Understand each other well, then go your separate ways.
Two people with the same sharpness. You find the same hole and dislike the same looseness. Still, while the two of you are together, not much tends to move.
ENTJ and INTJ compatibility in brief (love, work, friendship)
ENTJ × INTJ is the Extinguishment relation, one of the sixteen. Understand each other well, then go your separate ways.
LoveA good combination at the entrance. It stalls in household decisions, over speed versus precision.WorkPlaced as equals you wear each other down. Decide the ranking, and let the one above respect the way of the one below.Friends & conversationChecking things through alone together is the best scene. The moment it becomes a public discussion, it becomes a competition.
Written as INTJ × ENTJ it is the same pair. In 16Personalities terms, the Commander and the Architect.
Talk about structure needs no preamble. At this point it cannot be told apart from the relation that meshes best.
But the order is reversed. ENTJ runs once the precision is enough for practical purposes and fixes things while running. INTJ cuts the lines that do not hold first and does not move until the checking is done. Both are right, so it does not become a conflict, and every time it becomes an argument over how far to raise the precision.
Each sees in the other the side they suppress in themselves. ENTJ sees caution and stillness in INTJ; INTJ sees coarseness and haste in ENTJ. ENTJ's speed dulls a little; INTJ's depth grows a little shallower.
ENTJ runs, then checks; INTJ checks, then does not run.
In a meeting, it becomes a competition
Checking things through as two it got through, but in a meeting each tries to push their own argument through. INTJ withdraws first, criticism creeping into their tone. ENTJ feels pigeonholed and goes on the defensive. When the meeting ends, it returns to normal.
At work, placed as equals, you cancel each other out. Work independently in parallel, or decide the ranking and let the one above respect the way of the one below, and it runs.
The observation's note is short. INTJ researches deeply; ENTJ tests by action. The same question, entered by one from the documents and by the other from the field.
How each sees the other
ENTJ → INTJ
Their judgement is accurate, and they bring out cleanly the hole you overlooked.
But they never finish checking.
And in public they suddenly turn formal.
INTJ → ENTJ
Quick decisions, and things actually move.
On the other hand, they do not mind loose premises.
And in public they try to push their own argument through. You withdraw.
What has been recorded
SCENE 01The one who researches and the one who tests
A note: "the LII researches deeply, the LIE tests by action". The same problem, with the time spent in reverse.
SCENE 02In front of a third party, the introvert withdraws
The observation common to extinguishment: alone it gets through, a third party enters and it becomes a competition, and the introverted side is first to turn warmth into formality.
SCENE 03Placed as equals, they cancel out
An equal distribution of power is psychological extinguishment; it works as independent parallel work, or where a superior respects a subordinate's way of doing things, the record says.
A pair on record
Thomas Edison (LIE) × Nikola Tesla (LII)
Typing: both types agree across several published sources
In 1884 Tesla joined Edison's company and succeeded in improving the generators. The promised payment was not made; told "you don't understand American humour", he quit. Tesla later wrote: this man used no theory; to find a needle in a haystack he examined the straws one by one, when a little calculation would have saved nine tenths of the labour. Afterwards the two stood in opposite camps over the form of electric current.
What matches: the contrast between the side that runs by trial and the side that produces theory first; the introverted side leaving quietly on the day a promise is broken.
Love, living together, work, family: scene by scene
ConversationChecking things through alone together is the best scene. The moment it becomes a public discussion, it becomes a competition.
RomanceA good combination at the entrance. It stalls in household decisions, over speed versus precision.
Living togetherThe ways of deciding are reversed, so things not getting decided becomes daily life.
WorkPlaced as equals you wear each other down. Decide the ranking, and let the one above respect the way of the one below.
FamilyA relation that is better the more distance there is.
If you keep going
Do not push your argument through in public
Once you start refuting each other in a meeting, it becomes a competition.
Do not stand side by side with equal authority
Work independently, or decide the ranking of roles.
If it goes wrong, talk outside the meeting
Re-checking it alone together usually makes it disappear.
For these two
How to meet ── Somewhere for just the two of you
A relation best alone together and awkward when people are added. One-on-one settings, a quiet café. Meet in a group and the good side is invisible.
Approach ── Keep third parties out
Do not talk about the two of you in front of others. Do not meet with friends along. Make the period of running side by side long, just the two of you.
A date ── A quiet place, just the two
A private room, the mountains, the city at dawn. The fewer people, the better. Talk, between you, about growing the same interest in different directions.
Gifts ── for ENTJ, Feeling; for INTJ, Feelings put into words
For ENTJ: A letter, something handmade. Something without practical value, for the practical one. What ENTJ thinks they cannot receive. For INTJ: A letter, a sentence said face to face. The warmth INTJ cannot produce alone.
PROne thing for this relation
A relation that understands well and goes its own ways, so tools for time alone.
A phenomenon repeatedly observed in this relation.
INTJ suddenly turned critical
The introverted side withdraws first. Usually after ENTJ has started running in public.
Can we start something together?
The one who researches and the one who tests. Decide the ranking, or work independently, and it takes shape.
What is ENTJ and INTJ compatibility in love?
A good combination at the entrance. It stalls in household decisions, over speed versus precision. More under "Love, living together, work, family: scene by scene" and "If you keep going".
Do ENTJ and INTJ work well together?
Placed as equals you wear each other down. Decide the ranking, and let the one above respect the way of the one below. More under "Love, living together, work, family: scene by scene" and "If you keep going".
This pair is the extinguishment relation, one of the sixteen. How the relation itself arises, and how to tell it from the others, is on the relation page.
The two Model A's: what talks to what
ENTJ on the left, INTJ on the right. Each shows where the eight elements sit; lines connect the same element. Where each line starts and ends decides what happens in this relation.
Lines connect the same element in the other person's structure. 1–2 (strong) 3 (role) 4 (vulnerable) 5–6 (wanted) 7–8 (capable, indifferent)
1 → 7TeENTJ's 1 (leading) Te (extraverted logic) sits in INTJ's position 7 (ignoring). INTJ can do what ENTJ is good at but does not value it. ENTJ feels slightly unappreciated.
2 → 8NiENTJ's 2 (creative) Ni (introverted intuition) sits in INTJ's position 8 (demonstrative). INTJ can do what ENTJ is good at but does not value it. ENTJ feels slightly unappreciated.
3 → 5FeENTJ's 3 (role) Fe (extraverted ethics) sits in INTJ's position 5 (suggestive). ENTJ is weak here and INTJ wants it. A gap neither can fill.
4 → 6SiENTJ's 4 (vulnerable) Si (introverted sensing) sits in INTJ's position 6 (mobilizing). ENTJ is weak here and INTJ wants it. A gap neither can fill.
5 → 3FiENTJ's 5 (suggestive) Fi (introverted ethics) sits in INTJ's position 3 (role). What ENTJ asks for is INTJ's weakest point. The more ENTJ asks, the smaller INTJ gets.
6 → 4SeENTJ's 6 (mobilizing) Se (extraverted sensing) sits in INTJ's position 4 (vulnerable). What ENTJ asks for is INTJ's weakest point. The more ENTJ asks, the smaller INTJ gets.
7 → 1TiENTJ's 7 (ignoring) Ti (introverted logic) sits in INTJ's position 1 (leading). INTJ's main field is one ENTJ does not care about. Little friction, little interest.
8 → 2NeENTJ's 8 (demonstrative) Ne (extraverted intuition) sits in INTJ's position 2 (creative). INTJ's main field is one ENTJ does not care about. Little friction, little interest.