In February Dr. Doris Helge interviewed me about my newest (okay my first) ebook. Doris and I got inspired about co-creating a new product. More on that another time. You can find the audio interview on Doris’ website. I also contributed an article to Doris’ website titled, Introvert Meets Extrovert in the Workplace.
Misconceptions continue about introvert and extrovert. One clarification to help each style or type work side by side more productively is that the difference is more correctly stated that people are either more introverted or more extroverted.
Think of introvert and extrovert as verbs on a continuum. All day long at work and home we are either introverting or extroverting and whichever preference we have can
Meetings at work, brainstorming and talking around the water cooler are extroverting activities. Putting together a budget, a small team meeting and a quiet work space is more introverting. Activities like this that happen all day long, is about where and how people get energy. The workplace is also one place where when introvert meets extrovert, these preferences can clash. Knowing what each type prefers allows for greater acceptance, satisfaction and appreciation.
For just one area, there’s the brainstorming perspective. “Brainstorming or bouncing ideas around aloud excite me,” is an extraverting way of solving a problem. The out loud sharing process energizes an extrovert. Given a choice, the introvert would prefer to use analysis and thinking to come up with solutions. The next time someone passes on the first round of brainstorming, be ready as the ideas come around again. After some internal think time, the introvert is ready to contribute. Even better to get the best ideas from everyone would be to announce in advance a brainstorming meeting.
If I can I want to help you with what area of “Introvert Meets Extrovert in the Workplace” or “Introvert at Work” which will be helpful for you.
Do you have a particular area you want to discuss? Is there a particular situation at work that would be helpful to do how to put the best of you in the situation?
[…] have a preference along the continuum that is occurring all day long. I blogged about this on a previous post, Introvert Meets Extrovert in the Workplace . We have that preference because it is an innate brain preference which directs where on the […]