What is the ENFP Personality Type? The Champion

Are you among the many people who’ve taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), commonly known as the Myers-Briggs personality test? This test describes 16 personality types that describe people and is arguably the most well-known personality type indicator used today.

One of the MBTI’s 16 personalities is the ENFP – the champion, the campaigner, and the imaginative motivator. People with ENFP personalities are outgoing, energetic, creative, and spontaneous.

Using the MBTI, you can increase your self-awareness and design a life that suits your unique strengths. In this article, we’ll be talking all about the ENFP personality, relationship patterns, potential career choices, and areas for development.

What is the personality of an ENFP?

ENFP stands for “extroverted, intuitive, feeling, perceptive” in the Myers-Briggs system. Each of these letters represents an ENFP characteristic. Some other adjectives that describe ENFPs include nonconformist, independent, charming, enthusiastic, and adaptable.

Generally, ENFPs tend to be friendly, outgoing, and charismatic. They are extroverted, which means they gain energy by being around people, especially groups of like-minded friends and loved ones. They love meeting new people and developing deep connections. ENFPs have excellent social skills.

ENFPs don’t play by the rules and are more spontaneous than rigid. They thrive in situations that allow them to be creative and do their own thing. They seek emotional intensity and value individuality – they don’t want to be like everyone else. They become inspired by new and innovative ideas and need the freedom to run with them.

One of the most essential things for ENFPs is the pursuit of happiness for themselves and others. They can be almost gregarious in their joy and work hard to spread joy to the people around them as well. They are so enthusiastic about the things that they’re passionate about others and become engrossed in their spirit.

ENFPs are intuitive and perceptive, which means they focus on the grand picture rather than the nitty-gritty details. They have grand ideas and a wide variety of interests and don’t necessarily want to zoom in on any one thing. They want to keep their options open and go with the flow.

These are the true “free spirits” of the MBTI. However, they aren’t just about freedom and fun – they have deep, rich inner lives, and authenticity and meaning are just as important to them.

Some famous people suspected to be ENFPs include Dr. Seuss, Robin Williams, and Walt Disney.

Strengths of ENFP

People with an ENFP personality have many strengths, including:

• Charismatic and charming
• Innovative visionaries
• Future-oriented
• Can inspire others
• Warm and friendly
• Authentic and driven toward authentic experiences
• Brave and spontaneous, willing to try anything
• Flexible and can adapt to challenges
• Strong leaders
• Imaginative; reject tradition
• Treat everybody as important
• Can be both deep and light-hearted
• Open curiosity about the world
• Popular and well-liked

ENFP weaknesses

On the other hand, some weaknesses that have been recognized in INFPs include:

• Struggle with organization and focus – can jump from one exciting new project to the next
• Easily overwhelmed and stressed
• People-pleasers who can be too accommodating; seek approval from others
• Too optimistic; not realistic enough
• Restless and jump from one thing to another
• Very sensitive to criticism
• Struggle with following through
• Overthinkers

It’s important to remember that every personality type outlined in the MBTI has strengths and weaknesses. No personality type is superior to the others.

ENFP in relationships

According to the MBTI, ENFPs tend to have a lot of friends. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and their charm and charisma attract many people to them. These relationships aren’t superficial – ENFPs value deep connections and authenticity and can bring out the best in others. They’re cheerful and always supportive – a wonderful friend to have!

ENFPs are often driven to inspire others to become their best and most authentic selves. They value pursuing happiness over anything else, which also goes for the people they love. ENFPs are inspiring to be around and will always encourage their loved ones to pursue their dreams, even if those dreams are outside of “the norm.”

In romantic relationships, ENFPs are also supportive and passionate. They’re idealists, and that applies to their love lives, too. They are the type of person to “romanticize their life,” and finding the perfect partner may be a dream they have had for a long time.

ENFPs are extroverted, so they love being around people. But because they’re overthinkers, they sometimes become very sensitive in relationships as well. They might feel like others aren’t baring their souls in the way they crave, or the other person isn’t as invested in the relationship or friendship as they are.

Overall, ENFPs have solid social skills and a robust social support network. They give as much as they receive in these relationships.

ENFPs at work; promising careers for ENFPs

ENFPs can often be found in leadership positions. Because of the charisma and empathy they possess, they can make dynamic leaders. They thrive on new ideas and flexible workplaces but may need help paying attention to details. ENFPs are creative, so they do well in jobs where they can do things their way. Jobs that require a lot of repetition and “busy work” tasks will quickly become tedious for ENFPs.

Although ENFPs value autonomy and hate being micromanaged, they tend to let details fall through the cracks or jump between projects that excite them with no follow-through – so some structure and supervision may be helpful.

Because they’re extroverted, ENFPs are excellent team members. They love to bounce innovative ideas off others and work together to accomplish a common goal. Working in groups is also helpful to ensure ENFPs don’t take on more than they can handle.

Some careers that may be a good fit for the ENFP personality type include:

• Counselor
• Teacher
• Hospitality
• Coach
• Theater
• TV producer
• Artist
• Fitness trainer
• Journalist
• Musician
• Startup founder
• Designer
• Human resources
• Sales
• Travel agent

Because of their need for variety, some ENFPs may feel overwhelmed by the choices and need help narrowing down a career path. It is not uncommon for ENFPs to try out various careers in their lifetime.

How to use the MBTI for mental health

It’s important to note that the creators of the MBTI were not psychologists. The MBTI was never meant to be a psychological assessment or tool; it was initially created to help people find the right career for their personality type.

At the same time, many people all over the world have used the MBTI to further their self-awareness and improve their mental health. If you are an ENFP, you might reflect on questions like:

How have these ENFP personality traits shaped who I am?
What are some signs that I’m overextending myself?
How can I tell when I need to be around others and when I need to have some time alone?
How can I set realistic goals that aren’t overly idealistic and unattainable?
It’s okay to thrive on variety, but what are the constants in my life are grounding?

Again, the MBTI should not be used as a psychological intervention. But as long as you don’t allow your MBTI results to interfere with your mental health treatment, reading about your results could help you to increase self-awareness and learn how to communicate with others effectively.

At The Center • A Place of HOPE, we provide holistic mental health treatment for people of every personality type.

We use a Whole Person Care approach, meaning we consider every part of your personality and experience that you feel has impacted your mental health. If your Myers-Briggs personality type is an essential factor for you, then we want to consider that in your treatment plan.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554596/
https://www.16personalities.com/enfp-personality
https://www.truity.com/personality-type/ENFP
https://www.verywellmind.com/enfp-an-overview-of-the-champion-personality-type-2795980
https://students.usask.ca/documents/secc/ENFP.pdf

Myers, I. B. (1998). Introduction to Type: A Guide to Understanding Your Results on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Mountain View, CA: CPP, Inc.