Regardless of their Identities, Campaigners are always free spirits with a deep desire to connect with others. That’s a given for this personality type. Whether Assertive or Turbulent, these qualities are still there. However, they won’t look quite the same under the influence of the Identity personality trait. Our research shows that, despite their considerable commonalities, Assertive Campaigners (ENFP-A) and Turbulent Campaigners (ENFP-T) are not identical.
Let’s explore what that typically looks like.
Two Different Ways of Seeing Oneself
74% of Assertive Campaigners consider themselves to be successful, compared to 53% of Turbulent Campaigners.
Assertive Campaigners are somewhat more likely to see themselves as flourishing in life. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that individual Turbulent Campaigners feel unsuccessful. Our research indicates that Turbulent Campaigners were split nearly fifty-fifty on this topic. But still, comparatively speaking, there is a difference between the two types of Campaigners.
It may be important to note that, when compared to the average of all Turbulent individuals from all personality types, Turbulent Campaigners are more likely to say they consider themselves to be successful. This difference may be due in part to Campaigners’ independent spirit. They are more likely to decide that success is whatever they decide success is. Living by their own standards may give them an edge over those who live by the standards of others.
89% of Assertive Campaigners say they have a healthy ego, compared to 61% of Turbulent Campaigners.
Still, Assertive Campaigners are more likely to see themselves in a positive light, comparatively speaking. But there may be some self-imposed idealistic standard, both demanding and far outside their reach, that the two types of Campaigners respond to differently.
Constantly missing goals can take a higher toll on the more sensitive Turbulent Campaigners – perhaps accounting for the lower percentage of these personalities who say they are successful. While Assertive Campaigners may create similar standards, they are far less likely to look back on misses and feel regret over them. This can somewhat shield their egos.
68% of Assertive Campaigners say they usually brush off a mistake when they make one, compared to 25% of Turbulent Campaigners.
Individuals with the Campaigner personality type become stressed relatively easily and rarely take anything at face value. They may endow any mistakes they make with much more weight and meaning than such errors deserve.
Turbulent Campaigners, compensating for any shortcoming they believe they have, may overthink and overwork solutions to their mistakes in hopes of making up for them. This attention to blunders is perhaps not an entirely bad quality for a personality type that tends to be a little unfocused at times. But such ruminating doesn’t necessarily mean that Turbulent Campaigners always follow through. At least, whatever repair work they may need to do is likely to stay on their radar for a longer amount of time. They have more of a feeling of being responsible for focusing on their mistakes longer.
Many Assertive Campaigners, on the other hand, may decide to let bygones be bygones and shuck off mistakes easily. This allows them a larger sense of happiness, but they may never resolve certain problems.
69% of Turbulent Campaigners say they are likely to be obsessive about little details when working on something, compared to 44% of Assertive Campaigners.
Turbulent Campaigners’ need to be more accountable is perhaps reflected in their considerable attention to detail as well. The care they take is probably the product of their Turbulent Identity. These personalities tend to worry about their abilities and may be trying to head off anything that might validate their concerns. Their self-doubt can motivate them to pay much-needed attention to smaller details – a skill that is not typically thought of as being in the Campaigner toolbox.
72% of Assertive Campaigners consider themselves to be patient people, compared to 41% of Turbulent Campaigners.
However, while all this rumination and attention to detail is happening with their Turbulent cousins, Assertive Campaigners are likely carrying on without being weighed down by worry or regret. Give confidence to a free spirit, and an even freer spirit may emerge. Instead of looking back, these personalities typically search for new ways to expand the boundaries of their comfort zone.
Emotional Inclinations and Interacting with Others
82% of Assertive Campaigners feel like they effectively manage the stress in their lives, compared to 32% of Turbulent Campaigners.
Assertive Campaigners are less affected by stressors in their lives because they tend to feel more confident in their ability to handle them. To them, stress is a part of life that they believe they are well able to manage.
At times, Assertive Campaigners may underplay the seriousness of something difficult in their lives. But, just as often, being less sensitive to worrisome matters may allow these personalities to act more boldly, relative to their Turbulent counterparts. And, as the saying attributed to Goethe goes, “Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
72% of Assertive Campaigners find it easy to focus on the good things in life when they are feeling down, compared to 41% of Turbulent Campaigners.
Assertive Campaigners believe to a more substantial degree than Turbulent Campaigners that they can maintain a positive focus during bad times. Again, these Assertive personalities may want to be cautious when they don their rose-colored glasses to make sure they aren’t missing crucial matters.
Turbulent Campaigners are less likely to chase good thoughts as a way of dealing with negative feelings. It’s important to bounce back quickly, but maybe focusing on the bad times long enough to glean their lessons has its value too.
77% of Assertive Campaigners feel like they have control over their emotions, compared to 39% of Turbulent Campaigners.
Turbulent Campaigners as a group are less likely than Assertive Campaigners to lay claim to control over their emotions. Most Assertive Campaigners say they have control over their emotions. There is no better or worse here.
Too much control over emotions can be as damaging as too little control. If there is too much control, Assertive Campaigners can come across as colder and more aloof than Turbulent Campaigners might. Such detachment can leave them appearing a bit arrogant. Again, it’s all relative. Neither personality variant lacks warmth. But Turbulent Campaigners may be able to show their humanity to others a little more quickly and a little more deeply than their Assertive counterparts.
81% of Assertive Campaigners say their pride is a product of understanding themselves rather than praise from other people, compared to 58% of Turbulent Campaigners.
Turbulent Campaigners are more likely than Assertive Campaigners to say their pride comes from what others think of them. This may also lend itself to their accessibility. A hallmark of the Campaigner personality type is the desire to connect with others. Other people will also matter to Assertive Campaigners – just in different amounts and perhaps in different ways.
Summary
- Assertive Campaigners are much more likely to say they see themselves in a positive light than Turbulent Campaigners.
- Turbulent Campaigners tend to hang on to their mistakes longer than their Assertive counterparts. Should they not find it too painful, this clinging to missteps may allow them to see and deal with problems that Assertive Campaigners might overlook.
- More Assertive Campaigners say they deal effectively with stressors and have control over their emotions. This difference can represent both an advantage and disadvantage in life for either Campaigner personality type.
- Research suggests different levels of concern over the opinions of others. Turbulent Campaigners are likely to look for the approval of others, while Assertive Campaigners prefer independence from the appraisal of others.
It’s All a Matter of Degrees
Sometimes it takes splitting hairs to discuss the Identity differences of this personality type. For example, a majority of both Turbulent and Assertive Campaigners see themselves as successful. Even though Assertive Campaigners are more likely to tout their success, it would be inaccurate to say Turbulent Campaigners don’t see themselves that way – more than half do.
However, pronounced Identity differences still exist in areas such as emotions, the opinions of others, and handling mistakes, to name a few. Knowing these tendencies, no matter how subtle, may help both Assertive and Turbulent Campaigners navigate the world a little better.
