Have you ever looked at someone and wondered how they achieved so much success compared to their piers? While there is always some luck and being in the right place at the right time, personality type is one of the most influential factors.
ENTJs are natural leaders who can take charge in normal and high-stress circumstances. Their analytic approach and ability to see the bigger picture add huge value when seeking rational solutions while ensuring the best outcome for all parties involved.
ENTJ stands for Extraversion (E), Intuition (N), Thinking (T), Judgment (J) and describes a most remarkable individual who both cares about those people who are around them as well as enables them to find solutions to problems and develop far-reaching strategies.
What Is The Myer Briggs Personality Typing?
In 1923 Katharine Cook Briggs introduced her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myer, to Carl Jung’s writing. Despite having no formal academic training, mother and daughter expanded Jung’s four personality types to sixteen.
- INFP – The Healer
- INTJ – The Mastermind
- INFJ – The Councilor
- INTP – The Architect
- ENFP – The Champion
- ENTJ – The Commander
- ENTP – The Visionary
- ENFJ – The Teacher
- ISFJ – The Protector
- ISFP –The Composer
- ISTJ – The Inspector
- ISTP – The Craftsman
- ESFJ – The Provider
- ESFP – The Performer
- ESTJ – The Supervisor
- ESTP – The Dynamo
Are ENTJs leaders?
ENTJs have a natural leadership instinct and capability which is so powerful that they may find it difficult not to take the lead. Their preferred position is as the head of a team, not because it feeds their egos, but because they are adept at marshaling everyone together and moving the group forward.
It makes ENTJs unwilling to stand in the background when they have the solution available.
ENTJs are renowned as leaders and are sometimes called the leader’s leader. With their capable instinct and thinking ability, they have a very strong talent for making good strategic decisions based on all the facts available.
With ENTJs being so logical and dispassionate, leading and solving problems is one of the things which motivates and fuels them. Problems are like gas to a fire because they thoroughly enjoy exercising their logic and objective, critical thinking.
An Example Of INTJs Strategic Ability
Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (American President) are cases in point. They led their respective countries and the rest of the allies in World War two and played the most significant role in overcoming the axis powers.
While some of their decisions were questioned at the time, the final goal became more apparent over the long haul.
In this regard, they were both credited with being able to see the bigger picture and designing strategies based on this.
How Do Others See ENTJs?
Some may see the Intuition (N), Thinking (T), and Judgment (J) parts of an ENTJs personality as being someone who will ride roughshod over other team members or subordinates.
It is not the reality, however, but rather because the ENTJ has arrived at a logical, defensible position that is in the team’s best interest.
INTJs thought processes are always very rational, and the high level of intuition makes it easier for them to arrive at workable solutions for problem situations.
Even with demonstrating their natural empathy for people and their high emotional quotient (EQ), they can still think of logical solutions. They can always back up the reasoning behind their feelings and decisions.
What Kind Of Leaders Are ENTJs?
ENTJs are extroverted, intuitive, thoughtful, and practice careful well-thought-out judgment.
ENTJs are known for their bluntness, business acumen, and leadership ability. As narcissists, howe in daily situations. Their leadership style is very positive and confident, which other, more sensitive personality types may feel is dogmatic, even dictatorial, and superior.
ENTJs can become hyper-focused on problem-solving and solutions, making them a great personality type to rely on when you need an objective and fair approach to a problem.
They are not dictators; however, they start from well-thought-out positions that have been constructed from all of the available evidence, which is based on fact, and empirical evidence. It is hard for ENTJs to understand why others would push back against their decisions.
ENTJs may become impatient with people who are not as efficient and focused as they are. When a decision is needed, the ENTJ will all become irritated with people who will not focus, consider the facts, and decide.
A true ENTJ will always lead from the front (whether this is in war or business), and they are not afraid to put in the long hours necessary to achieve a goal and, in a team, they may be held up as an example of the work ethic expected of the other members.
What Drives An ENTJ?
The ENTJ tend to be highly driven and possess individualistic thinking, which is not swayed by the common norms.
While career goals are very important to an ENTJ, they are rarely achieved at the expense of the team members, mainly because of their strong empathy.
Past ENTJ business leaders, including Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, have imagined and developed technologies that have changed the paradigm of people’s lives.
They typically have immensely clear ideas of the end goal, and they will create systems and plans that will enable them to achieve this, despite any chatter they may hear which may be critical of them or their goals.
What Are ENTJs People Skills Like?
Extraversion is a personality trait that generally seeks gratification obtained from outside the self, and as such, extroverts are known for their warmth, positivity, and conviviality.
ENTJs are very sociable and assertive, with high activity levels, positive emotions, and impulsivity.
The extraversion part of ENTJ’s personality means that they are normally happier when working with groups or just working around other people. They may begin to feel drained and dissatisfied when they are forced to work in isolation.
Because of this, if the ENTJ is the leader of a company, there will generally be a very involved management team that has been selected to complement the ENTJ’s skills. The relationship with the management team will be genuine and will not involve putting up a false face or hiding behind a façade.
It enables the ENTJ to develop the team into a friendship group that works in a mutually supportive way.
People may feel more drawn to ENTJs because of their natural leadership qualities, and ENTJs enjoy helping others to reach their personal goals.
There may be frustration that the ENTJ is very assertive and may ride roughshod over other team members’ ideas and suggestions. However, this trait does create a desire for other personality types to be on the ENTJs team because, in all likelihood, there is a greater chance of this being the winning team.
Despite appearing somewhat intimidating and generally having a serious demeanor, ENTJs are deeply empathetic and genuine concern for the other team member.
In these circumstances, the expressionless way they speak should not be mistaken for lack of caring or the ability to feel emotions. These characteristics are sometimes expressed as a form of self-protection to help them overcome a difficult situation without breaking down.
What Are ENTJs Like In The Workplace?
In many respects, ENTJs are the perfect employee, and if the other personality types in a team are aware of the ENTJ’s personality characteristics, they will see their strengths.
The other team members will be able to view the strengths objectively and understand that the high level of intuition and depth of thought is not a sign of superiority or stubbornness. Instead, they are a positive aspect that can be harnessed for the team’s benefit.
ENTJs are orientated towards their career and will focus on developing and growing in this aspect of their lives which may override the need to instruct meaningful relationships with others.
There is a small chance that this predisposition can cause them to lack the ability to form strong, well-built, and supportive relationships with others. However, their natural extrovert tendency will draw others to them, making them a popular part of the team.
ENTJs Are Always Growing And Developing
ENTJs are always looking to grow themselves, which is why they are adept at problem-solving issues.
The word status quo is an anathema to them, and they will always look to move on and grow their skillset.
They constantly read, study, and gather new information and are never content with just settling.
They always want to grow as individuals, continuously learning as much as possible.
How Have ENTJ leaders impacted the world?
Known ENTJ leaders include (or have included) the following people.
- Julius Caesar (Reigned as Romain Emperor from 46BC – 44 BC.)
- Elizabeth the first (Queen of England 1558–1603)
- Napoleon Bonaparte (Served as emperor of France from 1804 to 1814, and again in 1815.)
- Alexander Hamilton (American revolutionary, statesman, and Founding Father of the United States.)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (was president of America from 1933 until he died in 1945.)
- Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister (Was the conservative Prime Minister twice, the first time between the early war years of 1940 to the end of the war in 1945 and the second time from 1951 to 1955.)
- Margaret Thatcher (from 1979 to 1990, she was the British Prime Minister and also led Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990.)
- Richard Nixon (The president of the United States from 1969 until his resignation in 1974.)
- Newt Gingrich (50th United States House of Representatives speaker from 1995 to 1999.)
- Angela Merkel (German Chancellor from 2005 to 2021.)
- Nancy Pelosi (From 2007 to 2011 and since 2019, she has been the speaker of the United States House of Representatives ).
- Hermann Goering, German (NAZI) military and political leader.
- Bill Gates (Founder of Microsoft).
- Steve Jobs (Apple Founder).
- Jack Welch, U.S. CEO – General Electric.
- Wernher von Braun Rocket scientist
Each of these ENTJ leaders has profoundly influenced their generation, and some notable achievements are.
- Napoleon Bonaparte is considered to be one of history’s greatest military leaders.
- D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill led the allies through the second world war.
- Margaret thatcher made British history by being the first woman to lead a major political party, resolved the Iranian embassy crisis, implemented a free market economy in Britain, and led the country during the Falklands war.
- Richard Nixon ended American fighting in Vietnam and improved international relations with the U.S.S.R. and China.
- Angela Merkel was the first woman to be elected as Germans Chancellor and the first Chancellor since reunification to have been raised in former East Germany.
- Hermann Goering was a highly decorated fighter pilot, Hitler’s second in command, and ended up as a war criminal.
- Nancy Pelosi was the first woman to lead a party in Congress.
- Bill gates established Microsoft and introduced pc dos operating system; at 31, he was the youngest self-made billionaire.
- Steve Jobs co-founded Apple, delivered the first commercially successful personal computer, and turned Apple into the most valuable company in the world.
- Jack Welch was awarded the accolade of being “the manager of the Century,” and writing his book “Winning,” co-written with Suzy Welch, became a No. 1.
- Wernher von Braun developed the frightening V1 and V2 rockets for the NAZI regime. After the war, the Americans offered him amnesty by the Americans, and he ended by leading President Kennedy’s dream of Apollo 11, which was the first manned flight and landing on the Moon.
Conclusion
Apart from being the optimal leader of an employer’s team, ENTJs bring many benefits to the workplace. They have empathy for the needs of the people around them and have a “people first” attitude which makes them very popular, all the while being able to offer solutions and strategies for both the short and long term.
While someone who does not know the ENTJ well may consider them forceful and a little too strong-willed, the reality is that they have most probably thought the problem through in great depth and have arrived at the most viable solution.
