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Facts About Jon, Number 7

It’s Not About You. It’s Me.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a psychological test designed to assist a person in identifying their personality preferences. It was developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers during World War II, and follows from the theories of Carl Jung as laid out in his work Psychological Types.

According to Jung’s typology all people can be classified using three criteria. These criteria are:

Extraversion - Introversion
Sensing - Intuition
Thinking - Feeling

Isabel Briggs-Myers added fourth criterion:

Judging - Perceiving

The first criterion defines the source and direction of energy expression for a person. The extrovert has a source and direction of energy expression mainly in the external world while the introvert has a source of energy mainly in the internal world.

The second criterion defines the method of information perception by a person. Sensing means that a person believes mainly information he receives directly from the external world. Intuition means that a person believes mainly information he receives from the internal or imaginative world.

The third criterion defines how the person processes information. Thinking means that a person makes a decision mainly through logic. Feeling means that, as a rule, he makes a decision based on emotion.

The fourth criterion defines how a person implements the information he has processed. Judging means that a person organizes all his life events and acts strictly according to his plans. Perceiving means that he is inclined to improvise and seek alternatives.

The different combinations of the criteria determine a type. There may be sixteen types. Every type has a name (or formula) according to the combination of criteria. For example:
ISTJ - Introvert Sensing Thinking Judging or
ENFP - Extrovert INtuitive Feeling Perceiving
For a certain person a type formula and quantitative measure of expression of each criterion (strength of the preference) can be determined using the Type inventory. Then the corresponding type description can be represented.

ENTJ

What makes an ENTJ tick?

The Dominant function is the judging one of Thinking. Characteristics associated with this function include:

• Likes making decisions on the basis of logic, using objective considerations
• Is concerned with truth, principles and justice
• Is analytical and critical, tending to see the flaws in situations
• Takes an objective approach

The judging Thinking function is extroverted. That is, Thinking is used primarily to govern the outer world of actions and spoken words. The ENTJ will therefore:

• organize life in on a logical basis, classifying, ordering, and directing facts and situations
• be decisive, with the aim of being just and fair
• spontaneously criticize
• be comfortable with conflict as a way of resolving problems
• take an impersonal approach, focusing more on systems and organizational needs than each individuals’ feelings

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

• focusing the (outer world) Thinking on creative decisions that lead to change and new possibilities
• orchestrating the outward organization in support of some overall purpose or strategy

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

Contributions to the team of an ENTJ

In a team environment, the ENTJ can contribute by:

• focusing on the task to be achieved and keeping the team on track
• providing a drive to complete the task on time and to a high quality
• shaping the team structure to best serve the team objectives
• using analytical and critical skills to solve problems
• ensuring short term tasks are in harmony with the strategy
• sorting out confusion and ambiguity
• involving people who are competent in relevant skills, and ensuring everyone knows what they have to do

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

• issuing directives sometimes without explaining the reasons why
• dominating the team
• not taking account of others’ feelings
• driving too hard
• deciding too quickly and without sufficient consultation with others
• not taking sufficient account of current realities
• introducing too much change, and not leaving well-established, workable routines alone.

Personal Growth

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

• pausing and thinking, and recognizing that others will accept the ENTJ’s direction if their own contributions are accepted and valued
• working within other people’s limitations
• taking time to consider the impact of the ENTJ’s approach and ideas on people’s feelings
• expressing appreciation towards others
• consulting others more, to engender ownership of the solution
• learning to acknowledge and develop the ENTJ’s own emotions and personal values
• spending time to develop personal relationships for their own sake

Recognizing Stress

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

• take command, decide what needs to be done, and tell everyone what to do
• maintain a sense of direction, and drive others hard to overcome any short term difficulties
• make decisions too quickly, and without considering the impact on people
• criticize others efforts and ignore their feelings

Under extreme stress, fatigue or illness, the ENTJ’s shadow may appear - a negative form of ISFP. Example characteristics are:

• withdrawing and wanting to be alone
• having intense emotions, that may or may not be expressed
• being very sensitive to criticism
• acting very impulsively, doing things to excess

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

Extroverted 22 %

Intuitive 11 %

Thinking 78 %

Judging 1 %