While they may be introverts, ISFJs often make great leaders. They boast a number of traits that suits leadership well. They’re great at planning, fantastic at listening to others, and very detail-orientated.
On this page, we want to look at the traits that help to make ISFJs fantastic leaders. By doing this, we hope that you’ll start to get a feel for the ISFJ leadership style and how it may differ from the leadership styles offered by those with other personalities.
Do ISFJs Make Good Leaders?
Yes. ISFJs make fantastic leaders. This is because they boast two traits that are vital in any leadership position:
- Goal-focused. They know how to plan incredibly well.
- People-orientated. They work with people well and often care heavily about the role of others on the project. ISFJs are great at communicating expectations to others.
There are a few downsides to putting an ISFJ in a leadership role, though. For example, ISFJs will often overburden themselves with work. Even when they have people to delegate work to, ISFJs will try to do as much as possible. ISFJs are also very sensitive to criticism. If something goes wrong on the project, an ISFJ will take it to heart, even if it isn’t their fault. This can cause a great deal of upset and project delays.
However, the negatives are only minor. There are ways around that. For the most part, ISFJs will make excellent leaders, and you’ll see why in the following sections.
The ISFJ Leadership Style
In this section, we want to give you an overview of how an ISFJ may act should they be put in a leadership role. Obviously, this is a very general overview. There may be some variations between ISFJs, and certain situations may impact how the ISFJ operates (they aren’t great when working on multiple projects at once). But, you’ll walk away with a decent idea of the leadership style.
Everything is Planned Perfectly
ISFJs are excellent planners.
Give an ISFJ a goal to reach, and you can bet your bottom dollar that they know how they are going to reach that goal. They know every single step that they need to take, and the planning will be impeccable.
ISFJs are great at meeting deadlines, even if they are incredibly tight deadlines. Although once again, you do not want to give them too many projects to handle at once. If an ISFJ has too many projects to manage, their planning can be thrown into disarray. ISFJ leaders on multiple projects will often face decision paralysis, or opt to focus on the wrong tasks.
Very Detail-Orientated
IJFJs really focus on details. They’ll want those working underneath them to ensure that everything they produce is perfect. Even if the issue is very ‘minor’, an ISFJ expects nothing less than perfection.
However, ISFJs will rarely point out issues in something. While they do enjoy perfection, they also loathe conflict. So, don’t expect ISFJs to start pointing out issues with their team unless it is absolutely necessary. Trust us, if an ISFJ leader is starting a conflict, it means that there is a major problem with the work.
Refusal to Delegate
ISFJs are not great at delegation, and those in leadership roles are often encouraged to break from this habit. If they don’t, they may be tackling too much work at once.
ISFJs always like to get stuck into their work, and you’ll rarely find them sitting on the sideline. This is surprisingly motivational for the rest of the team.
The refusal to delegate isn’t so much because the ISFJ wants to motivate their team by saying “Yes, I do work too”. It is more because the ISFJ doesn’t trust anybody but themselves to execute their vision.
Able to Set Clear Expectations To Their Team
Because ISFJs know exactly what they want, they are able to set clear expectations for their team.
ISFJ leaders rarely let people just get on with things. ISFJs love to have as much control over a situation as possible. If they have a plan in mind for the work, then they’re going to make sure that the plan is followed to the letter.
In the mind of an ISFJ, any plan that they put together is the ‘best plan’. ISFJs have weighed up countless options in their mind (based on logic, and understanding of the team and the world), and nothing can beat their plan. So, why should they let others do their own thing?
If you work under an ISFJ leader, then expect to get a detailed overview of everything that you need to do on a project. We suppose it does make your job a little bit easier. Well, if the ISFJ is good at what they do.
Listens to Their Team (To a Fault)
While ISFJs are very logical planners, they do let their emotions creep into things when acting as a leader. Although, any decisions based on ‘emotions’ will still be made in a very logical, rational way.
ISFJs want to ensure that their team is harmonious. They want there to be as little conflict as possible. So, they’re constantly listening to their team for suggestions and ideas. That’s not to say they’ll take the ideas on board, but by using sound reasoning, they’ll try to determine whether their team’s suggestions are better than what they’ve come up with.
Whenever an ISFJ is making a leadership decision they’re always thinking about how it may impact the rest of their team. They don’t want to make a decision that can cause their team to fall apart (or start having conflict). This can mean that ISFJs will sometimes make slower decisions when their team’s ability to work together is at stake.
Excellent at People Management
While they are introverts, ISFJs are very good at people management.
ISFJs are often seen as the ‘caring’ leader. It isn’t uncommon for an ISFJ to ask various team members how they are feeling and, if there are any issues, the ISFJ will work to correct the problem as quickly as possible. This is especially true when it comes to conflicts. Once again, ISFJs hate conflict and they’ll do everything possible to stamp it out.
If an ISFJ finds out their team members struggling with a task, they won’t belittle them (even though they have a judgmental personality type). Instead, you’ll often find the ISFJ helping the team member through the job. This may involve switching up the tasks or offering a bit of spontaneous training.
Final Thoughts
ISFJs make fantastic leaders. Their leadership style is often a mix of goal-orientated and people-orientated. Put an ISFJ in charge of a project, and they’ll know exactly what needs to be done and by when. They are excellent at conveying their plans to other team members and often come across as a caring boss. ISFJs hate conflict in the workplace, and their leadership style will either be looking to stamp it out quickly or prevent it from happening in the first place.
ISFJs do have a couple of downsides when in a leadership role, though. For example, they often take on too much work or take criticism personally. Although, thankfully, these are issues that can be dealt with easily when they have a decent team working under them.
FAQs
Do ISFJs Make Good Managers?
ISFJs often make good managers. Not only are they very task-orientated, but they also work with people well. They have a good number of traits that will help them to thrive in managerial positions.
Reference Sources
https://www.psychologyjunkie.com/leadership-skills-every-myers-briggs-personality-type/ https://www.refreshleadership.com/index.php/2020/11/16-myers-briggs-leadership-types-part-4/
