http://www.success.com/mobile/article/5-reasons-why-the-most-successful-entrepreneurs-are-enfps
5 Reasons Why the Most Successful Entrepreneurs Are ENFPs
What do Walt Disney, Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld and Arianna Huffington have in common?
They are all successful people. They are all successful entrepreneurs. And they are all ENFPs, one of 16 Myers-Briggs personality types that are characterized by extraversion, intuition, feeling and perception.
Heidi Priebe, author of The Comprehensive ENFP Survival Guide, explores the ups, downs and inside-outs of life as one of the most passionate yet self-contradictory types—the ENFP. She gives five reasons why ENFP personality types are so successful—and how we can apply the lessons in business:
1. They have a big vision.
ENFP entrepreneurs are clear about the impact they want to make. To their very core, they believe in their vision. And once they know it, they use imagination and resources to start turning their dream into reality. Their vision keeps them motivated during the ups and downs in business.
Walt Disney wanted to create the happiest place on earth. Arianna Huffington wanted to create a place to start conversations, where everyone could voice their opinion. It didn’t matter if other people had faith in their visions—because they did.
The lesson: As an entrepreneur, your vision keeps you motivated. Why did you start the business? What impact do you want to make? Create your vision and take action. Don’t let anything stop you.
2. They stay true to their values.
Many entrepreneurs fear that being their true self may turn away customers. They put on the professional mask to hide their real identity. The truth is, before doing business with you, people want to know what drives you.
ENFP entrepreneurs show who they truly are, and stick to their values, like Walt Disney and imagination, Ellen and self-expression, Jerry Seinfeld and humor, and Arianna Huffington and freedom.
The lesson: When you stay true to your values, you build trust and attract the right customers. Don’t worry about looking professional all the time. Show people who you truly are. Share the story of why you first started the business.
3. They deeply connect with people.
ENFP entrepreneurs make you feel like you have been friends for years, even if you have only known them for five minutes. They make you feel comfortable to open up.
Even if that person is Ellen Degeneres, and you’re sitting in front of a live audience and rolling cameras.
Ellen DeGeneres is the opposite of formal. She is personal—she gets personal with her guests and her audience, joking around and making them feel comfortable enough to share their stories to the world. She so naturally shows that celebrities aren’t gods, that they’re human—just like you, just like me. Instead of seeing a host interviewing a celebrity, we see two friends hanging out, gossiping, interacting.
And we feel like we’re part of it, too. At the 2014 Oscars, Ellen took a selfie with Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Brad Pitt. That selfie is the most retweeted image of all time. Enough said.
The lesson: Make your product or service a fun experience. Share personal stories to connect at a deeper level.
4. They make people happy.
ENFP entrepreneurs can quickly find out what people are thinking but not necessarily saying. They share interesting observations that make people laugh—and when you make people laugh, you become more likeable.
Stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld observes people’s behavior and finds out what is funny, what people can relate to. Example? His joke about public speaking: “According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”
The lesson: Don’t take yourself too seriously. Make fun of yourself. Your sense of humour helps create a deeper connection with customers.
5. They strive for excellence.
Once ENFP entrepreneurs commit to a goal, they don’t stop until they’ve done the best.
Walt Disney made sure every Disney animation was excellent. His strong drive for brilliance brought him 26 Academy Awards. He still holds the record of winning the most Oscars. When preparing for his comedy show, Jerry Seinfeld practiced his funny lines over and over, and over and over. His persistence made him one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time.
The lesson: Do your best to achieve your goals. Average entrepreneurs settle for good. Successful entrepreneurs strive for excellence
Criteria for ENFP good-fit careers:
Flexibility
High integrity
Various tasks
Social environment
Purpose or fulfillment
Creative freedom
Novelty
Growth
Ideation responsibility
Troubleshooting role
There are some considerations with each ENFP that determine a better-fit profession, too. Maturity, working through personal things, and coming to terms with the concept of having to work is part of these considerations. I think there's a tendency for many ENFPs to shrug the capitalist lifestyle and live on the outskirts of town, or travel from country to country, making art, and meeting new people.
If Fi has been worked through where values and integrity are identified, deal breakers for where an ENFP is willing to work has already been decided. I also see ENFPs as experiential learners so jumping from job to job can be part of the process. It's acquiring new job skills from each new environment, and testing ones potential self.
As long as values aren't challenged, there is room for creative freedom, and minimal micromanaging, I think ENFPs can thrive in many fields. I studied computer science and left for personal reasons. However, I love the social aspect of working with computers and thinking about the possibility of a trend and helping society.
If an ENFP is able to combine skillsets into something novel, creative, and progressive, they can thrive at a work environment for a long time. Work is part of an ENFP's identity, so it must align with one's values and mission.
Some possible career fields for ENFPs:
Journalist, writer, poet
Photographer
Artist
Teacher
Actor
Consultant
Life coach
Counselor
Gallery Owner
Real Estate Agent
Wedding planner
Party planner
Catering / Culinary
Entrepreneur
Bartender
Hair stylist
Makeup artist
Talk show host
Radio or podcast host
Children's advocate
Human rights advocate
Volunteer director
First responder
Crisis hotline operator
Workshop facilitator
Mediation
Group therapist
Professor (psychology, sociology, art, law (I enjoyed learning law!), languages, communication)
- coaching sports, teaching, creative writing, psychologist/MD, business leader (large or small), comedian, being in a band -- these all work well
- PHD in a science is usually a bad decision. We crave being social and after every day having something tangible to have made progress on. 7 years waiting on a lab result is a death sentence for an ENFP or 7 years with no idea if your dissertation will get accepted. Also the politics behind getting your name on a publication . . . LOL. Yeah, ENFPs see that BS as a zero sum game.
- Comp Sci, Programming, IT, usually a bad choice as well. Though some very interesting stuff going on with machine learning and AI, it's not really worth the investment for the fickle ENFP -- also ENFP prioritize MAXING OUT THE LIFE OF PEOPLE, not technology.
Much better for the ENFP to lead these teams then to actually do them, though programming can be very creative, its not the type a real ENFP would like.
- EMPATHY is the biggest trait here. An ENFP should 1) work everyday with a team 2) be creative in doing this 3) not carry work home with them meaning they do their job, its done, life is great, now its the evening and time to read/binge watch/go skiing/run a race/play an RPG/make big dinner with the family at night.
I tried my hand at engineering and the sciences and it was awful, even with high grades. I needed that positive feedback on a daily basis that what I was doing showed tangible returns -- ie like in playing sports, writing a chapter, or working in health care and making rounds on patients knowing you can close the book end of day.
I think ENFPs can make great business leaders for engineering firms or really any business, because our tendency to venture into every area but master none is really important as a CEO juggling all kinds of teams and people.
- Oh yeah and once you make friends with us, we are friends for life, no matter how many years of silence go by. This is because our BS meter is insanely accurate and we don't make friends with people unless they are genuine and compassionate and cool people to talk to.
- Toughest part is thinking with a high IQ you should be a world renown scientist but we underestimate the importance of IQ in leadership, communication and solving problems that actually matter (a person's health for example).
Hope this helps people decide their futures.
And if you're ENFP please don't misuse your insanely high energy and charisma to fuck people over. Thank you.
Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT stick an ENFP in an office all alone for eight hours a day doing paperwork. This is pure torture for this personality, and they will feel like their life has no meaning.
That being said, there are things to watch out for when choosing a career or setting of work for the ENFP.
ENFP's do not do well with:
Regular 8-5 jobs
office settings
jobs where they are required to work by themselves
Lots and lots of paperwork
jobs with high stress
jobs where the ENFP is not allowed to speak their mind
repetitive work
etc
ENFP's do well with:
Jobs where they can choose their own hours
jobs that allow the use of the imagination
lots of social interaction
jobs where they can be a help to others
jobs that keep them on their toes
lots of movement
do well in leadership positions, but not where they are the main leader
etc
I thought, growing up, that I wanted to be a teacher. Yeah, I might be a good teacher even now, but my parents knew my personality, and helped guide me in another direction, and I am glad. As a teacher, I was not able to choose my own hours, I didn't have freedom of speech, it was extremely high stress, and I was always doing paperwork- alone. (I taught as a student teacher in a tiny private school for a while.) My wonderful INTJ and ENTJ parents saw these qualities, and even though I hated it at first, I now see their wisdom in guiding me other directions.
Now I work as a piano teacher from my own home. I choose my own hours, and can take off time when I need it. I interact with many people on a daily basis, and build relationships with all of my kids and their families. Bonus- I don't have massive amounts of paperwork involved!
I also work as a representative for exchange students in the USA, and again, I choose my own hours, I work with TONS of people from all over the world, expanding my horizons, and I'm in a leadership position where I can have some fun.
So, the best jobs for the ENFP? It totally depends on the ENFP, but following those guidelines may help the ENFP find a job they like so well, they will never have to work a day in their life.
Matt Auckland, Founder, Radio broadcaster, Web developer, Solver of problems
Written 11 Jan 2015
Ok I had to read up on what that was first of all. Funny enough I meet some of the criterial from what I've read.
Any how, I would say charity based work, such as work for a charity as a leader/manager, but it would have to be a charity or cause that you are passionate about.
A startup founder as you would inspire others, and your passion for your product would greatly help your chances of success, and would inspire others for achieve great things as a team.
Marketing, and to a point Sales although I suspect it might not offer enough creative challenge or rewards.
I would look more towards what interests you as a person, that would give you a better starting point.
For myself I love computing and technology, but I'm equally passionate about Media, Music, and Broadcasting. After a number of years in I.T including running my own consultancy, which I still do, I got into media via local radio, and more recently I've been working with award winning musicians as part of my work in media.
I've made some great friends, met very influential people, taken opportunities I never thought would be possible, and even gone of a mini tour (yup I was a roadie for a short while). But I've work hard to achieve what I have, I've done free work to open doors and create the opportunities, and I have also taken risks. I got to say though, it was all worth it.
Erica Sosna, Career Coach and Careers Author at Www.ericasosna.com (2004-present)
Written 24 Jan
Hiya, as a fellow ENFP and career coach i think i can add value here!
ENFP’s do well in environments that allow a good amount of freedom, have lots of contact with people, meet their social mission and enable them to champion new or good causes. These include:
Teaching, facilitation, coaching, education, lecturing, psychology, psychotherapy, humanitarian work, broadcasting, publishing, writing, management consultancy, sales, public speaking, politics, lobby groups, think tanks and project management. I’ve got a little test that might be useful here:
Definitely a position where one can interact with others - PR, social media, sales, teaching, the arts, psychologist.... the list goes on. It's important to find a career that allows you to also be challenged creatively.
Nice
BalasHapus