ESTP Strengths and Weaknesses & How To Deal With Them

ESTP Strengths and Weaknesses & How To Deal With Them
Table of Contents

ESTP is one of 16 personality types in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). ESTP means a type with extraverted, sensing, thinking, and perceiving personality traits. This type is commonly dubbed “the Entrepreneur”, “the Explorer” or “the Activist”.

It’s because ESTPs are very proactive, logical, and risk-taking. People with this personality type love to jump straight into an adventure and think about its consequences later. They usually end up being the life of the party and entertain and inspire everyone around them.

In this article, we’re going to explore the strengths and weaknesses of this exciting personality type.

Are you an ESTP?

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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ESTP Core Strengths and Advantages

Bold

ESTPs have a go-getter attitude, and they are always the first ones to take up a challenge. They are driven to achieve what they desire and are gifted with the necessary tools to constantly succeed.

They are not overthinking menial things, but rather leap straight into the problem and do their best to solve it.

Rational and Practical

ESTPs are rational and practical, and it pushes them to gain as much knowledge and skills as they can. Instead of pursuing some intellectual endeavor for the sake of mastery, the Entrepreneurs are doing so to use it in practice and achieve their goals.

Original

The originality of ESTP is born out of combining their boldness with rationality. It makes them constantly try out new things and explore uncharted territories. As a result, ESTPs collect many unique experiences throughout their lives.

Perceptive

ESTPs are those who notice your new haircut or that you slept poorly last night. They are extremely perceptive and can notice even the smallest change in behavior or appearance. ESTPs leverage their perceptiveness to strengthen current relationships and create new ones.

Direct

With boldness comes directness, and ESTPs are one the most direct personality types out there. They won’t waste time talking in circles and will instantly get to the point. It makes them appear honest, and such bluntness is very useful in the professional world.

Are you an ESTP?

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

ESTP Weaknesses & Flaws You Should Be Aware Of

Insensitive

The Entrepreneur personality type is pragmatic and values facts over feelings. It makes ESTPs insensitive and sometimes even harsh to others. It’s difficult for ESTPs to understand the feelings of others, and to express their own.

Impatient

ESTPs are impatient because they don’t understand how other people cannot see things the way they do and act the way they do. ESTPs quickly get impatient with passive people that aren’t performing well.

Risk-prone

Because ESTPs are so ready for action, they are risk-prone. It sometimes can lead to great results, as the best rewards lie where the risk is the biggest. However, sometimes it can lead to poor outcomes, as ESTPs might pick up a challenge that is too overwhelming to deal with.

Unstructured

ESTPs are susceptible to boredom, and it leads them to be all over the place. They are unstructured, their daily schedules are a mess, and they hate planning. Planning things out in advance takes all the joy away from the spontaneity that ESTPs love so much.

May Miss the Bigger Picture

As they are unstructured and impatient, ESTPs might miss the big picture where it matters the most. They might execute single parts of a project flawlessly, but because they were so focused on a single part at a time, they disregarded cohesion and lost the grand picture at the end.

Defiant

ESTPs have a distaste for authority and rules. They love to do things the way they like, and they aren’t going to allow themselves to be put in a box. It results in ESTPs being defiant and at times even rebellious.

Are you an ESTP?

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

ESTP Growth and Development

How To Boost and Maximize ESTP strengths

ESTPs can maximize their positives by organizing their lives and becoming more disciplined. What makes ESTPs high-achieving and proactive can be boosted by having a daily routine that one follows every single day.

It doesn’t mean that ESTP should stop being spontaneous or impulsive, but knowing what one should do every single hour of the day can offer tremendous value.

How to Minimize and Deal with ESTP weaknesses

Insensitivity and impatience can be minimized by self-reflection and empathy training. Knowing why certain feelings arise can help an ESTP to better understand others and be more sensitive to the characteristics of other people.

Other weaknesses like impulsiveness and risk-taking can be dealt with by slowing down and considering the consequences of one’s actions.

Are you an ESTP?

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

ESTP Strengths and Weaknesses FAQ

Are ESTPs lazy?

One of the negative traits often associated with ESTPs is laziness. Unfortunately, there is some truth to this stereotype.

While ESTPs are not always lazy, they do easily get tired of repetitive tasks and become uncommitted when they do not see immediate results. The ESTP will not become lazy if they are challenged at work and work in a fast-paced environment.

What are ESTPs afraid of?

ESTPs yearn to be in the presence of others. Thus, they fear being isolated or abandoned. Isolation may force an ESTP to come to terms with their emotions, which is often difficult for this personality type.

Additionally, being alone for long periods of time robs them of their energy, as they are extroverts. This fear is sometimes brought up when they get close with someone. They may start to worry about their partner leaving them, which motivates them to be more committed.

Conclusion

ESTP is a proactive personality type that sometimes gets punished by its own boldness. People with this personality type are not those to overthink small details. Instead, they leap straight into the unknown and deal with any arising problems as they go.

It makes them great at quick decision-making but can harm them in the long run. To maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses, every ESTP should establish a daily routine, organize their lives, and practice self-reflection on a daily basis.

It will make them more patient and sensitive, ultimately bringing the best out of their fascinating personality type.

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