ENTJ, in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), stands for Extraversion, Intuition, Thinking, and Judging. People with this personality type are typically assertive, driven, and strategically minded, making them natural leaders.
ENTJ Meaning
ENTJs are assertive, strategic, and charismatic, often thriving in leadership roles, making successful executives, captains, and administrators.
ENTJs thrive in social situations (Extraversion), favor big-picture thinking and future potential over immediate details (Intuition), base their decisions on logical reasoning instead of personal emotions (Thinking), and prefer a structured, planned approach to life over spontaneity (Judging).
ENTJs are motivated by achieving goals and solving complex problems, preferring logical analysis and a big-picture outlook. Known for their decisiveness and organizational skills, ENTJs value efficiency and clear structures.
However, their assertive nature may sometimes be perceived as overly dominant or impatient.
They value organization and structure and appreciate long-term planning and goal setting. They have strong people skills and enjoy interacting with others, but they are not necessarily attuned to their own emotions or the emotions of their loved on.
ENTJ is one of the least common types in the population, and the rarest type among women. ENTJs comprise:
- 2% of the general population
- 3% of men
- 1% of women
ENTJs are sometimes referred to as “the Commander” or “the CEO.” ISFP is the opposite personality type of ENTJ.
Famous ENTJs include Kamala Harris, Napoleon Bonaparte, Harrison Ford, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Gates, and Carl Sagan.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Confident | Stubborn |
| Ambitious | Arrogant |
| Optimistic | Insensitive |
| Strong leadership skills | Lack of empathy |
| Sociable | Egotistical |
ENTJ Characteristics
People with this personality type are highly extroverted and enjoy being in the company of others
- They have strong communication skills and are usually well-spoken and quick-witted.
- They are energized by time spent with other people and tend to have very outgoing personalities. However, while ENTJs are friendly and personable individuals, they struggle to pick up on the emotional cues of others.
- They are prone to hiding their own emotions as they view sentimentality as a weakness, and thus also struggle to acknowledge the emotions and feelings of others.
ENTJs like to live an organized, structured life
- They are planners who appreciate a sense of predictability and control. They enjoy developing long-term plans to accomplish their goals, and they typically have a clear vision for the future.
- ENTJs strive to be as productive and efficient as possible since they are constantly focused on results. They are able to handle numerous tasks and commitments without having to default on any of them.
ENTJs are natural-born leaders
- They are highly rational and assertive and are quick to conceptualize efficient solutions to overcoming obstacles. They excel at taking charge and bringing order to the world around them.
- ENTJs see challenges everywhere they go, and they take pride in their ability to discover and implement effective ways to prevail and overcome. They see their role as that of a leader and seek out positions of power and people of influence in all areas of life.
- ENTJs are charismatic and inspiring as they strive to invigorate and bring out the best in others. However, because they are typically very direct and blunt, ENTJs can seem arrogant or pretentious to some.
- They often lack patience and can appear critical when others do not match up to their quick wits and firm convictions.
ENTJs are characteristically ambitious
- They are motivated by success and appreciate hard work and dedication. They seek to gain power and influence in all areas of their life and want to put themselves in the position of decision maker.
- They are strong-willed individuals who are seldom swayed or outsmarted by another. They are certain of the rightness of their beliefs and logic and are not afraid to hold the minority opinion.
- They are not easily discouraged and tend to believe that they can achieve any goal.
Cognitive Functions
The MBTI suggests that the four different cognitive functions (thinking, feeling, intuition, and sensing) form a hierarchy where each function is either directed outwardly (extroverted) or inwardly (introverted). The order of these functions determines one’s personality.
The dominant function is the primary aspect of personality, while the auxiliary and tertiary functions play supportive roles.
Dominant: Extraverted Thinking
- This function is concerned with the way ENTJs make decisions and judgments.
- ENTJs tend to place a greater emphasis on objective and logical information rather than personal feelings and emotions when making choices.
- They are focused on preserving order and control of the world around them and prioritize their goals above all else.
Auxiliary: Introverted Intuition
- People with the ENTJ personality type are future-focused. They play higher value on future possibilities than on the present moment and trust their gut instincts when approaching a decision.
Tertiary: Extraverted Sensing
- Extraverted Sensing → This function describes how ENTJs explore their surrounding environments.
- ENTJs enjoy novel, even thrill-seeking, experiences and have a unique appreciation for the beauty of life.
Inferior: Introverted Feeling
- ENTJs lack an understanding of internal feelings and emotions. This function tends to be weak in people with this personality type.
- Consequently, ENTJs often find themselves feeling uncomfortable or awkward in emotionally stimulating situations.
ENTJ Hobbies, Interests, and Careers
ENTJs are driven, ambitious individuals with an appetite for success. They are often very engaged in their careers and have limitless energy for their work. ENTJs are particularly drawn to leadership positions where they can achieve tremendous efficiency and productivity in their workplace.
With their strong communication skills, problem-solving capabilities, and organizational prowess, ENTJs naturally fall into these managerial roles, and they tend to make admirable authority figures.
They enjoy the challenge of solving difficult problems and finding opportunities to improve complex systems. They excel at supervising others and leading teams to carry out their visions with strategic planning and clear goal-setting.
Because of their excellent leadership skills, hard-working attitudes, and ability to plan for the future, ENTJs make successful CEOs, human resources managers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, university professors, corporate strategists, and judges.
In their free time, ENTJs enjoy maintaining leadership positions in community groups, attending social gatherings or sporting events, and playing competitive sports. Because ENTJs are often so career-focused, they may have few interests outside of work or participate in leisure activities that help to further their careers.
ENTP Work Environments
ENTJs prefer a work environment with a clear set of guidelines and standards and one that values competence and logical thinking. They appreciate a workplace that is formal and businesslike, where the performance of their work is evaluated objectively.
They also appreciate an environment where innovation is encouraged and there is plenty of room for variation. ENTJs want to be surrounded by a wide variety of coworkers who are equally as ambitious and hardworking.
While ENTJs want to be evaluated objectively, they also want to be rewarded generously and recognized for their efforts with money, recognition, and power. An ENTJs primary goal is to simply get things done so they struggle in workplaces that tolerate incompetence, laziness or inefficiency.
ENTJ Personal Relationships
Because ENTJs are extroverts, they gain energy from socializing with others. They love engaging in lively conversations and sharing their ideas with others.
They seek out friendships with those who share a similar passion for meaningful discussions and logical, critical debate.
They get along best with individuals who can match their ability to brainstorm, theorize, and learn. They value their friendships deeply and pay a great deal of attention to their friends; however, expressing and understanding emotions can be difficult for ENTJs, so they may struggle to get along with more sensitive individuals.
In romantic relationships, ENTJs can be commanding and dominating partners. They tend to take the leading role in any relationship from the start and assume personal responsibility for how smoothly things advance.
They put a lot of energy into their relationships and expect that their partner will do the same. ENTJs tend to be stubborn in their relationships as they have a clear idea of how things should be done and feel that their partner should follow.
They can have trouble attending to their partners’ feelings and listening patiently to them because of their strong desire to problem solve.
But, ENTJs are growth-oriented and will seize any opportunity to improve themselves by acting on criticisms to ensure long-lasting relationships.
Tips for Interacting With ENTJs
Friendships
As a friend of an ENTJ, it is important to remember that part of their communication style and personality type is to be argumentative and confrontational at times.
You should try not to take their criticism personally, but for the more introverted, down-to-earth personality types, a friendship with an ENTJ might not be beneficial for either party.
Relationships
ENTJs are typically ambitious and spend a lot of time at work or pursuing their goals. They need a partner who is independent and supportive and respects their competitiveness and ambition.
It is also important to remember that an ENTJ needs to feel completely comfortable in a relationship before they show their emotions. They value honesty and communication so if you are feeling insecure or have an issue with your partner, be upfront and tell them the truth.
Parenting
As parents, ENTJs are in control of their children. They have clear sets of standards and expect that their rules are followed. They set logical consequences for misbehavior and expect obedience from their children.
ENTJs tend to be more absent at home than other personality types because they have such a strong focus on their careers. However, when they are with their kids, they ensure that the time is well spent instilling values of hard work and achievement.
Test
Answer these questions below to find out if ENTJ is your personality type:
- Do you often find yourself naturally taking charge in group situations?
- Are you more energized by social interactions than by spending time alone?
- When making decisions, do you tend to rely more on logic and objective analysis than on personal feelings?
- Do you prefer focusing on the big picture and future possibilities rather than immediate details?
- Are you often described as ambitious, confident, or assertive by others?
- Do you enjoy creating and implementing structured plans to achieve your goals?
- Are you drawn to leadership positions in your career or personal life?
- Do you find it challenging to understand or express emotions, whether your own or others’?
If you answer “yes” to most of these questions, you may have ENTJ personality traits. However, remember that personality is complex, and a professional assessment would be needed for a definitive personality type determination.
Take the MBTI (Paper Version)
References
King, S. P., & Mason, B. A. (2020). Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences: Measurement and Assessment, 315-319.
Myers, I. B. (1962). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Manual (1962).
Myers, K. D., & Kirby, L. D. (2015). Introduction to type: A guide to understanding your results on the MBTI assessment . Sunnyvale, CA: CPP.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. (2019, May 28). New World Encyclopedia, . Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator&oldid=1020015.
Myers, Isabel B.; Myers, Peter B. (1995) [1980]. Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type. Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89106-074-1.
Pittenger, D. J. (2005). Cautionary Comments Regarding the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator . Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 57(3), 210-221.
The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®. The Myers & Briggs Foundation: MBTI Basics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/
