Listen To The Podcast Episode: Why The World Needs Extraverted Thinking
Most of us take Extraverted Thinking — what we at Personality Hacker call Effectiveness — completely for granted.
You don’t usually wake up in the morning marveling that hot water came out of the shower, or thanking the city engineers who designed the water systems. You don’t board a plane and consciously admire the thousands of decisions made by air traffic controllers that keep you safe in the sky. You don’t go to Disney World and stop mid-parade to whisper, “Wow, the underground tunnel system here is phenomenal.”
But here’s the truth: Extraverted Thinking is the quiet magic that makes modern life possible.
And when it’s absent? You feel it immediately. The plane is delayed. The government website crashes. The power goes out. Chaos rushes in.
That’s why the world doesn’t just want this function — it needs it.
What Is Extraverted Thinking (Effectiveness)?
In Jungian typology, Extraverted Thinking is one of the eight cognitive functions. At Personality Hacker, we nickname it Effectiveness because it’s about getting results in the external world.
Where Introverted Accuracy asks, “Is this true? Does it make sense internally?” Effectiveness asks, “Does this work? Does it get us to the outcome?”
Types that lead with Extraverted Thinking — ENTJs and ESTJs — often end up in leadership roles. But every type has a relationship with it:
-
ENFPs and ESFPs experience it as their 10-Year-Old (Tertiary).
-
INFPs and ISFPs wrestle with it as their 3-Year-Old (Inferior).
That means we all live in its shadow or light — whether we notice it or not.
The Architecture of Reassurance
One of my favorite descriptions of this function comes from Walt Disney World. If you’ve walked through the Magic Kingdom, you’ve actually been walking on a giant roof.
Beneath you is an entire underground system of tunnels called Utilidors. Staff move trash, costumes, food, and supplies invisibly below the park so that visitors never see the chaos. What guests experience instead is pure magic — parades, fireworks, and characters seamlessly appearing at just the right time.
This is Effectiveness at its best: building complex systems that create reassurance.
Think about it:
-
When you board a plane, you don’t worry about the flight path because the system is handling it.
-
When you flip on a light switch, you assume electricity will flow.
-
When you drive 70 mph on a freeway, you trust the engineering of the roads, signs, and vehicles.
This process gives us the freedom to relax, create, and even complain — because the baseline survival needs are handled.
Why the Extraverted Function Gets a Bad Rap
And yet… users of this function don’t always get celebrated.
On the macro level, we complain about bureaucracy. Why is this government system so outdated? Why does it take 15 steps to renew my license?
On the personal level, ENTJs and ESTJs often get accused of being bulldozers — too focused on outcomes to notice individual needs.
Here’s the paradox: it’s most visible when it fails. When it’s done well, we don’t notice it at all.
As Joel Mark Witt puts it:
“When Extraverted Thinking is being done well, you almost don’t recognize it. It’s seamless. You just live inside the structure it created.”
This invisibility means Effectiveness users are often criticized more than appreciated.
Extraverted Thinking and Power
There’s another reason people bristle at Extraverted Thinking: it has a natural relationship with power.
Users of this process understand how to marshal people, resources, and information to achieve results. They see power dynamics clearly — and they use them.
But the word power makes many of us squirm. We associate it with exploitation or abuse. As Antonia Dodge often says, “If someone claims they hate power, what they really mean is: they want it, but don’t know how to get it.”
Here’s the reframe: power is neutral. It’s simply the ability to focus energy toward an outcome. Whether it’s good or bad depends on whether it integrates its polarity partner: Introverted Feeling (Authenticity).
When Extraverted Thinking is balanced with Authenticity, we get leaders who are outcome-driven and people-conscious. They use power responsibly, ethically, and with humanity.
That’s exactly the kind of leadership the world is hungry for right now.
The True Gift of Extraverted Thinking: Amelioration
At the bottom of our Personality Hacker Profiler Training card for this function is a single word: amelioration.
It means:
-
To constantly improve.
-
To make better.
-
To refine.
That’s the beating heart of Extraverted Thinking. It pushes humanity forward — relentlessly.
-
Laundry once took three days. Now it takes an hour.
-
A letter once took weeks to arrive. Now we send instant messages globally.
-
Dangerous roads became engineered highways that (mostly) keep us safe at high speeds.
This drive for amelioration is why the conveniences of modern life can feel like magic. As Arthur C. Clarke once wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
That’s Extraverted Thinking — invisible magic.
How to Engage with Extraverted Thinking in Your Own Life
No matter your type, you have a relationship with Extraverted Thinking. Here’s how to work with it more intentionally:
-
Appreciate it. Pause the next time you turn on hot water, board a plane, or log into WiFi. Notice the hidden structures supporting you.
-
Thank the leaders. TJs in your life often carry the thankless burden of power and responsibility. Acknowledge the load they bear.
-
Balance it. If Extraverted Thinking is your Driver, remember to bring in Authenticity (Introverted Feeling). The best leaders remember the individual while serving the collective.
-
Practice it. If this function is hard for you, start small. Pick one outcome you want, then reverse-engineer the steps and build the discipline to achieve it.
It might not feel natural to everyone — but learning to use it, even in small doses, can change your life.
Final Thoughts
Extraverted Thinking may not be flashy. It doesn’t dazzle like Exploration (Extraverted Intuition) or stir hearts like Harmony (Extraverted Feeling). But without it, society crumbles.
We need this function because we need reassurance. We need leaders who know how to get things done. We need structures that allow human creativity to flourish instead of constantly worrying about survival.
So the next time you catch yourself frustrated with a “bulldozer boss” or annoyed at bureaucracy, ask yourself:
🡢 What part of my life is already made possible by Extraverted Thinking that I’ve stopped noticing?
Because the truth is: the world runs on Extraverted Thinking. And when it’s healthy, integrated, and human-centered — it makes all of our lives better.
Ready to Go Deeper Into Your Personality?
If this article sparked insights for you, imagine having a step-by-step guide built specifically for your personality type.
That’s what the Personality Owners Manual is — a personalized roadmap that helps you understand how your mind works, what keeps you stuck, and the exact strategies to create growth.
If you’re serious about building a life that plays to your strengths (and balances your blind spots), act now and grab your Personality Owners Manual today. It’s one of the most powerful tools we’ve ever created for personal development.
🡢 Get Your Personality Owners Manual Here
_________
When you’re ready, here are five ways we can help you grow…
1. Reclaim Authorship of Your Life (Free Audio): Become the Main Character Your Own Life
2. Regulate your Body, Emotions, Thoughts, & Intuition with Self-Regulation Mastery
3. Understand yourself at a deeper level with a Personality Owners Manual
4. Master the Art of “Deep Reading” people in Profiler Training
5. Rewire your Brain & Build a Life that Fits You in the Personality Life Path
Share:
Why The World Needs Introverted Intuition
Why The World Needs Extraverted Intuition