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Developing Your Type – ENTP

Developing Your Type – ENTP

By Donna Dunning

ENTP Logical Explorer: Innovate and Initiate

“The possibilities are endless.”

3.2% of the population

Type Dynamics for the ENTP

Dominant (Ne): Outwardly focused on possibilities for enhancing systems.

Auxiliary (Ti): Inwardly evaluating ideas analytically and objectively.

Tertiary (F): As they mature, assess personal as well as logical implications of situations.

Inferior (Si): Developmental challenge is considering facts, data and current realities.

My previous blogs – Understanding Type Dynamics: Dominant FunctionsUnderstanding Type Dynamics: Auxiliary Functions, and Taking Personality Type Beyond Your Preferences have more information on type dynamics.

The ENTP Preferred Mode

Logical Explorers use Extraverted Intuition (Ne) as their core approach to work and living. ENTPs usually take an energetic approach and are interested in ideas and possibilities. They tend to actively play with new concepts and pursue new ventures.

Logical Explorers thrive in situations where they have variety and flexibility. They want opportunities to improve things and re-invent old ways of doing things. If you are a Logical Explorer, you are likely at your best when you are engaging in open-ended activities, debates, and discussions.

Adding a Secondary Approach

Logical Explorers tend to trust and use a decision making process that evaluates options based on impersonal, logical, analysis.

This decision making approach provides direction and ensures the ENTPs don’t get lost trying out the many options they can imagine. Others usually won’t see this secondary process as the evaluation and prioritizing of ideas tends to happen internally. You will see this approach indirectly when the ENTP decides to act on one of the ideas they have been considering.

Development Pathway

ENTPs will likely be convinced to develop their non-preferred preferences when they can see how using these parts of their personality can broaden their options or convince others to buy into their ideas.

As Logical Explorers develop, they learn to add a more compassionate component to their decision-making. For example, young ENTPs may introduce many ideas and make a variety of changes as long as the options seem logically feasible. A more mature ENTP may learn to look more at how people will be affected by, and will respond to, an option and add this understanding to their decision-making. They will be motivated to use this process when they realize that they will only be able to initiate new ways of doing things if they listen to and accommodate the people involved.

Over time Logical Explorers can also learn to place more emphasis on the practical side of situations. They will be motivated to do this when it serves their preferred mode of operating. For example, an ENTP can be convinced to inventory the facts and realities of a situation when they realize they must do so to explain their ideas to others or to move forward. Using a personal, practical approach can also serve the Logical Explorers by providing a way to check if their ideas are viable.

Developmental Tips for the Logical Explorer

  • Make your decisions more balanced by imagining how each option will affect the people involved and adding this data into your analysis of the situation.
  • To hone your process of personal analysis, listen carefully to others to hear how they are interpreting a situation.
  • Take time to identify and analyze the gap between where you are now and where you want to be in the future.
  • When asked to complete a task or project, don’t overestimate what you can do. Accurately assess the facts and practical constraints of the situation.
  • Map out a sequential, practical plan for accomplishing a goal.

You will find an overview of the two types of Explorers, their career success stories and strategies, and occupations that attract them on the Explorer main page.

What’s Your Type of Career? includes a section on career and life development strategies for Explorers.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 at 8:02 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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