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ENTJ Personality Type: Characteristics and Careers

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Nov 10, 2022 • 2 min read

ENTJ, one of the sixteen personality types in the Myers-Briggs indicator, is “the general” personality type. Learn about the cognitive functions and attributes of ENTJ personalities.

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What Is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI for short) is a self-reported personality assessment. Isabel Myers and Catherine Briggs, who drew heavily on the work of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, developed the MBTI to promote self-understanding by helping people clarify their abilities and preferences in life, work, and relationships.

ENTJ Cognitive Functions

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator system, the cognitive functions of ENTJ personalities include the following:

  • Dominant: The dominant function of the ENTJ personality type is Extroverted Thinking. ENTJs focus on efficiency and have a logical approach to decision-making.
  • Auxiliary: The auxiliary cognitive function of ENTJs is Introverted Intuition, meaning ENTJs gather and process information through patterns and impressions. ENTJs tend to be highly perceptive of their surroundings and are forward-thinking.
  • Tertiary: Extroverted Sensing is the tertiary function of ENTJ personality types. ENTJs use their senses and live in the present moment. ENTJs are adventurous and enjoy novelty experiences.
  • Inferior: The inferior cognitive function, the weakest function, is Introverted Feeling. ENTJs often make rash decisions without considering how the decision might impact their personal values.

ENTJ Traits

Like all MBTI types, ENTJ has several recognizable attributes:

  • Assertive
  • Charismatic
  • Competitive
  • Decisive
  • Pragmatic
  • Motivated
  • Organized

ENTJ Careers

ENTJs are independent, motivated, and communicate well with others, meaning they excel in leadership and administrative positions. ENTJs also take risks and can quickly grasp the big picture, making them good innovators and strong leaders in times of crisis. Typical ENTJ careers include CEO, business strategist, scientist, software engineer, lawyer, and human resources manager.

The 4 Myers-Briggs Categories

The MBTI personality test organizes people into sixteen types. The letters refer to four psychological functions, or scales or categories, in human personalities:

  1. 1. Introversion-Extroversion (I-E): Introversion to extroversion describes how people interact with themselves and others. Extroverted people thrive on socializing and find relationships relatively energizing, while introverts need to spend more time with themselves and often find socializing draining.
  2. 2. Sensing-Intuition (S-N): This scale refers to how people gather information about the exterior world. Some tend to be more attentive to sensory information, while others use intuition when taking in the world around them.
  3. 3. Thinking-Feeling (T-F): This reflects how people make decisions about the world and events. Those who favor thinking tend to be rational and deliberative and prefer logical conclusions. People who lean toward feeling tend to emphasize their emotions when making decisions.
  4. 4. Judging-Perceiving (J-P): This scale reflects people’s overall orientation toward people and events. Those who judge tend to favor organizational structure and precise decisions, whereas people who perceive are often more accepting, nuanced, and reserved in their opinions and ideas.

The 16 Myers-Briggs Personality Types

The sixteen Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) types are ISTJ, ISFJ, INTJ, INFJ, ISTP, INTP, INFP, ISFP, ESTJ, ENTJ, ENTP, ENFJ, ENFP, ESFP, ESTP, and ESFJ.

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