ISTJ vs ENFP

Even though ISTJ and ENFP don’t have a single personality trait in common, people on the internet often ask questions about their compatibility. Therefore, we can assume that people with these two MBTI personality types frequently attract each other. The reason is that they like each other’s opposite sides at the beginning of a relationship. Specifically, ISFJs enjoy ENFPs’ energy, optimism, and enthusiasm while ENFPs fall for ESTJs’ sensible nature. However, it’s a matter of a discussion whether they can end up together or not. 

The difference between these two MBTI types is obvious even at a first glance. ISTJs are self-reserved, rational people who seem a bit cold-hearted and insensitive. They are typical Thinker (T) personalities who tend to focus on work and have a realistic approach towards life. On the other hand, ENFPs are emotional, warm-hearted individuals who enjoy communicating with people and tend to make impulsive decisions. As a result, they usually struggle to follow the rules.

The fact that they don’t share personality traits and functions often makes people think that they are highly incompatible. But is it actually true? Can’t they be in a long-term relationship? What does the future of the ENFP and ISTJ relationship look like? In this article, we’ll try to cover all these topics and provide the in-depth comparison of ISTJ vs ENFP personalities. We will discuss their leadership skills, values, and relationships in order to dive deep into their characteristics. Let’s start with brief reviews of ISTJ and ENFP. 

A Brief Overview of ISTJ

ISTJ is an acronym for Introversion (I), Sensing (S), Thinking (T), and Judging (J). People with this personality type are also called Inspectors because they have a good eye for detail. ISTJs are typical introverts who try their best to avoid social interactions. Being around people and especially with strangers drains ISTJs from energy and makes them emotionally exhausted. And since they always try to be practical and put all their effort into fulfilling their responsibilities, being without energy also causes stress and anxiety. That’s why ISTJs work effectively only if they are on their own. 

People with ISTJ personalities have great skills of organization. They enjoy order and tend to plan everything in advance to avoid confusion and stress later. Usually, ISTJs follow traditions and dislike when people disobey the rules. They believe that loyalty is a much more important value than freedom. Most times, ISTJs look insensitive to people but it would be a mistake to say that they don’t feel things. Instead, they just lack empathy and find it hard to understand others’ feelings or express their own. However, usually, they try to take care of their loved ones and make them feel safe and secure. 

A Brief Overview of ENFP

ENFP is an acronym for Extraversion (E), Intuition (N), Feeling (F), and Perceiving (P). People with this personality type are also called the Champions because of their great leadership skills and ability to achieve the goal easily. ENFPs tend to be energetic, enthusiastic people who adore communicating with other people. They enjoy taking part in new and extraordinary experiences and sharing their stories with others. People with ENFP personality types are creative and open-minded. Usually, they look at things and events from a unique perspective and have amazing skills of proving their opinions towards anything. 

On the other hand, ENFPs get distracted very easily. They are in constant search of something unique and as a result, normal situations make them bored. That’s why they can’t imagine living without meeting plenty of new people every day. Fortunately, they are quite flexible and even if they have problems working on something else, they easily find solutions to make the work rewarding. Still, they have trouble following traditions and hate routines which is why they can’t really organize their plans. However, being impulsive often helps them to make powerful decisions and inspire people. 

ISTJ & ENFP Relationships – Can They Be Together?

When it comes to romantic relationships between MBTI personalities with completely different traits, things get a bit complicated. Just like that, ISTJ and ENFPs don’t share any personality traits and they have almost nothing in common. As a result, they are considered incompatible with MBTI types. However, that’s not 100% accurate. In fact, even personalities with different traits attract each other. Generally, it’s very common in everyday relationships to like people who don’t look like you. Similar to this, ISTJs and ENFPs are often attracted by each other’s opposite qualities and balance the relationship with these differences. 

Since ISTJ finds it hard to understand other’s emotions, they like empathetic ENFPs because they always take care of ISTJs’ feelings and teach them how to be more sensitive. On the other hand, ENFPs enjoy being around ISTJs as they help their ENFP partners feel safe. Some of the ISTJs’ qualities that ENFPs tend to fall for are their maturity and stability. ISTJs are focused on the present and always know exactly what they are doing. However, they need someone who feels them with optimism and energy and that’s why they like ENFPs. 

However, having a steady and stable long-term relationship is not easy for ISTJs and ENFPs. They often argue as a result of having different opinions on plenty of matters. However, clear communication and compromises can help them to develop a healthy relationship based on each others’ strengths. 

ISTJ vs ENFP – Comparison

It’s clear that there are too many differences between ISTJ vs ENFP and the ways they perceive the world. Comparing their leadership styles, attitudes towards romance, and discussing their values is helpful to overcome problems in the ISTJ and ENFP relationships. 

Leadership Styles

• ISTJs are well-known for their leadership skills. People with this personality type easily organize the team and engage them to achieve the collective goal. They usually deliver the work and define the team processes in advance to avoid misunderstanding. ISTJ leaders can’t stand irresponsible team members. 
• ENFP leaders are oriented on their team members’ emotions. They always try to consider everyone’s opinion and build a culture of trust. However, this makes it difficult to achieve consensus. As a result, they often struggle to lead effectively. 

Romance

• Of all MBTI personality types, ISTJ is one of the least romantic ones. Since people with ISTJ personalities tend to be very practical, they can’t think of doing romantic activities that don’t have any real purpose or outcome. ISTJs don’t know how to express love in words but they usually make people feel that they care about them. 
• ENFPs are very romantic people who express love in all of their actions and words. They can’t imagine life without love and romance. Consequently, they fall in love very quickly. ENFPs are passionate lovers who enjoy romantic dates and in-depth conversations about their feelings. 

Values

• ISTJs value loyalty in relationships and responsibility at the workplace. They believe that people should take care of details in every area of life and follow their aims, no matter what happens. They are extremely dedicated to traditions as well. 
• ENFPs value changes. They hate doing the same thing every day and are in constant search of new challenges. In relationships, they value compassion. ENFPs believe that focusing on emotions helps us deeply understand each other, 

Conclusion

Finally, we can conclude that although there are plenty of differences in the values and characteristics of ISTJ vs ENFP, it’s not impossible for them to find their ways to each other. Generally, ISTJs and ENFPs are considered incompatible but in some exceptional cases, their relationship works very well. Even more, having a partner of completely different personality traits is somehow rewarding for both ISTJs and ENFPs.