ESTPs -
From Conversations with Promoter Executors

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?

I make it happen. How I work-I have a picture in my head on how things will be, and I'm totally involved in the here and now. I am go, go, go. And that creates a lot of successes. I just dodge my way through the sparks and problems. I'm very task oriented. I like to do something, get it done, and move to the next thing. I love circumstances where it's a challenge.

I'm a doer. What's the mission and how are we getting there? Let's work together. Let's go. Throw any obstacle, I'll find a way.

New stuff, that's the thrill. I love to learn. I can take a prior experience and lay it right on top of what I'm doing today and carry it all forward, and it's a snap. I do a lot of brainstorming on my feet, organizing the points in my mind mentally. What's to worry? Just adapt. But draw me a picture, get me a list, or put it on my calendar. Sitting still is hard for me. I am really activity oriented and I don't need lots of supervision. I look for variety in most positions. If it's not there, I tend not to stay. I'd rather go out there and do it, just get on with things, and I can communicate that without having to spend a lot of time explaining. People know that if I have something that needs to be done, I do it. And I ask for help when it's needed.

I am totally a people person. Working through people is the way to get things done. All of my energy, fun, and most uplifting experiences are focused around people. I don't beat around the bush. Sometimes I have to tone it down a little bit-people may read me the wrong way. I'm very comfortable working either together as a team or individually. I like having flexibility, options, negotiating points. Some people need somebody to be very clear, very direct, and very to the point. That's how I operate. And work needs to be mutually enjoyable for all of the parties involved. Celebrate achievements. Recognition or reward runs very high in my value system.

I love the challenge of creating something pleasing to the eye. I like the order, to walk into a place that's totally chaotic, nothing's happening, and there's a great opportunity to straighten things out. I like to get the job of placing all the stuff, making it right so it works...

If I don't respect someone, I avoid them. If I can find another way to do business I will. I surround myself with people that I feel comfortable with, but they're totally my selection.

I like taking on something that I want to do and getting it done and seeing results, keeping things moving along just to see that I have met some goals-a feeling of accomplishment in a day. I'll always take bigger risks if I feel confident enough. Then I'll work with it for a while, and if I see it's not going anywhere, I just move on and go from there. I guess that summarizes how I deal with situations.