The Achilles’ Heel of Every Myers-Briggs® Personality Type

Not sure what your personality type is? Take our new personality questionnaire here. Or you can take the official MBTI® here.

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

ENFP

ENFPs are amazing idea people. If you want an abundance of options and alternatives for your future, definitely seek these types out. Their weakness is that they are so in love with ideas that they can lose touch with the practical realities of achieving them. Focusing on one project for a very long period of time (unless it’s a fascinating new theory they’ve discovered) can be totally draining for them. They tend to be driven by ideas rather than practicalities, and this can actually cause them to struggle to achieve their dreams.

Read This Next: 10 Things You Should Never Say to an ENFP

ENTP

Similarly to ENFPs, ENTPs can struggle to zoom in on one idea and make it a reality. They see so many options before them and get so much joy from exploring ideas, that buckling down and finishing them can be tough. ENTPs are driven by the thrill of the chase – completing something, marking it off as done is far less interesting to them. As a result they can get bored or distracted after working for a prolonged time on the same project. So many new and tempting possibilities tend to play on their mind, begging them to follow them down yet another rabbit hole. While many ENTPs (and ENFPs) achieve many of their goals, it usually requires personal growth and maturity for them to stay on track and not sidestep onto another new, interesting plan or possibility.

Read This Next: 10 Things You Should Never Say to an ENTP

INFP

INFPs are on a lifelong quest for meaning and inner serenity. They are driven by deeply-felt personal values and are passionately committed to them. That said, their inferior function, Thinking, can be a stumbling block for them. They feel things so deeply that sometimes they struggle to see things objectively. They tend to assume that words spoken are meant in a personal way so they can get their feelings hurt or take things personally that weren’t meant to be insulting. Because they are often non-confrontational types they may drop people or harbor resentment rather than confronting the issue and clearing up the confusion. They may also turn their hurt inwards and blame themselves for being “too sensitive.”

Read This Next: 10 Surprising Truths About INFPs

INTP

INTPs are intensely logical, analytical, and independent. They enjoy deep-diving into theories and experiments on their own and rarely need any hand-holding. Sometimes because of this they have little patience for people who can’t keep up with their way of thinking. Because their least-favored process is Feeling, they can seem tactless, arrogant, and out of touch with the needs of others. They can get impatient with people who need more information or who talk about subjects they see as trivial and unimportant. They can fall into the habit of assuming they know what someone else is going to say and tuning them out so they can think about more interesting subjects.

Read This Next: Understanding INTP Thinking

ENFJ

ENFJs tend to be deeply compassionate, emotionally aware individuals. They tune into the feelings of the people around them and can often anticipate their needs – especially emotional ones. However, because their inferior function is Thinking, they can struggle to see things objectively. They may find it impossible to decide on something that could affect others in negative ways. In an effort to maintain harmony they may phrase criticism in a way that confuses the person they are speaking with rather than getting the point across. They can also take on much more than they can handle in an effort to meet others’ needs.

Read This Next: ENFJs, INFJs and Empathy Burnout

ENTJ

ENTJs are known for their insight, competence, and objectivity. However, because their inferior function is Feeling, they can become unaware of the impact their words have on others. They can behave in ways that are insensitive, brusque, or overly-critical. They can also become arrogant when dealing with people who they perceive as having trivial, unimportant interests. When they’re in charge of people, they can become overbearing and bossy if others don’t move at the same pace as they do. They can be extremely strong leaders, but working on some tact can help them to achieve their goals and motivate people much more quickly.

Read This Next: 10 Things You Should Never Say to an ENTJ

INFJ

INFJs are known for being insightful and original individuals. However, because their inferior function is Sensing, they can become blind to practical realities that might interfere with their ideas. They are so big-picture oriented they may ignore details that later come back and trip them up. They can also become so married to their own views and insights that they are dismissive of people with competing views. Their single-mindedness and vision can make them inflexible and unwilling to modify their views especially if they are pursuing their ambition full-force. Their vision is often internalized, but if they were to share their ideas verbally they might become aware of flaws or details that need tending to.

Read This Next: Understanding INFJ “Grip” Stress

INTJ

INTJs are known for being logical, creative and imaginative. They are extremely curious intellectually and very ambitious in pursuit of their vision. However, because their least-preferred process is Sensing, they can struggle to bring their ideas and insights into the real world. They can lose track of nitty-gritty details that can eventually trip them up (sometimes literally). Sometimes the consequences are minor – they may forget where they put their keys, for example. Other times the consequences are larger – they might make a huge plan to achieve their vision and it might fall apart because they didn’t realistically assess all the details needed to make it happen. I know I get a lot of kick-back from people on this point, but that is largely because most of the people who type as “INTJ” via online tests are actually ISTPs or ISTJs who are VERY aware of details and their surroundings.

Read This Next: 3 Weird and Wonderful Secrets About the INTJ

ESFP

ESFPs are known for being warm, outgoing, and adventurous. They like to know a wide variety of people and they want to experience every enjoyment the world has to offer. However, because their least-preferred process is Intuition, they can struggle to see the future implications of their current decisions. They might “leap before they look” and wind up regretting it later. They can also find that, because they are so focused on the present, they over-commit to things that sound positive and then become exhausted later trying to keep up with everything they signed up for. This can result in them habitually running late or forgetting appointments they made because they just over-filled their schedule.

ESTP

ESTPs are known for being active, adventurous, and intensely realistic. They are deeply logical but also impulsive, ready to take advantage of any exciting opportunity that life presents to them. Because their least-favored mental process is Intuition, they can struggle to see the future implications of their decisions. They can be so focused on action and activity that they become bored and restless when conversation gets too theoretical or abstract. This can leave them missing out on deeper bonding and meaningful moments with the people they care about. They can also forget to stop and analyze the big picture and what’s really important in the grand scheme of things.

ISFP

ISFPs are known for being sensitive, compassionate, and creative. They tend to pursue their values and causes with action rather than words, showing intense loyalty and commitment to what they believe in. However, since their least-preferred mental process is Thinking, they can struggle to keep an objective frame of mind in their life decisions. They may take things personally that weren’t meant to be, or they may make choices that are in line with their goals but lack the objective framework needed to become real. It’s helpful for these types to have some Thinking friends to help back them up if they have to make a decision that might feel painful (for example, firing someone who’s not pulling their weight) or if they need to figure out a way to create a sequential plan to achieve a long-term goal.

ISTP

ISTPs are known for being independent, pragmatic, and analytical. They are good at responding to challenges in the moment and thinking of quick, clever solutions. However, since their least-preferred process is Feeling, they can struggle to deal with interpersonal conflicts. They may come across as tactless or dismissive to people who are responding emotionally to something, or they may brush off conflict with another person instead of dealing with it face-to-face. This can result in strained relationships with the people they care about.

ESFJ

ESFJs are known for being warm, considerate, and organized. These individuals are practical and deeply loyal. However, since their least-preferred function is Thinking, they can struggle to evaluate situations objectively. They tend to take things personally or feel insulted even when criticism was given constructively or there was no offense meant to be given. They can also become overly wrapped up in the cares of others and forget to take care of their own needs and desires. It’s important for them to pause and consider their own values, desires, and needs before they over-commit to others.

ESTJ

ESTJs are known for being organized, logical, and analytical. They tend to take on a management or leadership role naturally and are good at spotting and fixing inconsistencies and errors. However, since their least-preferred process is Feeling, they can struggle to be sensitive to the emotions and feelings of others. They may consider the values of others as irrelevant to a decision and inadvertently cause conflict or chaos in their relationships. They also can come across as bossy or demanding because they are naturally wired to spot errors and flaws and point them out. It can be helpful for them to pause before saying anything and consider how they could frame their words tactfully or analyze whether they are stepping on anyone’s values and needs.

ISFJ

ISFJs are known for their empathy, practicality, and attention-to-detail. However, because their least-preferred process is Intuition, they can struggle to see possibilities or options that don’t already exist. They can become so focused on using methods that they know and trust that they struggle to find new solutions when an unusual problem presents itself. They can also struggle to see the big picture at times, becoming fixated on details and trying to deal with them without considering the long-term future impacts. It can be helpful for sensors and intuitives to be friends because sensors can help intuitives to see important details and present realities, while intuitives can help sensors to see the bigger picture and likely future implications.

ISTJ

ISTJs are known for being detail-oriented, logical, and responsible. They are usually hard-working people who are deeply devoted to their communities. However, because their least-preferred process is Intuition, they can be overly-skeptical of new ways of doing things. They may become so reliant on tried-and-true methods that they fail to see innovations or changes as positive. Because they tend to focus on details more than the global picture, they can lose sight of the “forest for the trees” in a sense. As ISTJs develop and mature this tends to become less and less of a problem.

Want to Share Your Thoughts?

Let us know what you think in the comments!

Find out more about your personality type in our eBook, Discovering You: Unlocking the Power of Personality Type.