The main guide for this research can be found at A Guide to Spiritual Gifts

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The Gift of Leadership

People with the gift of leadership are the idea people. They see where the group should go and what they should do. Their vision and style engender confidence in others to follow them. [They have the ability] ...to set goals in accordance with God’s purpose for the future and to communicate those goals to others in such a way that they voluntarily and harmoniously work together to accomplish those goals for the glory of God.[1]

This style is described in nearly the same words about the ENTJ. “...ENTJs more than any other type desire (and generally have the ability) to visualize where the group is going and seem able to communicate that vision to others[2].”
Indeed, so commanding is the demeanor of the extroverted organizers [ENTJs] and so obvious the vision that fuels their advocacy of goal directed action, that most of us do not question or challenge such command; more likely, followers are grateful that someone has the drive and knowledge required for the marshalling of forces.[3]

According to Susan Scanlon, editor of the “Type Reporter” newsletter:
...ENTJs take these complex goals, and by analyzing them break them down into subgroups that can be dealt with systematically. They outline the steps to realize those goals. Their logic is usually convincing and easy to see, and this helps them generate action around their goals...whereas INTJs prefer to build logic up into a structured whole, ENTJs prefer to break structured wholes down into logical pieces. It’s been called ‘reverse engineering.’[4]

If the ability to delegate is needed, to have a mind that naturally sees the whole and breaks it down “into logical pieces” would be a perfect asset.

Summary: For each of the sixteen personality types there is a theme or set of related themes that run through the various descriptions of that type. The dominant theme in almost every description of the ENTJ is that of leading. Kroeger and Thuesen call them “Life’s natural leaders[5].” This correlation of gift to personality is one of the easiest to support and should be considered an excellent match.

References

[1] Donald Hohensee and Allen Odell, Your Spiritual Gifts (Wheaton, Il.: Victor, 1992), 36.

[2] David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates, Please Understand Me (Del Mar: Prometheus Nemesis, 1978), 178.

[3] David Keirsey, Portraits of Temperament (Del Mar: Prometheus Nemesis, 1987), 74.

[4] Susan Scanlon, “Type and the Brain,” The Type Reporter (Fairfax Station, VA: The Type Reporter, Inc, 1988).

[5] Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen, Type Talk (New York: Broadman Press, 1988), back cover.

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