ENTP Personality Types

This page provides a description of ENTP personality types. If you would like to find out whether you are an ENTP, and what makes you unique and different from other ENTPs, then complete our personality test:

ENTPs direct their energy towards the outer world of actions and spoken words. They try to create new potential, changing things to see if any improvement can be made, and generally working towards a better future. They are often trying challenging the status quo and instigating change.

What makes an ENTP tick?

The Dominant function is the perceptive one of iNtuition. Characteristics associated with this function include:

• Likes looking at information from a global viewpoint, spotting patterns and relationships, that lead to an understanding of the key issues
• Focuses more on possibilities for the future than the here-and-now
• Enjoys change, challenge, and variety

The perceptive iNtuition function is extraverted. That is, iNtuition is used primarily to govern the outer world of actions and spoken words. The ENTP will therefore:

• Try ideas out, to explore new possibilities and discover, by experience, which ones work
• Change procedures to see if any improvement can be made, rather than just operate them
• Be interested primarily in evolutionary development, perhaps with an eye on the strategy.
• Be more interested in exploring ideas than bringing them to closure

The iNtuition function is primarily supported by introverted Thinking judgement. That is, Thinking judgement is used primarily to manage the inner world of thoughts and emotions. This will modify the way that the iNtuition is directed, by:

• focusing the (outer world) iNtuition on ideas and possibilities that relate to systems and concepts
• inwardly tending to spot the flaws in situations, people or ideas. Rather than expressing criticism directly, it may surface in the form of contradictory ideas and possibilities.
• applying logical analysis to perceived patterns and possibilities, enabling the ENTP to quickly see the underlying principles in a situation

The classic temperament of an ENTP is Promethean, or Phlegmatic, for whom a basic driving force is the search for competence or excellence.

Contributions to the team of an ENTP

In a team environment, the ENTP can contribute by:

• challenging the status quo, and encouraging other team members to achieve more than they thought they could
• leading other team members to a greater understanding of the concepts and principles involved
• involving people who are competent in relevant skills
• contributing creative ideas on how the task can be achieved or quality improved
• creating new ideas out of confrontational discussion
• finding ways to overcome apparently insurmountable difficulties
• generating team spirit though the ENTP's own energy and enthusiasm

The potential ways in which an ENTP can irritate others include:

• initiating too many projects, and not being able to deliver on all of them
• introducing too much change, and not leaving well-established, workable routines alone
• not taking sufficient account of current realities
• appearing competitive and unappreciative of the contribution of others
• leaving someone else to do the routine work
• making errors of fact

Personal Growth

As with all types, the ENTP can achieve personal growth by developing all functions that are not fully developed, through actions such as:

• being selective about the initiation of projects
• pausing and thinking, and recognising that others will accept the ENTP and his/her ideas more if their own contributions are accepted and valued
• appreciating the value of existing routines that work well
• investigating the facts, and documenting them, before interpreting what they mean
• taking time to consider the impact of the ENTP's approach and ideas on people's feelings
• expressing appreciation towards others

Recognising Stress

As stress increases, 'learned behaviour' tends to give way to the natural style, so the ENTP will behave more according to type when under greater stress. For example, in a crisis, the ENTP might:

• spend time brainstorming ideas, and debating or critiquing what needs to be done
• provide a lot of drive, but try to do too much
• draft in people with proven skills to work on the problem
• make errors of fact, or ignore routine matters that might nevertheless be essential

Under extreme stress, fatigue or illness, the ENTP's shadow may appear - a negative form of ISFJ. Example characteristics are:

• being pedantic about unimportant details
• doing things to excess - e.g.: eating, drinking or exercising
• expressing emotions in an intensive and uncontrolled way
• being very sensitive to criticism

The shadow is part of the unconscious that is often visible to others, onto whom the shadow is projected. The ENTP may therefore readily see these faults in others without recognising it in him/her self.

Develop Your Potential

Our personality questionnaire can help you:

• become much more self-aware;
• develop your leadership, management or influencing skills;
• find a career that matches your personality;
• Improve teamwork and team relationships.

You can either do the personality test yourself, or administer multiple questionnaires for use in team building and leadership development.