The Influence of ENFP Personality Type on Preferred Management Approaches and Roles: A Theoretical and Case-Based Analysis

Zhang Ye

GBP Proceedings Series, 2026, vol. 29, 1-9

Abstract: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is widely adopted in organizational psychology to facilitate self-awareness and management development, yet its predictive validity remains contested in the scholarly literature. This paper examines the compatibility of the ENFP personality type---characterized by Extraversion (82%), Intuition (67%), Feeling (86%), and Perceiving (99%)---with established management approaches and Mintzberg's ten managerial roles. The study adopts a theoretical synthesis combined with a single-case reflective analysis methodology, cross-referencing MBTI findings with the empirically robust Big Five personality framework and published empirical studies, including a study of 226 team leaders, structural equation modelling of creative behavior in Vietnamese employees, and meta-analytic evidence on transformational leadership. Findings indicate that ENFP traits align most strongly with the behavioral and contemporary management approaches, and with the entrepreneurial, liaison, and disseminator managerial roles. A university group project case demonstrates these alignments through interest-based role allocation and value-driven conflict resolution, while also revealing structural vulnerabilities in planning discipline and quantitative rigor. Critically, the analysis acknowledges that observed alignments may partly reflect post-hoc rationalization rather than causal influence, given the MBTI's documented reliability limitations. Implications for career development and team composition in dynamic organizational environments are discussed. Ultimately, this research underscores the necessity of integrating multiple psychometric frameworks to optimize human resource strategies, foster adaptive leadership, and enhance overall organizational effectiveness in increasingly complex corporate landscapes.

Keywords: personality traits; organizational behavior; management approaches; managerial roles; psychometrics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://soapubs.com/index.php/GBPPS/article/view/2206/2025 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:axf:gbppsa:v:29:y:2026:i::p:1-9

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in GBP Proceedings Series from Scientific Open Access Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Yuchi Liu ().