ENTJ vs ESTP: (A Comparative Analysis)

In this article, we will compare ENTJ vs ESTP personalities from the MBTI types. We will do that by initially describing both personalities in-depth including their four cognitive functions.  This will follow up by comparing and seeing how these personalities are similar and different from each other.

ENTJ vs ESTP

If we consider ENTJ vs ESTP  and compare them, we find that they have similarities as well as differences. Both personalities are similar as they are extroverted and thinking personalities i.e. they like socializing and make decisions based on logic. They are different as well since ENTJs focus on the future and plan ahead. Compared to them, ESTPs focus on the present and details. 

MBTI: Four Cognitive Functions

 Myer Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), based on Carl Jung’s 16 personality types, approaches personality to be composed of four cognitive functions that govern how people think, process, and make decisions. The top two cognitive functions play a dominant role in guiding a person’s personality. Whereas, the latter two play less of a role. However, they still have some impact or influence on how a person behaves in certain situations. ENTJ and ESTP are two personality types out of the 16 types. Their cognitive functions are discussed in detail as follows.

ENTJ: The Commander (Extraverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging)

The ENTJ personality type from the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is based on Carl Jung’s 16 personality types. It describes people who are straightforward, confident, have strong opinions, and assertive. Only 2 percent of people are estimated to have an ENTJ personality type.

Four Cognitive Functions of ENTJ

Four cognitive functions that guide how ENTJ personality type processes information includes:

Extroverted Thinking

ENTJs are quite rational, objective, and logical. They tend to think things but speak without listening. They are quick to make judgments and decisions before gathering all information. They have a tendency to focus on organized plans and have certain standards that they expect others to abide by. Setting and reaching goals is quite important to them.

Introverted Intuition

ENTJs tend to think about the future and consider multiple possibilities. They are open to change. Although they trust their thinking and judgment, sometimes they regret being impulsive when jumping to a decision too soon. 

Extroverted Sensing

ENTJs are open to new sensory experiences particularly adventure and thrill. They enjoy the beauty in life and like to keep themselves surrounded by interesting things that stimulate their senses.

Introverted Feeling

ENTJs particularly find emotions and feelings difficult to understand. They tend to keep this part separate when making any decision. Situations that call for emotional expression are pretty uncomfortable for them and they find it difficult to give the right emotional response. 

If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.

ESTP: The Persuader (Extraverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving)

The ESTP personality type from the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is based on Carl Jung’s 16 personality types. It describes people who are social, love drama, ready to take action, present-focused, and detail-oriented. They are logical, innovative, and keep their options open. Their decisions are based on facts/logic rather than feelings. 4-10% percent of people are estimated to have an ESTP personality type. 

Four Cognitive Functions of ESTP

Four cognitive functions that guide how ESTP personality type processes information includes:

Extroverted Sensing

ESTPs are social, outgoing, and always seeking sensory stimulation. They are present-oriented and realistic rather than daydreamers. They utilize all of their senses when doing something to fully experience it. Even their learning is based on a similar strategy. Mundane tasks bore them especially theoretical information, thus they try to channel their energy into productive actions. ESTPs are risk-takers and prioritize doing something new every once in a while.

Introverted Thinking 

ESTPs are inwardly oriented. They process information by thinking it through logically and rationally. They are good at controlling their impulses and can discipline themselves to get the job done. In other words, they can achieve their goals once they set their mind to it. These personalities also have exceptional skills of observation which enables them to notice details that are usually overlooked by others. They use such information by applying logic and then utilize it in practical situations.

Extroverted Intuition

ESTPs enjoy socialization, big crowds, and being the center of attention. They focus on keeping everyone happy and may not easily share their opinions or judgments if it can risk disrupting social harmony. They are humanitarians by nature and try to help others & make the world a better place by offering practical solutions where needed. 

Introverted Intuition

ESTPs can make connections among related ideas which helps them in predicting what to expect in the future. They rely on their gut feelings but only rarely since this part of their personality is weak. They believe this is their weakness. However, this area can be developed if worked upon actively.  

A Comparison of ENTJ and ESTP

Personality: ENTJ vs ESTP

ENTJ personalities like change in life. They perceive things in a conceptual manner and tend to look at the big picture. It is easy for them to devise long term plans that are systematic. You can count on an ENTJ to drive towards the final goal and make sure that things reach completion. They are confident, authoritative, and straight-forward which makes them good leaders who don’t get fazed by obstacles in their way.

ESTPs are more action-oriented and jump into anything they find interesting. They dislike things that are boring including schedules and mundane tasks. They are tough-minded logical people who prioritize facts over emotions. When making any decision, they utilize their knowledge to fix problems and objectively make the choice that is backed by evidence. 

Workstyle: ENTJ vs ESTP

Both ENTJ and ESTP personalities have different working styles in their workplace. 

ENTJs are usually team leaders at their workplace whether or not he/she is formally elected. An ENTJ is motivated, driven, and strategic. They lead their team members in reaching the final goal at a good pace along with tackling any hurdles in the way with ease. They are passionate about structure, goals, rules, and clarity at their workplace and expect others to follow a similar standard in their professional behavior.

At the workplace, ESTPs focus on completing tasks immediately and on influencing their team positively by initiating actions to reach the final goal. They make good leaders who emphasize practicality over slow-paced theoretical ideas. An ESTP’s incredible drive and energy would be directed into completing tasks in the shortest amount possible before they lose interest. After it, they move on to another exciting thing that catches their attention. They are not creative in the sense of exploring abstract ideas rather they are more focused on facts, data, and problem-fixing. 

Conflict: ENTJ vs ESTP

Attitude towards conflict and its management by both personalities can vary.

ENTJs perceive conflict as an opportunity for discussion and getting work done. They like a good argument and usually stick by their views. However, they don’t hold on to the conflict for long and forget it soon after. Their general attitude is of dislike for any factors preventing them from reaching their final goal. Hence, their focus is to make their opinions clear and direct so that change can happen immediately. Their language during conflicts is usually direct and factual which makes them seem insensitive and inconsiderate to other people.

ESTPs are open to conflict. They rarely take disagreements to heart and move on once things are resolved. This is because they believe that to get things done, tension is natural and part of the process. However, they make sure their work does not get slowed down due to wastage of time in such thoughts. ESTPs dislike being micromanaged or being ordered around. They like directness, honesty, and quickness in their communication and expect the same from others. This may offend people who are more careful and reflective in their communication style. 

Interpersonal Skills: ENTJ vs ESTP

The interpersonal skills of both ENTJ and ESTP are similar in some respects and different in others. Particularly, the manner of relating to others, perceiving other people, and how others perceive them is distinct for both personalities. 

ENTJs are usually energetic, assertive, confident, and straightforward. Their conversation with other people is centered on good arguments, debates and discussion backed up by logic. Due to this, they can be insensitive or fail to take into account the feelings of other people. So, people get upset and perceive them to be critical. Their emotional side is pretty weak and they perceive problems in the form of concepts. Although they can share their thoughts easily and are clear in their communication but it lacks the emotional component. They are mostly concerned with getting the work done and find it hard to wait for others to reach their understanding. Nor do they accurately perceive the actual meaning of silence in a situation.

ESTPs are adventurous, fun-loving and the life of the party. They have a low boredom threshold due to which they quickly move to the next big thrill. At an emotional level, they try to reserve their time in making things happen rather than spending time feeling emotions. They are open in sharing their thoughts but factually and directly, devoid of the emotional component. People see them as friendly, talkative and a good person to hang out with but not someone who can have meaningful conversations centering on feelings. 

If you’ve enjoyed the ”ENTJ vs ESTP” mentioned above, I would recommend you to take a look at ”ENTJ vs ESFP” and ”ENTJ vs ESFJ” too.

 FAQs: ENTJ vs ESTP

Conclusion

In this article, we compared ENTJ vs ESTP  personality types.  We found that they have similarities as well as differences. Both personalities are similar as they are extroverted and thinking personalities i.e. they like socializing and make decisions based on logic. They are different as well since ENTJs focus on the future and plan ahead. Compared to them, ESTPs focus on the present and details. 

I hope you found this article interesting. If you have any queries or comments, please state them in the comment section 😊

Citations

https://www.verywellmind.com/entj-personality-type-2795981

https://www.verywellmind.com/estp-extraverted-sensing-thinking-perceiving-2795986

https://personalityatwork.co/types/entj/vs/estp

https://www.crystalknows.com/personality-type/relationship/entj-estp