ESTJ Ability and Job Satisfaction Characteristics!

You are ESTJ, Extraverted with Sensing, Thinking and Judging, with ESTJ ability, or you are interested in someone who is, and you are perhaps seeking information regarding how the ESTJ personality type and associated ESTJ ability gleaned from the Myers Briggs Test can perform optimally and at their very best in the workplace. You may also be seeking information as to how ESTJ ability can be maximally used in the workplace and how all this knowledge of ESTJ ability can increase workplace motivation and job satisfaction for you, and your organization.

You can also learn how knowledge of ESTJ strengths and weaknesses in the workplace, that is ESTJ ability, can insure that the ESTJ will not fall victim to job dissatisfaction which has been termed “Falsification of Type” and which is the core reason an estimated 70% of all the workers in the world dislike (or hate) their jobs!

ESTJ Workplace Strengths

ESTJ ability and strengths are many and would mean for you in the workplace that you:

• are someone who reaches understanding through interaction and discussion, someone who wants to talk it through
• are energetic, enthusiastic, and prone to take action
• move around and may “do business” in various locations
• participate, often speaking up right away, letting others know what you think or feel
• regard meetings as places to build relationships and as vehicles to get work done
• are aware of the impact of what’s going on in the larger organization and the outside world
• focus first on and are most interested in specifics and the details of current or past reality; you notice the “trees” before noticing the “forest”
• are realistic, practical, and work with “what is”
• work on one thing at a time; like to begin from and use what is already known
• want the work of a team to be realistic and doable, and are less interested in (and may be impatient with)discussions about vague, unrealistic, or “theoretical” possibilities
• take things literally, at face value
• bring previous experience to bear on work at hand; keep things grounded
• May seem distant and/or unapproachable; are direct, sometimes at the cost of being insensitive to others
• focus on the work at hand; don’t allocate much time to get to know others and build relationships
• are naturally critical of ideas and proposals; identify deficiencies in ideas and plans, and impediments to achieving goals
• believe that what is accomplished is more important than how a group works together; expect the best ideas and solutions to emerge from argument and debate; enjoy give and take
• analyze impersonally; are able to step back and be impartial
• champion sticking to the principles
• are dependable, deliberate, decisive, and focused; stick to commitments, plans, and schedules
• are methodical and systematic, and often develop routine approaches to work
• like to finish things-may do so even when finishing is no longer appropriate or necessary
• may be uncomfortable proceeding without a plan; take a “let’s get on with it/let’s get it done” stance, deciding “too quickly” without “sufficient” input and discussion of alternatives
• may be uncomfortable proceeding without a plan; work best when there is something definite to work toward; want a group to focus on and organize to accomplish the agreed-upon result
• initially respond to a new task or assignment with “There’s no way we can take on a new project,” then later adjust plans and schedules to fit it in

Basically those jobs/careers that would allow the ESTJ to use the strengths listed above, ESTJ ability, as a natural part of doing the job would be the jobs/careers providing maximum workplace motivation for the ESTJ. With increased workplace motivation normally follows increased job satisfaction. Likewise, jobs/careers not allowing the ESTJ ability to be used will provide much less workplace motivation and consequently much less job satisfaction for the ESTJ personality type.

ESTJ Workplace Weaknesses

ESTJ personality and ESTJ ability would include a tendency toward the following workplace weaknesses:

• may need to be less logical in the workplace and “feel” more at times
• may have difficulty in environments where work relationships are highly valued
• will have difficulty seeing the future possibility and being open to that future potential
• may have difficulty with theoretical brain storming activities
• may have difficulty with person centered decision making
• will be uncomfortable to troubled proceeding without strict plans
• may close options out too quickly
• may have difficulty with others who are willing to take risks
• may struggle with others who do strongly present a natural “personal” approach to things
• may be troubled in an isolated work environment, need people on the job

Now take a few moments and consider how ESTJ’s behave and perform in the workplace from the following seven aspects:

What Others Might Observe First

• are goal-directed and task-oriented, take work seriously, and are hard working
• are energetic and action-oriented, have a “get it done” attitude, and love to accomplish things
• are decisive, realistic, and matter-of-fact
• are responsible, reliable, conscientious, and consistently follow through

Work Style

• rely on facts, logic, and experience to make decisions, and have definite criteria for what is correct
• are systematic, structured, efficient, and orderly; follow rules, procedures, and standard ways; and judge work objectively
• are interested in the practical, “real world” aspects of work where concrete and useful results are realize, and like to have clear results to work toward
• prepare thoroughly

On Work Teams/In Groups

• like a structured environment with clear procedures that can be counted on and clear roles and responsibilities that people are accountable for
• usually have a definite opinion of where the team should head and how it should get there, and focus on goals and objectives to get the group going and keep it on track
• are clear, direct, and often forceful communicators who may offer teammates “constructive criticism” (which is meant to help others fulfill their responsibilities)
• are friendly, but not personal, and prefer to keep discussions centered on the business at hand

Facing Change

• like stability and order, and are uncomfortable with frequent change or ambiguous situations, and so may respond to change by seeking to impose a structure or plan on it
• respect tradition and “lessons learned,” seek to retain what has been shown to work
• have lucid, often strongly held views of what ought to happen
• are supportive of change when current practice is illogical, when there is a convincing rationale or when a tangible improvement can be shown to result; not inclined to support change in the absence of a visible problem or “for the sake of change”

During Conflict

• experience conflict when things are not logical or don’t go according to plan, may not regard interpersonal or group process issues as conflict, and are less comfortable when emotions are brought into play
• have a solution in mind and strongly advocate it, and may become frustrated with those who have a different perspective
• may over depend on past experience when seeking solutions
• under stress, may feel overwhelmed, may become overly sensitive and not feel valued, and may feel uncharacteristically emotional

Workplace Contributions

• get things organized, and keep groups and institutions on an even keel
• push for clarity about all things-goals, roles, assignments, standards, timelines
• being productive and task-oriented-get the job done on time, meeting standards, and within budget
• make efficient and sensible use of resources

May Be Experienced As

• decisive and organized and sometimes as closing off options abruptly (“having tunnel vision”), and leaving others out of the process
• efficient and productive and sometimes as impersonal, not warm, and overlooking or devaluing the subjective factors and the interpersonal aspects of working together
• impatient, especially with those regarded as inefficient, lacking direction or common sense, not abiding by the rules, or being too emotional
• having definite viewpoints and sometimes as not listening well to ideas which deviate from their own, not responsive to other points of view

The Myers Briggs Test can be looked upon sometimes as an ability and personality test. Once you have identified your personality type via the Myers Briggs Test and have some understanding of the associated strengths, weaknesses, abilities and behaviors of your type you can better determine the kind of work environment and associated factors that provide the maximum workplace motivation and job satisfaction for you. Again, view the results of the Myers Briggs Test concerning work as a kind of ability and personality test.

If you would like to study a different personality type link here and go back to the Personality and Work page to find links to the other 15 personality types, follow those links and enjoy!

If you have questions regarding your personality type in the workplace as it relates to using the Myers Briggs Test as an ability and personality test, please do not hesitate to use the Support/Contact Request form on the navigation bar to the left. We would enjoy hearing from you and will try to answer any questions you may have about the Myers Briggs Test and its uses and/or the Myers Briggs focused consultation services offered by Solid Rock Consulting Group, LLC.

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