ENTPs -
From Conversations with Explorer Inventors

The following is adapted from Linda V. Berens and Dario Nardi, The 16 Personality Types: Descriptions for Self-Discovery (Telos Publications, 1999) *Used with permission.

What's it like to be you?

Life feels like a constant state of moving from one interesting thing to another, and I can get frustrated when there isn't enough time to pursue all those interesting things.

I have a wide range of interests. I love to explore the world, how other people live, what they believe in, and what their lives are like. I have a deep need to understand the human condition and what brings people to life, even above difficult odds. I like it when the conversation goes wherever it wants to go-deep imaginative, intellectual, or philosophical conversation. Going off on one theory or another is fun, but long stories with nothing to learn frustrate me.

Ideas mean change. When I meet people who have interesting ideas, talents, or projects, I want to get to know them and help them make whatever they want to do possibly much bigger, more successful, or more impactful than they had intended. I start aligning with them and building trust because I want to get invited in-to probably change whatever they want to do because I tend to see more possibilities. Then we cook up the project. It's fun to learn. I enjoy that in-the-moment experience of connecting things in my mind. Challenge and intellectual stimulation get me excited.

I just see a different world than the one in which I live, and I admire people who have genuine compassion and a commitment to serve others. I really respect people who have the ability to take the slings and arrows that come with leadership roles and working for change, who can cope with all the misunderstanding and resistance, who can say, "This is an idea whose time has come and we're going to get it done." It's important to me to be in a setting where people are committed, where facts are respected, and where there is a space for people to tell the truth or at least look for the truth-and be open to listening...

Fairness and consistency are really important. I feel that people should be treated with respect at all times, and I don't like behavior demeaning to others. When there is conflict I feel a compulsion to figure it out, to resolve it. When I'm personally involved, it can be difficult to initiate a discussion about the conflict. Sometimes I feel inadequate.

I think life is a puzzle and we keep playing with how to fit the pieces together. Something new and challenging is always more interesting to me than something I am already competent at.