Okay, not everything. I have no idea how the Universe was formed, or even if there is just one. Clueless about how life evolved – are we made of stars or by Divine fiat? Still don’t know how to get my Windows 8.1 laptop to work. But am still stunned at how everything in my so-called life does make sense, thanks to four capitalized letters – ENTJ. Extraverted INtuitive Thinking Judge.
When I was first administered the Myers Briggs testing, fourteen years ago, totally blew off the findings. What a bunch of hooey – now way I was an Executive, a Commander! The qualities strengths weaknesses of an ENTJ felt foreign to me.
What a difference fourteen years makes. I read the ENTJ description to John, to a couple friends & they all nodded their head as I shared the characteristics. Yep, they recognized them in me. More amazing, I recognized them in me. I recognized them as the qualities that fuel my elder care solutionist drive.
It’s possible – probable – that I never would have been clued in without my current, truest passion & purpose. And in recognizing my inner ENTJ, am better able to make a dent – at least a ding – in our country’s wretched culture around aging!
As an ENTJ, your primary mode of living is focused externally, where you deal with things rationally and logically. Your secondary mode is internal, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.
Impossible to describe how it feels, at 63, to accept myself as rational & logical - with a strong intuitive back up. What seemed ludicrous fourteen years ago has since become clear, having been labeled analytical time & again by clients & friends.
Just look at my resume for clues I totally missed:
USHealthcare – meteoric rise from Member Services phone rep to Provider Services liaison & coordinator of the crucial Medical Excellence Review. Even when doctors & office administrators begged me to not jump ship for Prudential, it never sunk in that I might be sort of… exceptional. Just doing my job.
Prudential Healthcare (PHCS) – tried to alert top brass that a marketing decision could have dire results, then took what steps an editor at regional headquarters could to prevent the problems that came from the resulting confusion, writing & distributing Prudential’s first online newsletter – Brand Voice Bulletin.
BISYS Financial Services – a VP joked that they should name the employee recognition board because so many letters from business owners or HR heads were about me. Received Employee Excellence award, complete with a hefty check & bauble from Tiffany’s. Nothing exceptional – just doing my job.
None of it sunk in. I staunchly held to my belief that I had to be a Teacher (ENFJ) or a Healer (INFP), a Protector (EFSJ) or something else, anything else.
ENTJs live in a world of possibilities where they see all sorts of challenges to be surmounted, and they want to be the ones responsible for surmounting them. They have a drive for leadership, which is well-served by their quickness to grasp complexities, their ability to absorb a large amount of impersonal information, and their quick and decisive judgments. They are "take charge" people.
This was the paragraph that convinced even me, but it wouldn’t have in 2014. It took my interest in & commitment to being an elder care solutionist for it to become clear. Even I can recognize myself. These are some of the qualities that make me a natural for helping oldsters & ancients, their friends & families, live as expansively as possible. This paragraph thrills me!
ENTJs are very career-focused, and fit into the corporate world quite naturally. They are constantly scanning their environment for potential problems which they can turn into solutions. They generally see things from a long-range perspective, and are usually successful at identifying plans to turn problems around - especially problems of a corporate nature.
Okay, this was a particular hoot on first read. Completely disregarded everything achieved at USHC, PHCS, BISYS.
I sure didn’t see how “scans… for potential problems which they can turn into solutions” helped me catch the flaws in the revered 7th Grade quilt project. Every year, many of the girls never finished their bed quilts. To reduce the labor while retaining the sense of accomplishment, we focused on design-cutting-piecing-assembling-quilting.
The girls could choose to do a bed quilt OR a table runner OR a potholder. The first girl to finish – a simple 9-patch pillow – received the same congrats as if she’d done a double-wedding ring quilt!
Instead of each girl doing a bed quilt, each student contributed a block & we made one quilt, which was raffled off to make money for a class trip. Proud to say, to this day a single quilt is made & raffled off, albeit by the 8th grade.
“They generally see things from a long range perspective, and are usually successful at identifying plans to turn problems around – especially problems of a corporate nature.” I never connected this with my PHCS 50th anniversary experience. Our region’s Public Relations Coordinator was on pregnancy leave & her awesome 2nd in command (best manager I ever had) was too maxed out to serve on the high-level committee planning the event out of corporate HQ. I ended up representing Central (Minnesota to NJ, Pennsylvania to Virgina). Everyone else was at least a PR Coordinator, all of whom thought I’d lost my mind when I questioned how the plans to celebrate with big blow outs at the regional level & mega parties in each office, a wall calendar for each employee that would show our accomplishments over our first half century. The Senior VPS – especially the sole Exec VP chairing the committee – loved the big bash plans.
Come on - everything about the plan was a red flag! PHCS was struggling & everyone knew it. The legendary 40th anniversary bash was fine for the ridin’ high days of the mid ‘80s, just not in 1996. That’s how I was it & what I shared with the committee, from my seat at the very end of the table, when it came my turn to share any thoughts.
Friends from Boston & Atlanta, Houston & LA paled in fear of my job as I suggested a different approach could result in higher employee physician member satisfaction, reduce costs & produce potential media coverage.
My colleagues were sure my goose was cooked; the ones that didn’t tell me that directly looked at me with eyes of pity – and farewell – as we gathered again after lunch. The head honchos broke out of a huddle at their far end of the board room table. The one Exec VP on the committee cleared his throat before saying, “Over lunch, we agreed that Elsa’s suggestions make a lot of sense. Elsa, can you give us a better idea of how you see this working out, particularly the cost savings & potential media coverage?”
PHCS’s 50th anniversary was a smash. The execs loved it, employees loved it, physician groups loved having an opportunity to be part of it, our members were proud we were their health care coverage provider. Instead of mega bashes, the focus was on giving back to the communities we served. Each city & region decided on & sponsored at least one community service project. Press releases were coordinated & quite a few cities ended up with nice coverage. Events were scheduled during work hours, so employee volunteers got time off. All volunteers – from Baltimore to San Francisco, Miami to Chicago – got the same We give back! T-shirt, proudly worn at each event & even at the smaller office celebrations.
To my surprise, I ended up serving as both national & regional coordinator, which was a blast & helped ensure that the vision that hatched at the end of the board room table rolled out effectively, efficiently, at a fraction of what the original plans would have cost. A year later, PHCS was sold to Aetna & ceased to exist.
Even the weaknesses of ENTJs hit home.
I do have problems getting others to see things the way I do. Over the years, I’ve been challenged at gauging how others feel. I can be unintentionally forceful, intimidating, overbearing. And it drives me nuts when John can’t see a problem the way I do or suggestions as a good solutions. Am dense when it comes to figuring out how to get others to collaborate with me – my tendency since forever is to go things alone.
At the same time, I don’t see myself as having a “tremendous amount of personal power and presence.” Although others saw me that way, it never rang true with me. One of my greatest challenges is moving past a chronic sense of having no personal power & zilch presence. There were reasons I felt that way, powerful enduring perplexing legacies of UNness. Working through & past that sorry state is my most immediate challenge. How can I accomplish anything feeling disempowered & invisible?
An ENTJ who has not developed their Thinking side will have difficulty applying logic to their insights... They may have brilliant ideas and insight into situations, but they may have little skill at determining how to act upon their understanding, or their actions may be inconsistent.
Totally completely embarrassingly ME. People who experience me a sharp & savvy find it virtually impossible to understand that I never developed my Thinking side. Why bother, knowing I was the lowest of the low when it came to brains - my sole hope was being the best DOer possible, since even subpar thinking was beyond me. Intelligence understanding wisdom all seemed to be gifts way beyond my reach. Stunting & denying my Thinking side is something not easily remedied. Still stumped how to make up for lost time.
ENTJs love to interact with people. As Extroverts, they're energized and stimulated primarily externally. There's nothing more enjoyable and satisfying to the ENTJ than having a lively, challenging conversation. They especially respect people who are able to stand up to the ENTJ, and argue persuasively for their point of view. There aren't too many people who will do so, however, because the ENTJ is a very forceful and dynamic presence who has a tremendous amount of self-confidence and excellent verbal communication skills. Even the most confident individuals may experience moments of self-doubt when debating a point with an ENTJ.
Sigh… Yes, I recognize all that.
ENTJs want their home to be beautiful, well-furnished, and efficiently run.
Okay, that seems completely
foreign. And yet…
They're likely to desire a congenial and devoted relationship with their spouse.
Yep! Yep!
Yep!
The ENTJ has many gifts which make it possible for them to have a great deal of personal power, if they don't forget to remain balanced in their lives. They are assertive, innovative, long-range thinkers with an excellent ability to translate theories and possibilities into solid plans of action. They are usually tremendously forceful personalities, and have the tools to accomplish whatever goals they set out for.
This gives me hope!
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