Just because these two personality types seem similar doesn’t mean they are. If you pit them against each other, INTJ vs ENTJ can often seem completely different.
INTJ stands for Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging, while ENTJ is the same except instead of being introverted, they’re extroverted.
Before we get into details, you first have to understand that just because “I” means introverted and “E” means extroverted doesn’t mean that’s solely where these two differ.
The fact of the matter is each of these functions alters these personalities a lot more than you might realize.
While you may think two people of these personality types might be similar, think again.
Here’s how you can identify the difference between INTJ vs ENTJ.
INTJ vs ENTJ: Emotions
This is probably where these two personality types differ the most. Once mature, INTJs have a very deep understanding of how they feel.
Because they’re able to reflect better internally, INTJs are better at controlling their emotions and calming themselves down.
ENTJs are much different because they often don’t even think about how they feel. Instead, they tend to react to how they feel outwardly, allowing everyone else to see what’s going on inside their head even if they don’t understand it themselves.
This can often appear to others as a person being out of control of their emotions.
INTJ vs ENTJ: Task Performance
The way each of these personality types functions is actually quite similar, though they may look different from the outside.
Both of these personalities are task-oriented. They both like efficiency and getting stuff done. ENTJs, however, tend to be more organized in what they do than INTJs.
Their extroverted function is dominant in this respect, and that means they have a tendency to get their work done sooner rather than later.
ENTJs will also plan and schedule their work, whereas INTJs prefer to get their work done when they see fit.
This has to do with the fact that INTJs like to work alone. Therefore, they don’t need to schedule their work in order to get it done.
Another way these two personalities differ is in their final product. ENTJs do take pride in their quality of work, but not more than they take pride in their efficiency. Meaning, they’d rather have a project done first than have it be high quality.
INTJs, on the other hand, put quality over efficiency every time. They’re more patient with their work and would rather it turn out the best rather than it being done first.
Ultimately, both personalities plan and execute but you can see and hear an ENTJ’s plan but all you’ll know of the INTJ’s plan is their final result.
INTJ vs ENTJ: Leadership
Both of these personality types are natural-born leaders. However, they have completely different methods and styles of leading.
Because ENTJs are planners, they tend to be very organized leaders. They’re the types who rally people together and proclaim a plan of action for people to follow.
INTJs are the opposite, even though they’re just as effective. They tend to work through the middle, and people follow them based on their actions, not on their words.
Typically, ENTJs enjoy a role of leadership far more than INTJs do. Where ENTJs like to be recognized for leading, INTJs would rather slide under the radar and let someone else take the credit.
Because of an ENTJ’s extroverted nature, everyone knows they’re the one in charge and they’re the person who lead the group. INTJs, on the other hand, go unnoticed even though their work is visible to all and that’s the way they like it.
INTJ vs ENTJ: Communication
INTJ and ENTJ personality types are very similar in the sense that they’re both very direct communicators. They don’t beat around the bush and make you guess what they’re thinking or feeling.
These two differ mainly in what ends up coming out of their mouth.
While they’re both direct with what they have to say, ENTJs don’t often think about what they say, which means that while they’re direct, they can also be blunt and end up regretting what they say.
INTJs are much smoother in the way they communicate. They’re just as direct and blunt, but they usually say what they have to say in a way that’s better received.
They think more about what they want to say and make sure they don’t end up putting their foot in their mouth.
If you ever see these two personality types in conflict, arguing with one another, the ENTJ personality type may seem like they have the upper hand based on the fact that they’ll be saying the most.
However, the INTJ personality type is more likely to win the fight simply because they sat back, listened, and thought about how to craft their response to give it the biggest punch.
INTJ vs ENTJ: Solving Problems with Strategy
This is where INTJ vs ENTJ really differ. While they might seem very similar on the outside, the way each personality type goes about solving problems results in widely different outcomes.
INTJs are really the powerhouses when it comes to strategy. They have the innate ability to recognize patterns and that always puts them at an advantage.
Because of this, the INTJ Introverted Intuition is often strong and usually right. They can predict outcomes with much more accuracy than many other personality types.
ENTJ personality types work in very different ways. Instead of thinking intuitively about the outcome, they make a plan of action to get it done. Their biggest concern is about getting to the results and less about how that’s accomplished.
INTJs, however, prefer to think about which method of action will result in the best possible outcome.
Think of it this way, ENTJs focus on the agenda first, followed by the strategy and morals. INTJs are the opposite, focusing on morals and strategies before the final agenda.
This results in ENTJs leaping to action first while INTJs sit back and think before finding a solution that’ll result in the outcome they desire, which many would argue is a much better method of problem-solving.
As you can now see, while these two have very similar appearances on the outside, two people with these personality types are far from the same despite having certain elements in common.
Want to know how things work in an INTJ ENTJ relationship? Then be sure to check out our article that goes into the nitty gritty details of an ENTJ INTJ relationship.