Extraverted Thinking deals primarily with understanding and organizing the external world. Extraverted Thinking wants everything to make logical sense, and has very little patience of unproductive activities.
Extraverted Thinking is the primary function of ENTJs and ESTJs. It is also the secondary function of INTJs and ISTJs.
Extraverted Thinking has a desire to control their environment, and can feel lost when they are not able to shape their own external world.
The Extraverted Thinker sees tasks in logical and sequential order. They can easily determine what steps to take to accomplish a goal, and what order they should be done in.
In comparison to Introverted Thinking, which can be better at see a flaw in a system quickly, Extraverted Thinking is much better at implement the steps to actually accomplish the task. Introverted Thinking may see more efficient ways to do certain steps, but Extraverted Thinking says “stop wasting time thinking about Step 3, we still need to accomplish Step 1 first.”
The desire for the world to make logical sense can cause strain for more emotional people in the Extraverted Thinkers life. If someone is hurt, they may just be looking for someone to sympathize with them, instead of finding a solution to the problem. The Te user would be wise to recognize their organizational skills may need to take a back seat when it comes to dealing with others and their emotions. Even just listening to the other person without judgment will go a long way.
Extraverted Thinking is also known to be decisive and make decisions quickly. It may weigh a couple options to see which is better, but it is primarily action oriented. The Extraverted Thinker may say, “okay these two choices are pretty similar. I’m just going to choose this one and get this task over with.” They figure they can accomplish 2-3 more tasks while someone else would still be wasting time figuring out which choice was better or more effective.
Extraverted Thinking also takes into account certain factors when sizing up a situation. The Te user hiring someone would look at a resume and use their credentials to form an idea of how good of a fit the individual would be. They see the person has a college degree, a 3.5 GPA, good social skills, and an internship in a similar role. They may compare this directly with a candidate that has a college degree, 3.5 GPA, good social skills, but no internship. Therefore, Extraverted Thinking would decide the first candidate is a better fit and hire them. This is obviously a simplistic scenario but it gives you an idea of how Te makes decisions.
Extraverted Thinkers have also been known to see choices and make important decisions by laying everything out in “Pro-Con” format. The Te user will take everything they know about a situation, and use it to decide whether they should continue with their goal or project, or drop it for something else.
Extraverted Thinking is also found in the tertiary function of ENFPs and ESFPs. When these types have developed the function more, they are able to quickly make decisions and organize their environment. ENFPs and ESFPs with highly developed Te tend take make good managers and their decision making skills pair well with their strong interpersonal skills.
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