ENFP: Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving

ENFP is an acronym that stands for Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving. The ENFP personality type is one of the 16 different types identified by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

If you're an ENFP, people have probably described you as enthusiastic, charismatic, charming, energetic, and independent. ENFPs are also creative, so they typically do best in situations where they have the freedom to create and innovate.

"ENFP types are very gregarious, love exploring, make empathetic leaders and parents, are highly motivated, and are good at understanding and communicating with people. However, they're oftentimes driven by a lack of self-confidence and have a very difficult time with strong emotions, stress, and conflict," says Christopher Hansen, a licensed professional counselor at Thriveworks in Austin, TX.

There are two subtypes of ENFPs: ENFP-A and ENFP-T.

• ENFP-A: Someone who is an ENFP-A is also known as an "Assertive Campaigner." This ENFP subtype tends to be more confident and has more emotional control in their relationships.
• ENFP-T: ENFP-Ts are known as "Turbulent Campaigners" and often have less confidence and less emotional control, also experiencing more anxiety when dealing with everyday stress.

Key ENFP Characteristics

Having an ENFP personality means that you likely have the following strengths and weaknesses:

• ENFPs have excellent people skills. In addition to having an abundance of enthusiasm, they genuinely care about others and are good at understanding what people are feeling. This can make them attractive to be around.
• Given their zeal, charisma, and creativity, ENFPs can make great leaders. They are flexible and like to keep their options open. ENFPs can be spontaneous and highly adaptable to change.
• People with an ENFP personality type strongly dislike routine and prefer to focus on the future. They can become easily distracted, particularly when working on something that seems boring or uninspiring.
• While ENFPs are great at generating new ideas, their weaknesses can include putting off important tasks until the last minute and being disorganized. Dreaming up ideas but not seeing them through to completion is a common issue for an ENFP.

"This personality type places are good amount of focus on emotions and values and relationships are very important to them," says Hansen.

ENFP Cognitive Functions

Each personality type is composed of four cognitive functions that relate to how they process information and make decisions. The first two functions (dominant and auxiliary) play the most obvious role in personality. The latter two (tertiary and inferior) also play a role, although their influence may only arise in certain settings or situations.

Here are the dominant, auxiliary, tertiary, and inferior cognitive functions for the ENFP personality type.

Dominant: Extraverted Intuition

Extraverted intuition means that ENFPs generally focus on the world of possibilities. They are good at abstract thinking and prefer not to concentrate on tiny details. People with this personality type are also inventive and focused on the future.

Because of this dominant function, ENFPs are good at seeing things as they could be rather than focusing on what they are. They have a natural tendency to focus on relationships and are skilled at finding patterns and connections between people, situations, and ideas.

Auxiliary: Introverted Feeling

When making decisions, ENFPs place a greater value on feelings and values rather than logic and objective criteria. They tend to follow their heart, empathize with others, and let their emotions guide their decisions.

ENFPs have a strong desire to be true to themselves and their values. In an ideal world, there would be congruence between that world and their values.

Tertiary: Extraverted Thinking

This cognitive function is centered on logically organizing information and ideas. The ENFP may use this function to sort through disparate data to efficiently spot connections. For example, an ENFP might "think out loud" when working through a problem, laying out all the information to create an easily followed train of thought.

Inferior: Introverted Sensing

ENFPs express this function by comparing the things they are experiencing at the moment to past experiences. In doing so, they are often able to call to mind memories, feelings, and senses that they associate with those events. This allows the ENFP to identify patterns and form expectations for future events based on previous experiences.

Personal Relationships With ENFPs

ENFPs are extraverts, which means that they love spending time with others. As extraverts, they are also naturally upbeat and gregarious. Socializing actually gives an ENFP more energy, helping them to feel more renewed, refreshed, and excited about life.

While other types of extraverts tend to dislike solitude, ENFPs do have a need for some alone time. This gives them space to think and reflect.

ENFPs tend to be warm and passionate in relationships. They are always seeking growth and ways to make their partnerships stronger. ENFPs also tend to be attentive and spontaneous. Their willingness to take risks can sometimes be stressful for those who love them.

Career Paths for an ENFP

People with an ENFP personality do best in jobs that offer a lot of flexibility. Because they are empathetic and interested in people, ENFPs also do well in service-oriented careers. They may benefit from avoiding careers that involve completing a lot of detailed, routine tasks. 

When choosing a career path, it can help to understand the potential strengths and weaknesses of your personality type. At the same time, you should not base your career decisions solely on your MBTI results as this test's reliability and validity are unclear when applied to certain groups.

Tips for Interacting With ENFPs

If you regularly interact with an ENFP personality, here are a few tips based on your relationship type.

Friendships

ENFPs make fun and exciting friends. They enjoy doing new things and usually have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. ENFPs are perceptive of other people's feelings and can figure people out quite quickly. You can help your ENFP friends by being the emotional support they need to achieve their goals.

Parenting

Because ENFPs dislike routine and may struggle with structure and limits, their children may perceive them as being inconsistent. That said, ENFP parents typically have strong, loving relationships with their kids and are good at imparting their sense of values.

Parents of ENFP children may find that their child has a strong sense of imagination and a great deal of enthusiasm for life. Your ENFP child's energy may seem overwhelming at times, but looking for ways to help them explore their creativity helps put these personality traits to good use.

Relationships

ENFPs tend to be passionate and enthusiastic in romantic relationships. But long-term relationships can sometimes hit a snag because people with an ENFP personality type are always thinking about what is possible rather than focusing on the good in things as they are.

To keep the romance alive, look for new ways to keep things fresh and bring excitement into your relationship. Travel and new experiences can help with this and keep the ENFP partner engaged in the relationship and connected to their partner.