In the broad spectrum of 16 personalities from the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI), the ENTJ personality type goes by the name Commander.
Based on Carl Jung’s mental function theory, the 16 personality free test is a personality instrument used worldwide to identify individual cognitive preferences, strengths, and weaknesses.
What is the ENTJ Personality Type?
What does ENTJ stand for? ENTJ stands for extraverted, intuitive, thinking, and judging. It means that ENTJs are enjoying being among people and discussing big ideas.
They boast outstanding organizational and strategic skills and never hesitate to put their plans into action once their analytical mind comes up with an idea.
A Commander personality type or the ENTJ personality is a person that has natural leadership characteristics and is driven by personal accomplishments. ENTJs are people with extraordinarily creative breakthrough ideas who love acting upon opportunities.
With their self-confidence and charisma, they have the unique ability to inspire and draw many followers. This is why it is very common to find these people leading a company, society, or even a cult.
Are you an ENTJ?
Take the free personality test to identify your true personality type. 16 Personality Types test reveals who you naturally are and why you do things the way you do. With this knowledge of yourself, you can build successful careers, find a dream job, build strong relationships, and live an authentic life.
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Interesting Facts About the ENTJ Personality Type
- Of all personality types from the Myers-Briggs personality assessment test, ENTJ is least likely to report stress relayed to work or finances.
- The commander is most likely to suffer from coronary diseases.
- Compared to other personality types, they are less likely to believe in supernatural powers or to become believers.
- On average, ENTJs have higher scores when graduating from college, compared to other personality types.
- They have the most MBA students among them, compared to the other 16 Myers-Briggs Personality types.
- A large share of ENTJs represent small business owners.
- This personality type is among the most satisfied with their job.
ENTJ Characteristics and Traits
ENTJ’s key traits are the following:
- Communicative
ENTJs have excellent verbal skills and love spending time with other people.
- Planners
To obtain their goals, Commander personalities need to see the big picture ahead and plan their actions ahead of time.
- Objective visionaries
Even though their ideas are everything but usual, they attribute high value to factual information and objective insights. Rarely do they follow their emotions and feelings to decide on something.
- Rational leaders
ENTJs frequently use their intuition to detect any potential problems. In addition to that, their dedication to solving these potentials makes them excellent at taking charge of any situation.
Are you an ENTJ?
Take the free personality test to identify your true personality type. 16 Personality Types test reveals who you naturally are and why you do things the way you do. With this knowledge of yourself, you can build successful careers, find a dream job, build strong relationships, and live an authentic life.
TAKE THE FREE PERSONALITY TEST
ENTJ’s Cognitive Functions
Jungian personality theory is based on the claim that human personality consists of several cognitive functions, some of them being outward-oriented (extroverted) while others are inward (introverted).
These functions reveal how people interact with each other, how they perceive the world, and what triggers them to behave in one way or another.
The most pronounced aspect of somebody’s personality is determined by the dominant function supported by the auxiliary function. The tertiary function becomes more apparent under pressure, while the inferior function reveals the person’s weaknesses.
Knowing, developing, and directing cognitive functions can help people take advantage of their strengths and balance their weaknesses.
Dominant Function: Extraverted Thinking
The dominant function of all ENTJs suggests that they are outwardly opinionated, open-minded, and direct. They tend to dominate the conversation and can’t boast of being attentive listeners.
They can often come across as harsh to make quick judgments, particularly in informal situations. Yet, in more formal settings, objectivity and rational thinking act as ENTJs’ advantage. They need to have things under control as they despise failures.
Are you an ENTJ?
Take the free personality test to identify your true personality type. 16 Personality Types test reveals who you naturally are and why you do things the way you do. With this knowledge of yourself, you can build successful careers, find a dream job, build strong relationships, and live an authentic life.
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Auxiliary Function: Introverted Intuition
The auxiliary function seems to be in direct opposition to the dominant function. However, it balances their Extraverted Thinking function and turns them into somebody who stops to listen to their instincts.
Although they are not as intuitive as other personality types, they are still in synch with their senses. Their progressive ideas come from careful observation of the circumstances combined with a dose of intuition and personal reasoning.
Tertiary: Extraverted Sensing
The outward-oriented sensory focus is responsible for the sense of adventure and thrill-seeking behaviors. Their impressive energy and enthusiasm are complemented by the desire to win and show off their superior qualities. ENTJs love to win, and that’s what gives them the ultimate satisfaction.
Their sensory functions take their sense of aesthetics, beauty, and design to a very sophisticated level. More often than not, you’ll see them surrounded by ultra-modern things, luxuries, and successful and attractive people.
Inferior: Introverted Feeling
This function is related to the way they express their feelings and values. The fact that it is inferior explains their notorious lack of emotions or, to be precise, the lack of emotional expression.
They consider emotions to be a sign of weakness and can’t see how they can be of any help in the decision-making process. People often perceive ENTJs as harsh, ruthless, and unable to understand other people’s feelings.
Two Subtypes of the Commander Personality Type
While the ENTJ personality type is distinctive on its own, ENTJs can be split into two subgroups based on how they respond to stressors, people, and circumstances.
One type of commander personality is called Assertive or ENTJ-A, while the other one is called Turbulent or ENTJ-T.
Are you an ENTJ?
Take the free personality test to identify your true personality type. 16 Personality Types test reveals who you naturally are and why you do things the way you do. With this knowledge of yourself, you can build successful careers, find a dream job, build strong relationships, and live an authentic life.
TAKE THE FREE PERSONALITY TEST
ENTJ’s Strengths
Core ENTJ strengths are (for a full list click here):
Natural Born Leaders
ENTJs see the world as a place of possibilities and opportunities. They are never discouraged by obstacles and difficulties and see them as challenges that need to be overcome.
Considering their leadership drive is very pronounced, they often consider themselves to be responsible for leading people into new projects and taking charge of the situations.
Efficient and Energetic
What they appreciate the most in other people is their efficiency and determination in getting things done. They often see inefficiency as the core reason for failures, and they often appear harsh when trying to eradicate it.
ENTJs hardly get tired of juggling multiple demanding tasks. On the contrary, the more demanding their role is, the more energized they feel.
Self-Confident and Determined
ENTJs know what they want, learn how to achieve it, and keep going forward regardless of any setbacks. Their strong will is so pronounced that they see every failure as an opportunity to grow and learn from mistakes.
Decisive Strategist
ENTJs’ thinking and intuitive functions enable them to foresee any future outcomes of a given situation. This makes them carefully plan things ahead, often with a backup plan.
They are equally aware that crises may occur. In these cases, their outstanding ability to navigate through difficult issues reinforces their intrinsic leadership skills.
Charismatic and Inspiring
ENTJs enjoy indulging in conversations, particularly intellectual ones. They are never afraid to express their opinion in a charismatic and often unimposing way to the point of inspiring others.
Are you an ENTJ?
Take the free personality test to identify your true personality type. 16 Personality Types test reveals who you naturally are and why you do things the way you do. With this knowledge of yourself, you can build successful careers, find a dream job, build strong relationships, and live an authentic life.
TAKE THE FREE PERSONALITY TEST
ENTJ’s Weaknesses
Dominant and Self-Centered
It isn’t rare to see an ENTJ absorbed by their own achievements, ideas, and intentions to the point of completely ignoring other people’s needs and opinions.
Since winning is their core drive, they would use all means to win any argument or competition.
Stubborn and Intolerant
On their ‘mission to conquer the world’, ENTJs can selfishly ignore any suggestions, recommendations, or other people’s ideas. Even in rare cases, when they show flexibility, they would need to hit the wall again and again before changing their mind.
Arrogant
ENTJs value deep reasoning and intellectual conversations. So they may look down on people who might not demonstrate the same level of profound thinking.
This arrogance is mostly expressed when a person they consider intellectually inferior challenges their firm convictions.
Lack of Emotional Management
Due to their cognitive functions, ENTJs see emotions as something distant and unrelated to their character. Their established system doesn’t include sentimental values, which can lead to walking over other people’s feelings.
Cold and Distant
When they have a clear agenda, ENTJs set aside everything that might hinder achieving on the goal in mind. It is not uncommon for them to deprioritize their family and friends on the path to success and achievements.
How ENTJs Interact and Communicate
Friendships
ENTJs are highly communicative people with strong abilities to engage in social environments. Their charm and charisma hardly go unnoticed, and people love listening to them. As in other spheres of their lives, ENTJs preferences will more likely lead philosophical discussions and theorize on big ideas.
Hanging out with ENTJs is rarely dull and monotonous. They are fun-loving, adventurous people who don’t get satisfied with mundane social gatherings. They have an inner drive to do something outstanding.
On the other hand, their winning nature makes them look pushy and confrontational, especially when trying to win an argument.
They often ignore other people’s feelings and prioritize logic over sentiment. So it might be hard at times to find support from ENTJs for personal, and emotional issues.
Don’t take it personally as they struggle to understand you as well. And, if you don’t share their ideas and points of view, they might equally ignore you, which, at times, is a much better alternative.
Parenting
ENTJs as parents are generally demanding and strict parents who take their parenting roles as seriously as everything else in their lives. Parenting on its own is a challenging task for them.
Their high standards, set of rules, and criticism come together with the struggle to respond emotionally to sentimental children. They often do everything within their limits to see their children grow into successful, strong individuals with independent, intellectual and rational mindsets.
Yet ENTJ parents need to realize that their children need to understand and discuss feelings. Otherwise, their children might get the feeling of being emotionally deprived and neglected.
Parents of ENTJ children, on the other hand, should bear in mind that their children are logic-driven individuals who seek understanding and logical explanations behind everything. These children are naturally curious and demanding.
So failing to satisfy their thirst for knowledge and reasoning may result in disobeying rules and following their self-imposed principles, especially during their teenage years.
These parents are advised to maintain peace and order in their household by establishing rules and always being ready to respond to their children’s intellectual inquiries.
It is also advisable to nurture the emotional side of the ENTJ’s kids by openly talking about feelings. It will allow them to understand their own and other people’s emotions.
Relationships
A relationship with an ENTJ is based on mutual respect, logic, and understanding, if both partners share the same ideas and goals.
Naturally, the ENTJ dominates the relationship with their innate leadership talent. They are very committed to the relationships they are in and will usually give their best to make them work.
The problems in the relationships with an ENTJ typically occur for two reasons. Firstly, it can be caused by their insensitivity to their partner’s emotional needs and, secondly, by the ENTJ’s lack of capacity to express their own feelings.
At times, it might look as if they have no feelings whatsoever, but that’s just the inability to demonstrate them. The best way to make a relationship with ENTJ is to openly discuss the issues that bother you. ENTJs are not good at guessing what’s wrong, but they are professionals in fixing the problems.
Workplace
ENTJ personality types are dedicated to performing well in any working environment, enhancing their skills, and improving their performance. They take the initiative, assert their opinions, and grasp new concepts with enthusiasm and energy.
All recommended ENTJ careers include jobs that motivate ENTJs to exercise their leadership, organizational, and communicative skills.
If they work in a subordinate position, they would do tasks efficiently, provided they are given clear instructions. If the job doesn’t require much involvement from their side, they can quickly lose interest and become absent-minded.
The best way to keep them busy is to give them challenging tasks.
When working with an ENTJ, especially when they are in a managerial position, it is advisable to be as efficient and effective as possible. They will deem you worthy as long as you keep yourself up to the standards they set.
How ENTJs Behave in Relationships and Friendships
ENTJ’s relationships are built upon the same foundation as all other aspects of their lives – a planned set of goals, persistence, and enthusiasm. Since they are natural leaders, they quickly take the leading role in their relationships, ensuring everything works as planned.
Indulging in romantic relationships means serious business for the Commander personalities, and they look for long-term involvement.
Since they assume personal responsibility to make the relationship work, they give their best in it, filling the daily life of their partners with pleasant surprises and adventures. Even their sex life is not ordinary, as they continuously seek new ways to impress their partner.
However, Commanders are quick to put an abrupt end to a relationship if they realize that it heads nowhere. This sudden change from excitement and creativity to a complete termination might be a harrowing experience for their partner.
This is particularly the case with an Assertive type of ENTJs. In general, poor handling of emotions is one of the ENTJs’ weaknesses in relationships. They should learn to listen to their own and their partner’s emotions before hastily jumping to conclusions.
ENTJs look for people who share their enthusiasm and passion for personal growth and development. They rarely build random friendships and stay close to people who can’t engage in deep conversations.
These people strive to obtain intellectual wisdom and seek people who are equally dedicated to their friendship as they are.
ENTJs’ constant need to challenge their friends and express ENTJ dominance without offering emotional support and understanding can damage their friendships.
If ENTJs’ friends happen to have more pronounced sentimental personalities, the constant dismissal of emotions might additionally hurt their friends’ feelings.
Are you an ENTJ?
Take the free personality test to identify your true personality type. 16 Personality Types test reveals who you naturally are and why you do things the way you do. With this knowledge of yourself, you can build successful careers, find a dream job, build strong relationships, and live an authentic life.
TAKE THE FREE PERSONALITY TEST
Top Jobs and Career Paths for ENTJs
No other personality type enjoys communicating with other people, leading them, and being in the spotlight, as Commanders do. There are two qualities that support their love for order and structure on the way to achieving goals.
Firstly, they have a great capability to assess the situation and develop detailed plans based on this analysis. Secondly, they are good at delegating tasks to people to make these plans happen.
As we have said before, they have an inherent talent for leadership roles, and no other personality type enjoys it better than the ENTJ personality type. When they put together their determination, vision, and discipline, they are the powerhouse of the company, institution, or organization they lead.
Any top position is suitable for Commanders. Being on the top means opening new horizons, exploring new ideas, and directing their subordinates towards the paths they foresee.
What ENTJs hate is inefficiency, lack of motivation, and procrastination. When they notice such behavior, they will do whatever it takes to eradicate it.
ENTJs are excellent communicators too. They convey their ideas clearly and leave nothing to chance. They don’t mind explaining things and always go straight to the point. What’s particularly interesting about ENTJs is their need to learn. They see communication as one of the ways to be up to date with the new trends.
The list below includes some of the best jobs and career paths for ENTJs
- Entrepreneur
- Company CEO or General Manager
- Human Resources Manager
- Scientist
- Lawyer
- University Professor
- Business Analyst
- Financial Analyst
- Public Leader
- Software Developer
Common Hobbies and Interests for ENTJs
- Rock climbing
- Motorcycling
- Triathlon
- Shooting
- Event organizing
- Programming
- Drawing up designs
- Skiing
- Board Games
- Cooking
- Hunting
- Traveling and exploring
Are you an ENTJ?
Take the free personality test to identify your true personality type. 16 Personality Types test reveals who you naturally are and why you do things the way you do. With this knowledge of yourself, you can build successful careers, find a dream job, build strong relationships, and live an authentic life.
TAKE THE FREE PERSONALITY TEST
Famous ENTJs You May Know
ENTJs are strong-willed individuals, strategic leaders, and brilliant communicators with analytical and objective reasoning.
They are quick to detect inefficiency and, as a result, to take charge and implement improvements. Below is the list of people who are, or believed to belong to the ENTJ personality type:
- Margaret Thatcher
- Harrison Ford
- Quentin Tarantino
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- David Letterman
- Carl Sagan
- Bill Gates
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
ENTJ Personality FAQ
Are ENTJs rare, and how rare are they?
ENTJ personalities are very rare, and they make up about 2% of the general population, or 3% of men and only 1% of women worldwide.
Is ENTJ the best personality type?
Some people consider ENTJ to be the best personality type of all the 16 MBTI personalities. While it’s not completely true because every individual is different, ENTJs do make some of the greatest leaders who can use their charisma to motivate and inspire the team.
Therefore, if a team has an ENTJ leader, chances are that they will think of this personality type as the best personality type because it’s hard to resist an ENTJ leader’s charm. They help the team to make ambitious plans and achieve them without expending too much of their energy.
