MBTI® ENTP Personality Types and Communication in The Workplace

Different people with varying personality types communicate in different ways. Developing a nuanced understanding of your, your spouse’s, children or your employees’ or colleagues’ MBTI® type can help you communicate and understand them more effectively and efficiently. Knowing others’ MBTI test personality types can additionally help you work better as a team, and ultimately be able to complement one and another as you work towards achieving common goals. This can aid you in reaching the best possible outcomes in your personal life, your team functionalities, departments, and organizations.

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Dunning (2003) emphasizes the importance of understanding and analyzing ways of communication among colleagues and between team members and supervisors in order to better understand the unintended effects of possibly counterproductive communication practices. Particularly since so much of communication is “natural” or “unconscious” (Dunning, 2003), it is important to shed light on how processes that are generally unnoticed can subtly affect a workplace environment. MBTI test ENTP personality types are seen as “logical explorers” (p. 34), and are known for their ability to innovate readily and naturally, initiate conversations with others, and express themselves convincingly when they are presenting their ideas. While in some cases they may seem skeptical or detached, ENTP personality types are in fact open to new information and are often fully and energetically immersed in their projects. It helps them to know how and why things work the way that they do, and they do not hesitate to ask probing questions to get the information they feel they need to truly understand a situation or process. In some cases, these questions may be interpreted as challenges or debates, but it is important for others to remember that their goal is not to prove another person wrong, but rather to strengthen their own understanding.

Because ENTP’s have such high standards for themselves, they are often intolerant of seemingly incompetent feedback or substandard efforts on the part of other team members or peers. They do not “beat around the bush”, but rather provide succinct, constructive feedback to others, much in the style that they prefer to receive it as well. They are generally highly secure and confident themselves, and so see little need to give others positive feedback.

Start Here While these ways of communicating seem natural, polite, and optimal to ENTP’s, others who have different ways of communicating with one another may interpret their behavior or comments differently. In order to facilitate successful and smooth communication with ENTPs, it is helpful to consider multiple aspects or perspectives of the same issue, so they can better understand a given situation. Along the way, it is important to clearly link different ideas logically and linearly, and to provide ample opportunities for resistance, questioning, or clarification. Without this hyper-logical communication, MBTI test ENTP Personality types often get lost or confused about why particular details or issues are relevant. On the other hand, it can be counterproductive to focus on short term implications or results of certain facts – ENTP’s need to understand how everything fits together. Furthermore, sharing very abstract or theoretical reasons will not necessarily be convincing to them.

ENTP’s are highly innovative, even visionary, but in order to increase their effectiveness in the workplace, they need to be able to communicate successfully with others. They should make an effort to offer positive feedback to others, and to try to share their perspectives using personal situations in addition to more logical or impersonal justifications. In this way, they can broaden their audience, and get even more other people to understand and hopefully support their ideas.

ENTP’s are among the most innovative and visionary leaders – their quick thinking and resourcefulness makes them effective and charismatic leaders. They are able to generate multiple solutions to the same problem and then strategically select the optimal choice and take concrete steps to achieve their goals. However, this confidence and global view can alienate other members of the team, especially since ENTP’s tend to get impatient with those who may need a little more support understanding their messages. Therefore, ENTP personality types should make an effort to give their team members clear, explicit instructions to achieve particular tasks, and take the time to compliment and appreciate them as they make progress. Richards (2008) suggests that these small acts can help build cohesiveness in the team and foster goodwill among co-workers. In the long run, this spirit can help co-workers more effectively achieve their projects and the company’s longer term goals.

ENTPs’ zeal for innovation often leads them to become distracted by new ideas, sometimes leaving others to patch the cracks in previous projects. This impatience for routine can also lead to problems in respecting bureaucratic hierarchies, which can in turn cause tension in the workplace. ENTP’s should make a concentrated effort to recognize the value of established routines, systems, or established procedures, and understand how they fit into the larger goals of the company. Richards (2008) suggests that ENTP’s may benefit from clearing their minds by talking a walk, exercising, or meditating periodically throughout the workday.

Richards (2008) also suggests several additional strategies that will make ENTP’s function even more optimally in the workplace. She urges ENTP’s to remain open to learning and acknowledge their own weaknesses, in order to make others more open to feedback and more comfortable sharing new and innovative ideas. She also suggests that ENTP personality types pick their battles and consider the risk/reward trade-off when trying to improve a situation or making a point – sometimes, being a team player is more important than being right. Finally, she emphasizes that ENTP’s should become comfortable asking others for support and most importantly, understanding their points of view, rather than automatically assuming that their own way is best. In the long run, building relationships with your co-workers and other members of your organization will make you an invaluable part of any team.

Learn to communicate more efficiently by understanding how your personality type best interacts with others with the MBTI test below:

Learn about your conflict-resolution style to help you resolve problems and issues as effectively as possible with the TKI test below:

References

1. Introduction to Type and Leadership (Richmond, S. CPP. 2008)
2. Introduction to Type and Communication. (Dunning, D. CPP, 2003)

Learn More About the MBTI ENTP Personality Type

• Explore Our MBTI ENTP Personality Type Page

ENTP Careers

Click on one of these corresponding popular ENTP Careers for detailed information including Career Stats, Income Stats, Daily Tasks and Required Education: Advertising Sales Agent, Economist, Financial Analyst, Food Scientist & Technologist,General & Operational Manager, Human Resources Manager, Industrial Health & Safety Engineering, Insurance Adjuster, Examiner, or Investigator, Insurance Sales Agent, and Landscape Architect.

Explore additional information that delves deeper into the ENTP Personality Type by examining various personality and career based subjects:

• How the MBTI ENTP Type relates to Innovation
• How the MBTI ENTP Type relates to Project Management
• How the MBTI ENTP Type relates to Emotional Intelligence
• How the MBTI ENTP Type relates to Leadership
• How the MBTI ENTP Type relates to Decision-Making

Click On Your Personality Type in The Graph Below & Read About Your Communication Style

Click on a link below to read more about different MBTI Personality Types