Psychological Type Descriptions:
ENTP
Description:
Accounting for only 2-5% of the population, ENTPs are the natural innovators and entrepreneurs among the types. Driven by an endless curiosity, ENTPs are on a constant quest to increase their competence. ENTPs must fiddle with tried and true ways of doing things just to see if they can be improved. With a quick wit, an engaging style, and a love for new experiences, ENTPs are often wonderful conversationalists, although they will sometimes play devil's advocate just to spice up an interaction they find dull. Indeed, ENTPs have a very low tolerance for boredom and will sometimes be generalist risk takers-constantly drawn to new and potentially dangerous activities such as skydiving, mountain climbing, or scuba diving. While they tend to be logical and rational in their way of viewing the world, ENTPs usually find strong feelings stimulating and therefore avoid the problems many Ts face in the emotional world. The curiosity, optimism, and drive ENTPs bring to their work are almost always inspiring to those around them. Friends and colleagues of an ENTP can usually count on interesting interactions whenever they are around him or her.
Potential Blindspots:
As with any type, ENTPs can encounter problems in certain areas. Their drive to avoid boredom creates a number of problems for most ENTPs. For instance, ENTPs will almost always re-invent the wheel in a new situation, rather than finding out what the accepted procedure is. Also, ENTPs have a habit of moving to the next challenge before the last one is completely done-meaning that final details are often forgotten. This tendency can make other types view the ENTP as charming but undependable. The tendency to jump ahead often leads ENTPs to finish others' sentences-whether out loud or not-before they actually know what the other person is going to say. Additionally, ENTPs can talk so much that others do not feel that they can contribute. One skill found rarely in ENTPs is tact, and once someone has lost the respect of an ENTP that fact is unlikely to remain a secret. Finally, over-confidence is a problem many ENTPs face as they try a task, discover roughly how it works, and then move on to the next opportunity before learning that there was a lot more to learn about the first task.
Possible Careers to Consider:
- Politician
- Photographer
- Venture Capitalist
- Social Scientist
- Photojournalist
- Political Analyst
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- Real Estate Agent
- Management Consultant
- Restaurant Owner
- Political Manager
- Literary Agent
- Systems Designer
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- Inventor
- PR Specialist
- Marketing Researcher
- Advertising Director
- Journalist
- Special Projects Developer
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Return to the Personality Type Descriptions list.
Last updated: 1 October 2002
Maintained by: John
W. Hall, PhD - john@drjohnhall.com
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