS

       "The social status of successful people can be quite alluring to ESFJs and many marry prosperous mates and encourage them to accumulate the material signs of prosperity. Other ESFJs seem to fit in with the poor and the needy. In either case their dependability, dedication, and commitment to providing for the needs of others is, at times, overlooked. This can lead to the ESFJ feeling unappreciated and neglected. They can harbor uncomfortable feelings, which they then feel guilty and shameful about, and then they find themselves suffering from emotional denial.
       If stress continues, the ESFJ will begin to feel dejected and despondent. A sense of gloom seems to be attached to their memories and the ESFJ fosters feelings of self-blame and guilt about certain past experiences. Always conscious of a sense of indebtedness, the ESFJ feels generally remorseful and may regret imagined woes. If stress becomes overwhelming, ESFJs will complain of their burdens, suspect dreadful things about their health, become critical of others who have "betrayed" them, and become generally melancholic. The ESFJ feels forsaken after all they have put up with and done for others. Their complaints immobilize so they are unable to nurture others or fulfill their demanding obligations." ¹¹

       "Under great stress, ESFJs may find themselves uncharacteristically critical of others and of themselves. Their negative thoughts and opinions then trouble them greatly."¹²

Stress Management for ESFJ (Feeding the Fourth)

       Do activities that require you to ask, "How and why does this work?" in an objective manner, such as The Sum of Its Parts