Gamma Quadra Duality (ENTJ & ISFP)
This was originally a Russian Socionics article, but for ease of understanding have used the most closely corresponding MBTI types in the following translation
ENTJ (ENTj, LIE, Te-Ni): ENTJ is energetic, inventive and resourceful. He is distinguished by a critical turn of mind, good pragmatic acumen and intuition for future outcomes of new undertakings. He is inquisitive, responsive to all new, decisive and bold. With inexhaustible enthusiasm he follows the path of trial and error. He is willing to invest in things that do not promise immediate returns. It is more important for him to obtain large return in the future, rather than have a modest but steady income in the present. Distrustful, conservative and cautious ISFP does not share the enthusiasm of his dual, but he cannot abandon a friend in trouble, so by all means he helps him in these bold and precarious endeavors.
Being impulsive, venturesome, and easily captivated, ENTJ shows a proclivity for risky, adventurous projects. However, he is intolerant of tricks and gimmicks in others. Outwardly he is a supporter of “playing by the rules”, however, he may get carried away and break them himself, then suffer greatly for this. ENTJ needs advice of a conscientious partner of strong character and ethical principles. Such a partner can help him avoid getting into difficult situations and regret less about what has transpired.
Unpredictable behavior of ENTJ, his propensity to unexpectedly change plans and his interests is a common cause of his conflicts and misunderstandings with others. With this he brings out outbreaks of discontent and anger from his strong-willed partner, but takes them with an enviable sense of humor and optimism. The difficulties and failures even mobilize him and inspire to more vigorous activity. This personality is very resistant to stress. He quickly loses interest in a monotonous and characterless partner who is not able to provide resistance.
ENTJ hates routine, everything that is inert and stable. Desiring of change, he is impatient, and due to this he often makes mistakes. His life must be full of ups and downs, significant and memorable events, full of romance, impressions, and feelings. He is looking for this everywhere: he enjoys hiking, testing himself, tries to harden himself physically and mentally. At the same time he never loses heart. Next to him should be a strong, morally enduring person, who exerts a stabilizing effect on him.
Trying to lift the mood of those around, infecting them with his optimism, ENTJ sometimes doesn’t take into account the appropriateness of his actions or expressions — he is not characterized by tactfulness. With this he may offend other people. He needs the help of a tactful person, who knows how to prevent and correct his ethical lapses. He has difficulty understanding what exactly he did wrong. This can best be explained by his dual, who has a strong ethical bent and readily notices the slightest deviations from ethical standards. In addition, possessing astute insight into people, ISFP protects his overly trusting dual, who is poorly versed in people, from disappointments and bad contacts.
ENTJ often does not find neither internal balance nor harmony with people around him. The hardest thing for him is attaining a state of rest and peace of mind. He also finds it difficult to care about his health and comfort, chores and basic amenities, and other routine tasks of everyday life. He is very undemanding of his living conditions, and does not understand too much delicacy from others in such matters. Sometimes he overestimates his abilities in this aspect and falls into extremes: starts to dress extravagantly or demands exotic foods, physically tests himself by swimming in ice cold water, starvation, yogic exercises. His dual readily and willingly provides his help on these aspects.
Another problem of ENTJ is that often he does not have enough patience or tactical abilities to succeed in his plan. Consequently, he ruins many of his initiations and start-ups, only to take up new ones with the same optimism. In doing so, he earns a reputation of a thoughtless and frivolous person. He needs a reliable, responsible partner, who would compliment him with his thoroughness and diligence, reliability and conscientiousness, and the ability to bring tasks and projects to their completion.
ISFP (ISFj, ESI, Fi-Se): ISFP is a realist who knows how to properly assess the situation. He sees the distribution of forces and knows which parts are important and deserve attention and which do not — he is able to distinguish the primary from the secondary. He has a good sense of relations between people, skillfully adjusts psychological distance, bringing some people closer and distancing bad people away from himself. Thus, ISFP is trying to protect his “inner circle”, his family, or his group of friends or co-workers, from unwanted intruders and harmful influences. He guards his sociable and trusting dual from committing many tactical errors, from potential machinations of adversaries, as well as from simply wasting his time.
This is person demanding in matters of order and ethical values. He condemns the violation of ethical norms in his circle of friends and acquaintances. He does not always speaks up openly about it — more often he is restrained and gentle. However, when exasperated, he can say all that has accumulated in a fairly sharp form, and even break up relations with a person who has lost his respect, trust and sympathy. He needs someone with a sense of humor, who knows how to admit his mistakes and make compromises.
By nature, ISFP is distrustful and prefers his “tried and true” circle of friends to newcomers. He tries to be objective and fair to all. He attempts to understand the motivations of actions of people, the causes of their influences on one another, but often does not see concealed reasons and motives, and for this reasons makes judgments that are too categorical and superficial. However, his inherent qualities — responsibility, thoroughness, fairness, understanding of the needs of others — make him a reliable friend and helper, who contributes to the success of his partner.
Being a man of patience and perseverance, ISFP seeks to achieve the main goal without being distracted by minor things, and knows how to control the chaotic nature of his dual. He is hardworking, strives to preserve stability in relations, oriented at growth and prosperity. He is very active, diligent, and expedient in household matters, manages comfort and food. He likes to take care of his loved ones with his actions, as well as those who need care and attention.
The main thing for him — to feel needed and useful. The purpose and meaning of his existence, ISFP sees in serving the interests of his close ones. He finds appeal in an active, energetic, hard-working partner who needs his guardianship. ISFP is holds his erratic and unpredictable dual “in his hands”, guards his from wasteful diversions, from imprudent and untactful behavior, from risky undertakings, too frequent travel and unnecessary endurance tests. Together they can overcome many difficulties.
Terms of dualization:
1. ISFP needs to provide his dual with support in ethical matters and in accomplishing tasks, be resilient and assertive in achieving goals. He must not allow for doubts of his loyalty and reliability. ISFP is quick to take offense, and due to this can lose his sense of fairness and impartiality in wake of his emotions. ENTJ with his easy-going character must raise the vitality of his mistrustful dual, readily forgive his angry outbreaks, support warm relations, which is very important for ISFP.
2. ENTJ should offer ISFP beneficial opportunities and tasks, good material rewards, prosperity and confidence in the future. These duals will quarrel and even separate when there are serious misunderstanding on these issues that are of prime importance for this pair.
3. ISFP is too distrustful of the unfamiliar and the atypical, not inclined to take up leadership positions of responsibility. In addition, he often has complexes regarding his qualities and abilities. ENTJ must logically and convincingly explain to his partner the positive prospects of current undertakings, plan activities, freely take on responsibility in joint matters onto his shoulders, be resolute in carrying out their plans. By this, he relieves ISFP from painful feelings of uncertainty and doubts about the potential future negative outcomes, as well as from indecision and uncertainty about making the right choices and insecurity in his abilities.
4. Emotional side of these relations develops along the following scenario: ISFP always keeps at a psychological distance from others, but with his look and actions shows that he has nothing against his partner taking initiative, drawing him thus into a game of “hunt”. His dual is an excellent hunter, who doesn’t lose optimism and humor under many circumstances. This softens the usually distrustful ISFP, and when the ice melts, he becomes caring, sincere, capable of self-sacrifice in love. He guards his love and his home, and breaks up relations only in extreme cases. This makes an impression on the conqueror, and he unwittingly finds himself in the role of the conquered.
Their relations have a pulsating nature, as do relations of other members of 2nd and 3rd quadra, for whom fighting spirit and orientation at victory are characteristic. Fluctuations and contrasts in their relations only serve as a guarantee of their longevity. Although from aside it may seem that their personal life is far from ideal, they themselves do not see it in such a dramatic light. The saying: “Fights of lovers are only confessions of love” — is often about them.
ENTJ would have been bored with an always friendly and uncritical of him partner. He would is such a situation distance himself from home, follow the lead of his hobbies and extraneous interests. Elements of “play-fighting” fire up his passion, while a partner who must be constantly won over remains interesting for ISFP. He finds appeal in those people whose management and control requires an interplay of diplomacy and willpower. The reward for him is that he always sees the results of his efforts, and this gives him confidence in the feelings of his partner, as well as his strength and capabilities. A stronger partner could have caused feelings of resentment and hostility, and weaker — a feeling of disappointment.
ENTJ makes life of ISFP eventful and interesting — he brings elements of novelty, unpredictability and romance, stirs and enlivens emotions, although often this occurs after strong shake-ups hovering on the verge of a breakup. But this is necessary for both of them, to appreciate each other more, and each time to feel the strength of their union that will endure any tests. Quarrels, though frequent, are usually transient because of the inability of ENTJ to accumulate and hold on to resentment for a long time.
In sexual terms, the active partner is ENTJ, while ISFP regulates the relationship, saving it from satiety. He is impressed by a passionate, cheerful, reasonably humble and reasonably obstinate partner, with whom it is never boring. After any quarrel, the expressive gaze of ISFP makes his dual immediately do everything possible to regain harmony.
To improve these relations, we can recommend ISFP to show more sensitivity and responsiveness in response to the erotic initiatives of his dual. Give more praises to his practical and sexual qualities, support his initiatives, skillfully cut away the excess and switch his attention to more realistic and useful things. ENTJ should pay more attention to family and domestic issues, care more about material prosperity, be a loyal friend and helper.
