If you ever questioned whether a reserved ISFJ personality who hardly ever expresses their feelings are emotionally intelligent, it would only be natural to assume that they are not. However, you might be pleasantly surprised, as ISFJs are multi-faceted and complex personalities!
ISFJs are emotionally intelligent as they care for the wellbeing of others and can expertly read people’s emotions in new social settings and build close connections with them. They are often referred to as protectors or defender personalities whose noble mission is to care for other people.
ISFJs are true humanitarians who are driven by their innate compassion for others. Although you might still be wondering how such a stoic personality type can be emotionally intelligent? If so, read on!
ISFJ Personalities: A Brief Overview
The ISFJ abbreviation refers to someone who prefers spending time on their own (Introverted), is fascinated by details, not concepts (Sensing), bases decisions on emotions (Feeling), and prefers meticulous planning instead of spontaneity (Judging).
With 14% of the US population being classified as ISFJs, it is the overriding personality type in the US, of which 19%, or the large majority, are females, and a mere 8% are males.
ISFJs are commonly referred to as Protector or Defender personalities because their greatest aim is to take care of people and to keep them safe.
Perfectionist ISFJs are known for their loyalty, practicality, compassion, conservative values, and their continued focus on diligently attending to their work commitments.
ISFJs need others to know that they can be trusted to meet and exceed expectations as they are highly conscientious, meticulous, dutiful, and will persevere at any cost to fulfill their duties.
They are traditionalists who are well-grounded; they make significant contributions to uplift and support their communities and the organizations they work for due to their profound duty of care for others.
Can ISFJs Express Their Emotions?
If you thought that ISFJ’s are the least emotional Myers-Briggs personality type, think again! They are highly complex characters who are experts at concealing their feelings.
While ISFJs may appear to be emotionless or standoffish, they simply have a hard time expressing their feelings or showing their vulnerabilities to people they have not built a close bond with.
Therefore, if you want to help an ISFJ in the communication field, ask them how they typically express their emotions, as it is possible that they will convey how they feel in subtle or non-verbal ways that you might not have noticed in the past.
While an ISFJ personality can find it incredibly hard to “wear their heart on their sleeve,” they would like to express their feelings. So, give them a safe space to openly express their emotions, and encourage them to do so more often as it will strengthen your relationship.
Here’s How Emotionally Intelligent ISFJs Are
While ISFJs might control their own emotions, they are highly adept at expertly reading other people’s feelings as they are caring individuals. So, it’s no wonder they are often referred to as protectors or defenders, as their core mission in life is to nurture humanity.
Their profound empathy, which many other Myers- Briggs personality indicators truly struggle with, is a form of emotional intelligence that enables ISFJs to protect and care for their loved ones.
Although some would argue that emotional intelligence is less esteemed, it is a profound gift that enables ISFJs to truly connect with other personality types in unfamiliar social settings as they instinctively know what people need or how they truly feel.
ISFJs can also harness their emotional intelligence to benefit them in the workplace as they are able to anticipate other people’s needs and emotions and know how to deal with them expertly.
So, while dealing with other people’s emotions might seem daunting to some Myers-Briggs personality types, it comes naturally to these caring and incredibly compassionate personalities, which enables them to build strong bonds with people based on a foundation of trust and loyalty.
People who regularly interact with ISFJs can sense that they are trustworthy, that they truly care about others, and will do anything in their power to assure their wellbeing and shield them from potential harm.
Thus, it’s no wonder that these highly compassionate personalities are often drawn to caretaker roles or highly demanding careers focused on nurturing others, like nursing or teaching professions.
Furthermore, they are more likely to stoically bear a burden of grief or hardship incurred by caring for a sick loved one due to their noble concern for other people’s wellbeing.
More Fascinating ISFJ Personality Traits
Although you now know a little bit more about these incredible personalities and what sets them apart from others. Here are a few more insightful Myers-Briggs personality traits that you might not be aware of:
- Compared to other Myers-Briggs personalities, they are more likely to be ultra-religious or believe in a higher spiritual power.
- They are more likely than other personalities to major in education on a tertiary level, study towards an MBA, or start a small business (if they are male ISFJs).
- ISFJ’s overarching personality traits are being highly guarded, conventional, conservative, and reserved.
- ISFJ’s are more inclined to suffer from chronic pain and heart conditions than other Myers-Briggs personality types.
- Compared to other personalities, they are more prone to watching television for over three hours.
- They prefer working in health care, education, and religious professions.
- ISFJ’s are more inclined to make lower annual salaries than most other Myer-Briggs personality types.
ISFJ Celebrities
Here are a few renowned ISFJ personalities you might know: Mother Teresa, Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, George H.W. Bush, Rosa Parks, Laura Bush, King George VI, Clara Barton, Princess Mary of Denmark, and Kate Middleton.
Conclusion
ISFJs are highly conscientious and empathetic and focused solely on caring for and protecting humanity, which is a rare and noble aspiration.
So, they are finely tuned in to people’s emotions and able to respond accordingly; thus, ISFJs are profoundly emotionally intelligent. However, these unsung heroes that aspire to make significant personal sacrifices deserve far more credit for their selfless acts of kindness.
