Glossary
Every term on Quadre, in plain English
Quadre uses three frameworks that each come with their own vocabulary. Here is every term you'll run into, defined in one or two sentences. Follow the links to go deeper on any of them.
Start with MBTI's four dimensions
MBTI describes cognitive preferences on four dimensions. Your type is one letter from each.
- E (Extraversion) vs I (Introversion)
- Where you get your energy: from the outer world of people and action (E), or the inner world of thought and reflection (I).
- N (Intuition) vs S (Sensing)
- How you take in information: through patterns, possibilities, and meaning (N), or through concrete details, facts, and direct experience (S).
- F (Feeling) vs T (Thinking)
- How you make decisions: through values, relationships, and impact on people (F), or through logic, principles, and objective criteria (T).
- J (Judging) vs P (Perceiving)
- How you relate to the outside world: by planning, deciding, and closing (J), or by staying open, flexible, and exploring (P).
The sixteen MBTI types
Every combination of the four letters produces one of sixteen types. Each has a common nickname, but the nickname is a doorway, not a definition.
- INTJ - The Architect
- Already three steps ahead of the meeting you haven't scheduled yet.
- INTP - The Logician
- Will question the premise before answering the question.
- ENTJ - The Commander
- Builds the structure. Then builds the thing the structure supports.
- ENTP - The Debater
- Argues a position to find out if they believe it.
- INFJ - The Advocate
- Reads rooms deeply; holds convictions quietly. Their certainty is usually earned.
- INFP - The Mediator
- A rich inner world protected by a soft exterior. Authenticity over performance, every time.
- ENFJ - The Protagonist
- Notices who isn't talking and asks them a real question.
- ENFP - The Campaigner
- Sees potential in almost everything, which is both a gift and a scheduling problem.
- ISTJ - The Logistician
- The reason the thing actually works. Reliable past the point of drama.
- ISFJ - The Defender
- Keeps the shared fabric intact. Traditional on the outside, fiercely loyal underneath.
- ESTJ - The Executive
- Clear roles. Clear expectations. Clear consequences for missing them.
- ESFJ - The Consul
- The social architecture of most groups runs on their quiet coordination.
- ISTP - The Virtuoso
- Watches the system, finds the pressure point, acts once.
- ISFP - The Adventurer
- Quiet on the surface, unusually specific about what matters underneath.
- ESTP - The Entrepreneur
- Reads the moment and moves while others are still considering their options.
- ESFP - The Entertainer
- The reason the party started, and the reason it peaked.
Meet the nine Enneagram types
Where MBTI asks how you think, the Enneagram asks what drives you. Nine core motivational patterns, each with a strategy for getting what they most want and avoiding what they most fear.
- Type 1 - The Reformer
- There is a right way to do it, and they are going to find it.
- Type 2 - The Helper
- Organizes their life around being loved and needed. Warm on contact, complicated underneath.
- Type 3 - The Achiever
- Shape-shifts to match what looks like success in the room they're in.
- Type 4 - The Individualist
- Would rather be interestingly miserable than boringly fine.
- Type 5 - The Investigator
- Watches from a distance, conserves energy, and reads the full manual before touching anything.
- Type 6 - The Loyalist
- Scans for what could go wrong. Stays once trust is earned.
- Type 7 - The Enthusiast
- Reframing specialist. Five better plans ready before the current one fails.
- Type 8 - The Challenger
- Moves first, apologizes never, protects their people hard.
- Type 9 - The Peacemaker
- The one holding the room's emotional temperature steady. Often at personal cost.
Triads: how the nine cluster
The nine types group into three triads. Each triad shares a dominant emotional tone and a core concern about the self.
- Gut Triad (Types 8, 9, 1)
- Processes the world through instinct, body, and anger. Core issue: autonomy.
- Heart Triad (Types 2, 3, 4)
- Processes the world through feeling, image, and shame. Core issue: identity.
- Head Triad (Types 5, 6, 7)
- Processes the world through thought, planning, and fear. Core issue: security.
Wings, arrows, and how types move
Types aren't static. Wings show which neighbor most colors you; arrows show where you go under stress and where you grow toward when healthy.
- Wing
- The Enneagram type adjacent to yours that most shapes your flavor (e.g., a 4w5 is a Type 4 with Type 5 qualities).
- Stress arrow
- The type you tend to move toward when under pressure, often picking up its unhealthy traits.
- Growth arrow
- The type you move toward when healthy and integrated, picking up its best qualities.
The four rooms of the Johari Window
Quadre's organizing model. Every personality profile is told through these four rooms of visibility.
- Arena
- What you and others both see. Your public, agreed-upon strengths and personality.
- Mask
- What you know about yourself but hide from others. Private fears and vulnerabilities.
- Blind Spot
- What others notice in you that you cannot see in yourself.
- Shadow
- What is hidden from you and others alike. Repressed patterns that emerge under stress.
Other terms you'll see
Smaller concepts that appear throughout the site.
- Johari Window
- A 1955 self-awareness model that maps what you know about yourself against what others see in you.
- Nohari Window
- The Johari Window's counterpart, focused on negative or difficult traits instead of positive ones.
- Cognitive function
- In MBTI, the mental process each letter combination uses first, second, third, and fourth (e.g., Ni, Fe, Ti, Se).
- Archetype group
- Four broad MBTI clusters. Analysts (NT), Diplomats (NF), Sentinels (SJ), Explorers (SP).
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