What is the Keirsey ESTJ “Supervisor” Personality Type?
The Keirsey ESTJ “Supervisor” Personality Type is a Guardian Temperament with a Concrete Communication Style and a Cooperative Action Style.
Keirsey organized the Four Temperaments as a matrix. There are two communication styles, abstract and Concrete, similar to the Myers-Briggs Intuition (Abstract) and Sensing (Concrete) “Perceiving” Cognitive Functions.
And by two action styles: cooperative and utilitarian. Utilitarian people, for the most part, do what works, while Cooperative people do what’s right.
Keirsey named the Four Temperaments as suggested by Plato: Artisan (Iconic), Guardian (Pistic), Idealist (Noetic), and Rational (Dianoetic).
Concrete versus Abstract Communication Style
Keirsey divided the Four Temperaments into two Communication Styles: Abstract and Concrete. These styles resemble the Myers-Briggs Intuition and Sensing “Perceiving” Cognitive Functions.
Some people talk primarily about everyday reality’s external, concrete world: facts and figures, work and play, home and family, news, sports, and weather—all the who, what, when, where, and how of life.
Other people talk primarily about the internal, abstract world of ideas: theories and conjectures, dreams and philosophies, beliefs and fantasies—all the whys, ifs, and what might be of life.
Concrete people talk about reality in their daily lives, while Abstract people talk about ideas.
According to Keirsey, everyone can engage in both observation and introspection. People are observant when they touch objects or otherwise perceive the world through their five senses. When people reflect and focus on their internal world, they are introspective. However, individuals cannot engage in observation and introspection at the same time. The extent to which people are more observant or reflective affects their behavior.
People who are generally observant are more ‘down to earth.’
They are more concrete in their worldview and focus on practical matters such as food, shelter, and immediate relationships. Carl Jung used the word sensation to describe people who prefer concrete perception.
Generally, reflective people have more ‘heads in the clouds’ and abstract worldviews. They focus on global or theoretical issues such as equality or engineering. Carl Jung used the word intuition to describe people who prefer abstract perception.
Cooperative versus Utilitarian Action Style
Some people act primarily practically or pragmatically; that is, they do what gets results, what achieves their objectives as effectively or efficiently as possible. They only check afterward to see if they observe the rules or go through the proper channels.
Other people act primarily cooperatively or socially acceptable; they try to do the right thing in keeping with agreed-upon social rules, conventions, and codes of conduct. Only later do they concern themselves with the effectiveness of their actions.
These two ways of acting can certainly overlap, but as they lead their lives, utilitarian people mostly do what works, while cooperative people do what’s right.
Keirsey compares the differing temperaments with cooperative (Complying) and pragmatic (Adaptive) temperaments. Cooperative people pay more attention to other people’s opinions and are more concerned with doing the right thing. Sensible people (Utilitarian) pay more attention to their thoughts or feelings and are more concerned with doing what works. No comparable idea in the MBTI or Jung corresponds to this dichotomy, which is a significant difference between Keirsey’s work and Myers and Jung’s.
The pragmatic temperaments are Rational (pragmatic and abstract) and artisan (Pragmatic and concrete). The Cooperative Temperaments are Idealists (Cooperative and Abstract) and Guardians (Cooperative and Concrete). Neither the MBTI nor Jung included the concept of Temperament in their work.
ESTJ Keirsey/MBTI Correlation
| Keirsey | MBTI | |
|---|---|---|
| E | Expressive Role Variant | Extraverted Thinking |
| S | Concrete Communication Style | Introverted Sensing Auxiliary Function |
| T | Directive Role | Extraverted Thinking Dominate Function |
| J | Cooperative Action Style | Thinking is a Judging Function |
With Introverted Sensing as the second Auxiliary Function and Extraverted Thinking as the first Dominant Function, the MBTI ESTJ “Director” Personality Type sorts to the Keirsey ESTJ “Supervisor” Personality Type.
ESTJ Personality Type cross-reference
- Keirsey Type – Supervisor
- Temperament Type – Melancholy
- Animal Type – Beaver
- DISC Type – Compliant
- Socio-Communicative Type – Analytical
- True Colors – Gold
- Color Code – White
- Personality Compass – East
- Occupational Type – Realistic
- Learning Type – Pragmatist
Enneagram Types
Supervisor Personality Characteristics
Supervisors are highly social and community-minded, with many rising to positions of responsibility in their schools, churches, industry, or civic groups.
Supervisors are generous with their time and energy and often belong to various service clubs, lodges, and associations, supporting them through steady attendance and taking an outspoken leadership role.
Supervisors like to take charge of groups and are comfortable issuing orders.
They cooperate with their superiors and want cooperation from those working under them. They believe rank has its obligations, but it also has its privileges.
Comprising at least ten percent of the population, Supervisors enjoy and are good at making schedules, agendas, inventories, and so on. They prefer tried and true ways of doing things over speculation and experimentation.
Supervisors keep their feet firmly on the ground and want those under their supervision to do the same, whether employees, subordinates, spouses, or offspring.
Supervisors have no problem evaluating others and tend to judge how a person is doing regarding compliance with and respect for schedules and procedures.
Supervisors are unbelievably hard-working. Even as children, they are industrious and usually respect their parents as authority figures.
Supervisors are often model students in school, dutifully following directions, doing all their homework, and doing it thoroughly and on time.
Above all else, they wish to do what they are supposed to, and they rarely question the teacher’s assignments, method of instruction, standards, or authority. And their industry and perseverance only become more important to them as they grow into adulthood and take on job and family responsibilities.
Supervisors approach human relations along traditional lines. Marriage and parenthood are sacred to them, and they tend to have a large circle of friends, with many friendships faithfully maintained over the years.
Social gatherings and ceremonies have significant meaning for them, and they look forward to holiday parties, club dances, weddings, class reunions, awards banquets, and the like. In social situations, Supervisors are friendly and talk easily with others.
Though they can seem a bit formal in their manners, Supervisors are pretty easy to get to know.
At ease in polite company, they tend not to confuse people by sending double messages or putting on airs-what they seem to be, they are.
Famous Supervisors
Jack Webb, Judge Judy, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, George Washington, Sandra Day O’Connor, Mike Wallace, and Vince Lombardi are examples of Supervisor Guardians.
What are the Keirsy Personality Temerpaments?
David Keirsey, born in 1921, was an American psychologist specializing in conflict management and family counseling. He began researching human behavior and Personality in the 1940s.
Keirsey blended the Myers-Briggs Personality Types with Ernst Kretschmer’s model of the Four Temperaments, developing the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, which was made famous by his book “Please Understand Me.”
Instead of using the term Personality, Keirsey used Temperament. He viewed it as a configuration of observable Personality Traits, communication habits, patterns of action, characteristic attitudes, values, and talents. To Keirsy, Temperament encompasses personal needs, individual contributions, workplace contributions, and societal roles.
Keirsey correlated the sixteen MBTI Personality Types into Four Temperaments. He divided each Temperament into two Roles: informative and Directive. He subdivided the roles into expressive (extraverted) and attentive (introverted) role Variables.
Informative versus Directive Roles
Keirsey distinguishes between people who generally communicate by informing others versus those who speak by directing others. This distinction subdivides each of the four Temperaments into eight Roles.
Expressive versus Attentive Role Variants
Individuals who act before observing are Expressive. In contrast, people who follow before working are Attentive.
Expressive and attentive variants further subdivide the eight roles into 16 types correlating to the 16 Myers-Briggs personality types.
