Understanding Yourself and Others

How can you explain what an ESTJ, ENTJ, ESTP and ENFJ all have in common? It is their interaction style!

The four interaction styles are patterns of behaviour that have been described by many over the years. Each style has a theme-centered internal drive that helps set the boundaries of our comfort zone in the chaotic world of interpersonal relationships. If we can recognise our own style, we can better match our energy and know how to adapt and flex when necessary to reach goals and meet others at their view of the world.

Understanding Yourself and Others: An Introduction to Interaction Styles reveals the four fundamental interaction style patterns for you to "try on" in your search for understanding yourself (and others). Within these patterns are clues to the "how" of our behaviours.

Understanding Yourself and Others allows you to see the similarities between the different personality types and how they interact and communicate by looking at the four interaction styles:

1. In-Charge: ESTJ, ENTJ, ESTP, ENFJ
2. Behind-the-Scenes: ISFJ, INTP, ISFP, INFP
3. Chart-the-Course: ISTJ, INTJ, ISTP, INFJ
4. Get-things-Going: ESFJ, ENTP, ESFP, ENFP

Updates to Version 2.0

After seven years of working with this ground-breaking model, author Linda Berens completed version 2.0. She added two additional pages for each Interaction Style with expanded arrow pattern descriptions and snapshots of four variations for each style. In addition, there is a new page devoted to the four energy patterns and the four decision-making styles.

A conceptual change was made in the Things-in-Common section to help people clarify their Interaction Style. The focus on Control versus Movement was changed to a more bias free dichotomy of focus on Outcome versus focus on Process.