ENTP Personality Type [Explorer, Inventor, Innovator]

In general, ENTPs are known for being outgoing, enthusiastic, flexible, and independent.

Their intuition (N) allows them to see the world of possibilities, while their objective thinking (T) and outward orientation (E) help convert these possibilities to ideas and plans (“Type Talk”, Otto Kroeger).

This is the reason why David Keirsey, the author of books “Please Understand Me” and “Please Understand Me II”, called ENTPs “Inventors”.

ENTPs account for about 2-5 percent of the general population, and most ENTPs are men. Being highly entrepreneurial and autonomous, ENTPs typically find a way to manage their work and life as they see fit.

On the other hand, ENTPs aren’t particularly inclined to leadership (unlike ENTJ or ESTJ), probably because being a leader involves a lot of responsibility, which may restrict the ENTP’s freedom. Are you an ENTP? Find out now!

ENTPs are all about taking advantage of opportunities. Their unique ability to see connections between seemingly unrelated things, their flexibility, and courage to set action-oriented plans to get the results they want help them realize the potential in many areas of their life.

Even when they work within an organization, ENTPs tend to behave like entrepreneurs; this may sometimes jeopardize their position or make their colleagues uncomfortable.

However, the ENTP isn’t the one to get scared easily and will do whatever needs to be done to feel as independent and free as possible.

People with ENTP personality type are likely to challenge the rules and often ignore the established procedures. Their worst nightmare is to work under someone who demands considerable rule-following; if you want to get along with your ENTP subordinate, consider making suggestions rather than giving orders.

Young ENTPs are particularly entrepreneurial and adventurous:

• They are in a constant search of loopholes or opportunities that went unnoticed by others.
• They set only flexible goals that allow them to incorporate new information as they learn and adjust to new circumstances, if necessary.
• In most areas, they insist on keeping their options open.
• They can’t resist exploring new original ways of doing things.
• They seldom do the same thing the same way twice.
• They don’t like routine.
• They have many interests.
• They are likely to have more than one career focus.

Other Names for ENTP

Descriptive names for the ENTP personality type include

• Explorer Inventor (Linda Berens)
• Enthusiastic Innovator (Alan Brownsword)
• Inventor (David Keirsey)
• Precocious Planner (Jonathan P. Niednagel)
• Enterprising Explorer (Official MBTI site)

Other online names include “The Visionary” (Truity) and “The Debater” (16Personalities).

When compared to the four classical temperaments, the ENTP personality type is similar to the Sanguine-Choleric type.

ENTP Meaning

ENTP stands for extraversion (E), intuition (N), thinking (T), and perceiving (P).

• Being extraverted (also spelled as extroverted) means that you have an external focus and energize by being active and spending time with others.
• Being intuitive means that you have the ability to see possibilities and connections between things that aren’t immediately obvious to everyone. It also means that you prefer to deal with ideas and concepts rather than just facts and details.
• Being thinking means that you make your decisions based on logic.
• Being perceiving means that you are a spontaneous person and like to keep your options open rather than having a firm plan.

ENTP in Love, Dating, and Relationships

Because ENTPs like to keep their options open, they may find it difficult to commit and tend to stay single for a long time.

Having said that, ENTPs usually can tell whether or not the relationship with a particular person has any potential from day one.

Unfortunately, even if the ENTP sees you as a potential partner, they will still be reluctant to commit if they feel they didn’t explore all possibilities (LIFETypes, Sandra Hirsh).

You have much better chances with an older ENTP who feels like s/he played enough, and it’s time to explore family life.

Being with an ENTP is not for everybody: ENTP requires a lot of freedom and independence; unless their partner is extremely self-confident and independent, the relationship might not work out.

However, this doesn’t mean that all ENTPs want someone as adventurous and independent as themselves. The ENTP may want a stable partner with traditional family values.

It is more common for ENTPs to fall for someone they can’t figure out, someone who can challenge them intellectually on a consistent basis.

They tend to get bored with predictable partners, even when it’s something they initially craved.

ENTP Women

Just like ISFJ men may struggle with their natural tendencies being against what’s expected from them, ENTP women are sometimes perceived as unfeminine.

Bold, competitive, argumentative, and witty, they are too much to handle for some men.

Unlike ISFJ men, ENTP women don’t feel they need to change their natural tendencies by becoming more like a traditional female stereotype.

ENTP Decision-Making Process

Before making a decision, the ENTP will typically spend a lot of time in the exploration stage.

Because of the ENTP’s unique ability to generate a vast number of ideas and their inclination to continuously look for new opportunities, they usually end up with multiple options.

They will attempt to examine each option logically, often using a predefined list of criteria to facilitate the decision-making process.

ENTP Learning Style

ENTPs love to learn for the sake of learning and not for the sake of grades or recognition.

Because they don’t focus on grades, they might appear careless when it comes to assignments and tests, which might result in average performance.

Even if their grades are average or below average, ENTPs may still be very passionate about the subject matter.

Unlike their better performing classmates who simply move on and study for another test, ENTPs might devote lots of personal time researching the subjects they find interesting.

Generally ENTP students

• want to be taught concepts rather than facts,
• look at the logical foundations of concepts and build on them to develop their own style of thinking,
• prefer difficult material that stimulates their mind,
• like to debate,
• go the extra mile when researching subjects they are passionate about.

ENTP Leadership Style

ENTP leaders encourage independence and initiative in their subordinates.

More than other types, ENTPs are likely to introduce new unconventional ways of doing things and know how to get their team excited about these changes.

They may have trouble to evaluate the time required to meet their goals realistically, yet they expect everyone to reflect their work pace.

ENTP leaders sometimes frustrate others by failing to provide all necessary details for the project at hand.

Because of their broad way of thinking, they will usually present others with the big picture only, pointing others in the right direction but skipping on essential details.

Generally, ENTPs are great visionaries and innovative thinkers.

Unfortunately, some other types have a particularly hard time working under the ENTP’s leadership.

Those that require stability, security, and structure the most tend to be very uncomfortable with ENTP leaders.

Ideal Work Setting for the ENTP

ENTPs require a flexible work environment that allows for as much autonomy as possible.

Too many rules and bureaucracy hinders the ENTP’s creativity and make them extremely unhappy.

ENTPs want to solve complex problems with people that are just as independent and creative as themselves.

Random Facts About ENTP

• ENTPs are extroverts who need lots of personal space; some even call ENTPs “introverted extroverts”.
• ENTPs have many brilliant ideas; unfortunately, they lack the patience to follow through with them.
• ENTPs get bored easily.
• ENTPs are competent people; however, they lack motivation.
• While ENTPs usually appear well-read, it’s not uncommon for them to have never finished a single book.
• There are times when ENTPs seem to enjoy arguing with authority figures.
• ENTPs are very resourceful.
• ENTPs consistently scan the environment for opportunities and possibilities.
• ENTPs are great at improvising.
• ENTPs are enthusiastic and can spread their enthusiasm to others.
• ENTPs possess the ability to size up situations quickly — they are fast thinkers.
• ENTPs are excited by challenges — they provide them much needed mental stimulation and keep them from getting bored.
• ENTPs enjoy travel and risk-taking adventures.

Careers for ENTP Personality Type

• Actor
• Advertising Director
• Aerospace Engineer
• Architect
• Art Director
• Attorney
• Chiropractor
• Computer Analyst
• Construction Laborer
• Copywriter
• Corporate Trainer
• Cost Estimator
• Creative Director
• Credit Investigator
• Criminalist
• Design Manager
• Detective
• Education Director
• Engineer
• Entrepreneur
• Environmental Scientist
• Executive
• Financial Planner
• Geologist
• Health Care Administrator
• HR Recruiter
• Industrial Designer
• Industrial Engineer
• Internet Architect
• Inventor
• Investment Broker
• Journalist
• Literary Agent
• Management Consultant
• Marketing Manager
• Marketing Personnel
• Marketing Researcher
• Mortgage Broker
• Organizational Psychologist
• Photographer
• Planner
• Political Analyst
• Political Manager
• Political Scientist
• Politician
• Property Manager
• Psychiatrist
• Public Administrator
• Public Relations Specialist
• Real Estate Agent
• Real Estate Developer
• Reporter
• Research Worker
• Restaurant Owner
• Sales Agent Strategic
• Sales Manager
• School Psychologist
• Social Scientist
• Special Projects Developer
• Stockbroker
• Systems Designer
• Urban Planner
• Venture Capitalist

Famous ENTP

One of the most prominent examples of people who are likely to belong to the ENTP personality type is Tim Ferriss.

Be that work, cooking, or sports, Ferriss is dedicated to finding loopholes to achieve better and faster results than anyone else.

Travel the world, earn more while working less, learn complex skills in record amounts of time — Ferriss can be incredibly inspiring and entertaining.

On the other hand, some criticized him for not providing concrete steps for achieving the promised results.

Although indeed, Tim Ferris may occasionally skip some crucial details, this criticism likely comes from people who belong to personality types that require clarity, stability, and structure.

That type of person is never comfortable with ENTPs no matter what they do, but many others appreciate the inspiration and enthusiasm ENTPs provide.

Some other famous people who are likely to be ENTPs are

• Steve Wozniak
• Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia
• Leonardo Da Vinci

Fictional Characters

• Albus Dumbledore from “Harry Potter”
• Olaf from “Frozen”
• Mercutio from “Romeo and Juliet”

Photo credit: Designed by Pressfoto for Freepik

Related Posts:

• Judging vs. Perceiving Test: Discover Your Approach to Life
• ESTJ Personality Type [Organizer, Supervisor, Administrator]
• ESFJ Personality Type [Provider, Caregiver, Seller, Host, Facilitator]
• ISFP Personality Type [Artist, Composer, Producer, Artisan, Supporter]
• ESTP Personality Type [Promoter, Ultimate Realist, Thrill-Seeker]