ESTJ Personality Type

Maybe you just found out you’re an ESTJ, or your friend or romantic interest is one. Or perhaps you don’t yet know what ‘ESTJ’ means.

In this article, we explore everything ESTJ, from personality characteristics to ESTJ celebrities to the ways this type finds luck in love and work.

So don’t know much about ESTJ? Don’t worry.

Read on to find out everything there is to know about the ESTJ- this is the ultimate guide to this personality type.

What is ESTJ? (and What Does it Stand For?)

The MBTI is a personality test developed by Isabel Myers and Katharine Briggs based on their study of Carl Jung’s personality type theory. ESTJ is among the 16 personality types in the Myers-Briggs personality type indicators. It is an acronym for:

• Extraverted
• Sensing
• Thinking
• Judging

Extraverted

ESTJs are extroverts, drawing energy from time spent with others and social interaction. They are action-oriented and outward-focused rather than inward-focused like introverts.

Sensing

Refers to the way people gather and process information. As sensors, ESTJs deal in the tangible, and they like logic and what can be proven, in contrast to intuition-based types who rely on patterns and gut feelings.

Thinking

Thinkers like ESTJs consider data and facts. They are logical, consistent, and more emotionally disconnected when deciding than feelers, who are more emotional.

ESTJs use their head rather than their heart to make decisions.

Judging

ESTJs are judgers. They like structure, firmness, and decisiveness. They often can not understand or tolerate the perceiver’s more open and flexible approach.

Key ESTJ Characteristics and Traits

Known as ‘The Supervisor,’ ‘The Director,’ or ‘The Executive,’ ESTJ personality types like to be in charge and are natural leaders. Committed to traditions, rules, and laws, ESTJ respects authority and takes their responsibilities seriously. They expect others to adhere to the same structures and standards and can be inflexible about accepting other ways of being.

Logical and assertive, ESTJs introduce structure where they are none and uphold and enforce them. ESTJs ensure things run smoothly and correctly.

Self-confident with an orthodox approach to life, they excel in structured jobs and social situations. ESTJs are predictable, stable, practical, and committed. Some other characteristics and traits of ESTJs include:

• Outgoing
• Decisive
• Energetic
• Firm
• Conscientious
• Tough
• Efficient
• Driven
• Focused
• Goal-oriented
• Methodical
• Expressive
• Direct
• Dependable
• Realistic

ESTJ Examples

Now that you know a bit about the ESTJ personality, you might be interested to know which celebrities or fictional characters are of this type. Here are some ESTJs you might recognize!

ESTJ Famous People

Organized, dominant ESTJ are high-achievers. More world leaders are ESTJ than any other personality type. George Washington, the first president of the United States, likely had an ESTJ personality. Washington had classical ESTJ traits like a strong sense of duty and commitment. Other famous ESTJ people include:

• Bernie Sanders
• John D. Rockefeller
• Diane Sawyer
• Megyn Kelly
• Barbara Walters
• Billy Graham
• Tom Clancy
• Margaret Thatcher
• Estee Lauder
• Henry Ford

ESTJ Celebrities

Methodical, organized ESTJs tend to avoid creative careers. However, there are a few who have become actors or singers. Frank Sinatra is believed to have been an ESTJ, and the more you know about Sinatra, the more likely that seems. The “My Way” singer was a no-nonsense guy with traditional values. ESTJ celebrities tend to be direct, goal-oriented, and perhaps not as passionate as others who work in the arts, as evidenced by this list below:

• Drew Carey
• Joan Rivers
• Judge Judy
• Piers Morgan
• Martha Stewart
• Trisha Yearwood
• Alec Baldwin
• Lucy Liu
• Courtney Cox
• Roger Ebert
• Dr. Phil
• Celine Dion

ESTJ Fictional Characters

Fictional characters have Myers-Briggs personality types, too. Take, for instance, Princess Leia from Star Wars. She was a competent leader with a strong disdain for the bend-the-rules behavior of Han Solo. But she was a loyal friend who fought for her beliefs. She did not believe in backing down. Other ESTJ fictional characters include:

• Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter)
• Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones)
• Dwight Shrute (The Office)
• Monica Gellar (Friends)
• Mr. Krabs (Sponge Bob Square Pants)
• Regina George (Mean Girls)
• Miranda Bailey (Grey’s Anatomy)
• Leela (Futurama)
• Lucas Sinclair (Stranger Things)
• Princess Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)
• Jack Shepard (Lost)
• Boromir (Lord of the Rings)
• Claire Dunphy (Modern Family)

ESTJ Strengths & Weaknesses

ESTJs have many qualities that help them excel in their education, career, and relationships. However, like any other type, if the ESTJ becomes too dominant or inflexible with their strengths, they can become their weakness.

Here we review the positive and negative characteristics of this personality.

Strengths

In most scenarios, ‘The Director,’ uses these traits to achieve their goals:

• Organization: Because ESTJs are logical and strive for structure and predictability, they excel at taming chaos into order. Their organizational skills make them natural leaders.
• Dedication: ESTJs put everything they have into everything they do. This tenacious type won’t give up or put in subpar effort.
• Integrity: Rule-breaking is a foreign concept to ESTJs. They believe in structure, order, and responsibility; this helps them make sense of the world. Moreover, they take responsibility seriously and are incredibly hard workers.
• Honesty and Directness: ESTJs trust facts and logic. They are expressive, speak their minds, and are, in all things, methodical and straight to the point. Dishonesty would introduce unpredictability into a project or relationship and must be avoided.
• Dependability and Loyalty: Stability and security are critical to ESTJs. They do what they say they’ll do, and won’t go back on their word.

Weaknesses

However, rigidity and control are ESTJ weaknesses.

Because of this, the ESTJ personality can be:

• Judgemental: ESTJs are rigid and see everything in black and white. Because they don’t understand people who are spontaneous or use creativity rather than logic and tradition, ESTJ can seem narrow-minded.
• Inflexible and Stubborn: ESTJs believe they are objectively correct. Because they trust so much in the information they’ve gathered about the world, they know they’re right. That doesn’t leave much room for other perspectives or growth. Rigidity like this keeps ESTJs from being open-minded, leading to a lack of creativity and empathy.
• Emotionally Repressed: As thinkers rather than feelers, ESTJs value thoughts over feelings. They don’t understand emotionally fueled actions and decisions and can be critical of them, so they can seem insensitive, heartless, coarse, cold, or unfeeling. Repressing their emotions can lead to stress and illness.
• Workaholism: ESTJs are ambitious, results-driven, goal-oriented, hardworking perfectionists. They gain a sense of accomplishment and validity from working hard, which can lead to overwork, and overvalue of work.
• Status Obsessed: The opinions of others are very important to ESTJs. Sometimes they work too hard to meet the expectations and needs of others and ignore their own needs.

ESTJ Compatibility – Who Are ESTJ Compatible With?

The personality types ESTJs are most compatible with vary depending on the nature of the relationship.

They require different things, for instance, from a partner than from a friend or a passionate lover.

ESTJ Relationships

In friendships, ESTJs are most compatible with other SJs, or sensing-judgers because they have a similar way of processing and relating to the world. The sensing judgers of the MBTI are:

• ISTJ
• ESTJ
• ESFJ
• ISFJ

However, passionate relationships and partnerships are a different story; You know that adage about opposites attracting? After all, friction is the best way to cause sparks.

For this type of relationship, ESTJs are most compatible with those that are their opposites in cognitive functioning. This paring can result in blazing fights, but ESTJs have their highest highs and their lowest lows with:

• ESTP
• ISTP
• ENFJ
• INFJ

ESTJ Partner

The most compatible partners for ESTJs are IP types who are introverted perceivers rather than extroverted judgers. These two personalities balance each other out. Their working styles also fit as each has skills the other doesn’t, yet these differences work together rather than clash. So the most compatible ESTJ partners tend to be:

• INTP
• INFP
• ISTP
• ISFP

ESTJ Love Language

Quality Time is the top love language for ESTJs. Because they are ambitious and action-oriented, time is their most precious resource. If they take time out of their busy schedule for you, they are showing that you are a priority.

To show love for an ESTJ, make sure you are making time for them and spending it on their favorite activities. While they will appreciate alone time, they like to be active and social, so taking them out will make them feel loved and seen.

The second significant love language for ESTJs is Words of Affirmation. ESTJs are honest and expressive, so they are apt to tell you what they appreciate and love about you. While they can be disconnected from their feelings, they are connected to their thoughts.

Similarly, ESTJs love flattery, compliments, verbal appreciation, and external validation. Just make sure you’re honest, and they will love it.

Best Jobs & Careers for ESTJ?

The best jobs and careers for ESTJ tend to be structured, rely on logic, and have room for promotion. ESTJ are natural leaders who thrive when they are in charge. They are responsible and have a metric by which to judge how well they are performing.

ESTJ Career List

ESTJ prefers structured work with a specific assignment that must be finished in an allotted time. This personality likes to stay busy as boredom causes them anxiety. Here are some of the top careers for goal-oriented, hard-working ESTJs:

• Pharmacist
• Project Manager
• Office Manager
• Paralegal
• Lawyer
• Judge
• Dentist
• Engineer
• Performance Director
• Stage Manager
• Financial Counselor
• Database Administrator
• Airline Pilot

Careers For ESTJ Females

Leadership and organization are common traits of ESTJ females.

As such, they will find satisfaction in these careers:

• Real Estate Agent
• Property Manager
• Activist
• Laboratory Technician
• School Principal

Careers For ESTJ Males

ESTJ males are detail-oriented and technical.

Suitable careers for these active, structured men are:

• Civil Engineer
• Athletic Trainer
• Military Officer
• Police Officer
• Construction Manager

ESTJ Careers to Avoid

Because they are logical thinkers and ambitious leaders who need structure and thrive best with some social interaction, ESTJ does not like to be managed and requires work that has some routine.

As such, careers that might not be a good fit for ESTJs include:

• Librarian
• Artist
• Writer
• Musician
• Preschool Teacher
• Psychologist
• Cosmetologist
• Graphic Designer

Summary

Those with the ESTJ personality type are the self-confident bosses of the Myers-Briggs personality inventory. Extraverts who logically compile and use the information around them, ESTJ is highly capable and reliable.

ESTJs see the world in a particular way. They need to work on understanding and accepting that perhaps others don’t see the world in that way. ESTJs are always a success. If they can learn how to gain more flexibility and open-mindedness, they can reach their goals much faster.