ENFP:Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving

(File Last Modified Thurs, Oct 24, 2002.)

• ENFP (5% of the American Population)
• Extraverted, Intuition, Feeling, Perceiving
• Possible Blind Spots

ENFP (5% of the American Population)

Extraverted, Intuition, Feeling, Perceiving

ENFPs are full of enthusiasm and new ideas. Optimistic, spontaneous, creative, and confident, they have original minds and a strong sense of the possible. For an ENFP, life is an exciting drama.

Because they are so interested in possibilities, ENFPs see significance in all things and prefer to keep lots of options open. They are perceptive and keen observers who notice anything out of the ordinary. ENFPs are curious; they prefer to understand rather than judge.

Imaginative, adaptable, and alert, ENFPs value inspiration above all else and are often ingenious inventors. They are sometimes nonconformists, and are good at seeing new ways of doing things. ENFPs open up new avenues for thought or action... and then keep them open!

In carrying out their innovative ideas, ENFPs rely on their impulsive energy. They have lots of initiative and find problems stimulating. They also get an infusion of energy from being around other people, and can successfully combine their talents with the strengths of others.

ENFPs are charming and full of vitality. They treat people with sympathy, gentleness, and warmth and are ready to help anyone with a problem. They can be remarkably insightful and perceptive, and they often care about the development of others. ENFPs avoid conflict and prefer harmony. They put more energy into maintaining personal relationships than into maintaining objects, and they like to keep a wide assortment of relationships alive.

Possible Blind Spots

Since they find it so easy to generate ideas, ENFPs have difficulty focusing on just one thing at a time and can have trouble making decisions. They see so many possibilities that they have difficulty selecting the best activity or interest to pursue. Sometimes they make poor choices or get involved with too many things at once. Carefully choosing where they will focus their energy helps ENFPs avoid wasting their time and squandering their considerable talents.

To an ENFP, the fun part of a project is the initial problem solving and creation of something new. They like to exercise their inspiration on the important and challenging parts of a problem. After this stage, they often lose interest and lack the self-discipline necessary to complete what they've started. They are likely to start many projects but finish few. ENFPs have more to show for their efforts when they follow through with the necessary but tedious parts of a project until it is completed. Often writing important facts or steps down on paper helps them keep from getting sidetracked.

Often ENFPs are not particularly well organized. They can benefit from learning and applying time management and personal organizational skills. They do well when they team up with other more realistic and practical people. This usually suits them fine anyway, since ENFPs don't like working alone, especially for extended periods of time. They find working with another person, even on a less interesting phase of a project, far preferable to working alone.

ENFPs are not much interested in details. Since they are more excited about using their imagination and creating something original, they may not bother to collect all the information they need in order to carry out a particular activity. Sometimes they just improvise on the spot, instead of planning and preparing ahead. Because they find information gathering tedious, ENFPs run the risk of never getting past the ``bright idea'' stage or, once started, never finishing. Always restless, they'd rather put off dealing with troublesome details and move on to something else new or unusual. ENFPs are more effective when they consciously attend to the actual world around them and gather more realistic impressions to make their innovations workable.