Socionics : Extraverted Intuition as Leading Function

Someone with

as their leading function is very dependent on his/her feelings of interest and disinterest. Interest and boredom seem to be the driving forces in such a person's life — more so than for any other types. Other types also find things 'interesting' and 'boring,' however, they are able to derive satisfaction and enjoyment from things that aren't necessarily interesting and novel, as opposed to

types. Just as

types can't make themselves do things that cause internal discomfort or are physically unpleasant,

types can't make themselves do things that do not engage them mentally (do not give them anything interesting to think about).

What makes something interesting? A new situation, a new set of people, a new way of looking at old things, or novel or unusual information. There has to be some special quality in the information, situation, or people that creates an open-ended, high-potential situation that engages and energizes the mind.

types would rather choose an unknown situation that might have high potential than a known situation that is known to have low or medium potential. Many

types have an irrational dread of boring situations and tasks, which usually end up not being as bad as they originally feared.

Always looking for novel information and high-potential situations is like skimming the cream off of everything; one rarely stays around long enough to reap the material rewards.

types are more interested in increasing or developing potential than in materializing it. For example, one might become fluent in a foreign language but never seriously consider making it a career. Or one might become on expert on some field, but prefer to discuss it with friends and write about it as a hobbyist rather than entering the field and making it a career. This is especially typical of IEEs, who tend to avoid making binding professional decisions (sensitive

that wants to be free of external limitations). ILEs feel more comfortable being part of institutions and organizations that obligate them in some way, because they understand that these obligations are mere formalities that aren't too hard to perform. IEEs blow the importance of formalities out of proportion, as if having to get a few signatures or recommendations is simply "too restrictive" to allow them to work.

Dominant

implies a philosophical attitude towards physical territory (

). If someone or something forces such a person out of a certain territory (a job, a room, a business, etc.), he or she quickly switches to thinking of alternatives ("that's fine, I was thinking of leaving anyway"). If one has items stolen, one quickly forgets about them and finds one didn't need them much anyway. It's hard to attach a

type to material possessions. But if someone attacks their "potential" (talents, opportunities, and any other "unrealized potential") or their intellectual territory (their ideas and vision), that's quite another story. Here

types can and will put up a fight and will wear out nearly any opponent. Just as

types are able to constantly keep track of opponents' level of will, energy, and power and attack them when they are weak,

types are able to constantly keep track of opponents' mental state and thought organization and attack them mentally when their thought processes are disorganized (this applies to confrontational situations).

implies the ability to model other people's thought structures and understand how other people's worldviews fit together. This understanding allows one to explain new information or ideas to them in a way that they can understand, based on their existing level of understanding.

types enjoy helping people with hidden potential develop it into conscious and recognized strengths. They like to help others experience insight — or a holistic intuitive understanding of concepts.

What is characteristic of the thinking of

types is the ability to make connections between things that might not seem related at first glance. They like to keep a certain mental distance from their objects of study so that they can always keep the "big picture" in mind, i.e. see how the subject connects to other things they know about. This synthetic thinking presumably has a neurological explanation.

types enjoy meeting people who have unusual life experience or novel thinking patterns and probing them for insights and inside information. They have a mental "catalog" of their friends' and acquaintances interests and easily match up people who share common interests and would enjoy learning from each other. They enjoy talking about and sharing their understanding of things and like to have their principles and understanding of things — along with those of their partners' — brought out in the open when doing business. This approach is most distasteful to ESIs and LSIs (with

as their vulnerable function), who try to avoid talking about their underlying motives, interests, and long-term goals while doing business.

types experience large fluctuations in their energy state, from great enthusiasm and dynamism to complete physical inertia. In the latter state they can spend the entire day inside, ignoring the things they are supposed to do, even if there are no groceries in the house and they are starving. They tend to routinely recognize physical sensations too late (hunger, illness, physical discomfort, pain, etc.) — unless there are

types around who constantly keep track of these things.

types might think they need to take a trip or begin a completely new activity or make a lifestyle change to overcome a persistent feeling of psychological discomfort, when in reality, getting a good meal and a good night's sleep would likely suffice.

Dominant

at the group level is related to open-ended discussion of topics where the creative thinking powers of participants are most engaged. When

is at the forefront, the group is in a state of "mental unison," experiencing and discussing their mental images of a subject and trying together to find the best angle to look at it. This state can also be induced by sharing "interesting facts" — information that is intriguing in and of itself and not is not necessarily immediately applicable to anything. In a

state, the collective focus is on the content and potential of thoughts and ideas — not on the manner they are presented in, their correctness according to established systems, or the status and authority of who is expressing the idea.

05/01/2006 Pieter (IEE/ENFP)
This hurts... ;-)

08/15/2006 Adam (ILE/ENTP)
I just spent a week in my house without groceries and living on cough drops, kool aid, and old bread.

01/10/2007 reader
Rick, are the attitudes and tendencies described in this article applicable to those with extraverted intuition as their creative function?

01/12/2007 Author
Some things are fairly relevant, but others are not — for example, the natural contact-making abilities and the large fluctuations in energy level.

02/07/2007 Blaze
Rick, this article does a great job of describing the internal experience of a person with Ne (

) as a lead function. Can you comment on what others find useful about this function? How are others helped exactly by Ne as a lead function? I ask because at times Ne seems vague and non specific, therefore it is tough to say how others benefit from it. Thanks.

02/08/2007 Author
Sure. Naturally, the people who get the most benefit from are types. Here are some of the things they find much easier to do when types are around:

find out information that they didn't even know they needed but that is potentially very useful ( types are almost always well connected to various information streams related to their many interests)
establish contacts that eventually become very useful ( types tend to get to know people without any long-term goals in mind, whereas types quickly recognize the potential usefulness of their contacts. types tend to forget about their contacts if they don't see them often, so types become very useful by helping establish and maintain contacts relating to the interests that they and others are trying to develop.)
come to understand their own potential and how their abilities compare to those of other people
consider starting new things or taking a new direction in life ( types — especially IEEs — tend to talk about this a lot in great detail. Around them it's very difficult to feel resigned to one's fate.)

10/06/2008 Giovanina
I spent the whole day yesterday mooching about the house because doing something seemed far too complicated. This description fits me exactly, and I would be interested in hearing how other ENFPs deal with actually trying to achieve something lasting.