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Introvert versus Extrovert

 


Hi Reader,

In this blog, I'm going to share with you some key differences between introverts and extroverts. Because in my previous blog, my friend asked me about who is an introverted person? And how can we find them?.

Topic about introvert and extrovert

At first, I think about writing a blog on introverts vs extroverts. While searching about that, I come across many topics like

Shy versus Outgoing
Anti-social versus Confident
Alone time versus Party time

These are usually words we hear to describe and oppose the Introverts and Extroverts, but are these words accurate descriptions?

Explaining introvert and extrovert

We are going to debunk some myths about introversion versus extroversion in a simple way. The goal of this blog is to help you understand who you are. So you can approach challenges at work or your personal life. It will also help you understand the main difference between introverts and extroverts, so you can minimise conflicts and misunderstandings. This blog may help you accept yourself for who you are either an introvert or an extrovert. So to make it very simple, you need to understand when we talk about introversion versus extroversion, we are talking about how stimulating and responsive. Some basic explaining is our surroundings Introverts get their energy from inside themselves meaning their reflections, whereas extroverts get their energy from being surrounded by other people.

Difference between introvert and extrovert

So let's dig a bit deeper into key differences between introverts and extroverts, I will be using this chart for topdogsocialmedia.com (Website not available now), where we can appreciate what opposes truly introverts and extroverts. And the way we understand, it will help you to understand yourself better and also the people you interact with either people at work or in your personal life. So let's start with three points that I'm going to the group because I feel most of them belong in the same category.

So introverts prefer to spend time in solitude need time alone to recharge and finally work in a quiet environment and when you oppose that to extroverts who have a large social network who prefer to be surrounded by people and work in the team-oriented project and open spaces as well. So when you know all these differences think about your workspace whether it's been offline or online, think about the difference between those two personality types. Imagine you have some co-workers who love to be working in a team always throwing out some ideas being in a more social and open environment and some of your other team members will look more withdraw, or more deep in their thoughts, it's not because they are don't want to participate or they're not involved in a discussion or committed to a project is that they just need more time again in solitude or more quiet environment.

Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured... Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to.. - Laurie Helgoe.

Difference Personality Character

So when you keep that in mind and you have those two personality types. Then you realise that it's more likely to have conflicts and misunderstandings if nobody understands the other party, So this chart shows you how easy it is to have the wrong perception about the person you're working with or the person you're talking to because if you don't understand where they're coming from then it's very easy to misinterpret the way they think or the way they act and the way they participate in a project at work.

In this regard, think about a brainstorming session, so the manager asks you, "Okay everyone, give me some idea about how you would like this project to go or give me some input/ideas". Now if you look at this category specifically for introvert and extrovert, then one category tend to think a lot before they speak and the other category tends to have a lot of ideas and just share them immediately. Now, what are the perception that can be seen from either party? One can be seen as always talking too much giving some very shallow ideas or very insignificant points of view, whereas the other ones can be seen as withdrawn, not involved or committed in a project. And if you don't understand each personality trait, then you tend to judge very quickly. Your coworker or the person you're interacting with, but once you understand those two types are very different in the way, the process idea and share them with other people. Then you minimise misunderstanding, friction and conflicts.

World is changing

Now I want to highlight is the most common these days, when you think about introverts versus extroverts you think about people, who are reserved or anti-social who don't care who is aloof versus people who are seen as enthusiastic, confident, very assertive, so that could be one way to spot who is an introvert and an extrovert in the room or your team or your company. And probably understand a bit more where they come from and how they think and how they interact with their surroundings, so again the main difference comes from where the person gets their energy from. If they are introverted, then they get energy from inside themselves and their thoughts. If they are an extrovert, then they get energy from being surrounded by other people from external simulation. The main point is that both personality types have their strength and weaknesses. In today's society, the hard truth is some countries favour people is who seem confident, assertive, bold as opposed to people who spend more time thinking and reflecting.

But what's happened after this new reality of work after 2020, where everybody had to work from home. Is this going to be the same? Are we going to perceive people in the same way that we did pre-covid because working from home will remove the stress of being over-stimulated for insurers which means that the people will have more time to think, more time to write emails and they will spend less time doing live communication? So are introverts gonna fail better working from home or are they going to be doing the same? And what about extroverts working from home, those are the question we can raise from now onwards because the new reality of work is going to be very different from what it used to be.

So what are the takeaways from this blog,

1. Know your personality well. Know where you stand on that spectrum of introversion versus extroversion. One thing to keep in mind is that we are not fully 100 % one or another. We tend to fall somewhere in the middle, but you have some traits that will show you. If you are more of an introvert or an extrovert and remember where do you tap your superpower what aspects of your personality makes you a strong, and valuable person or employee in your company.

2. When you understand both sides introverts versus extroverts, you display more empathy for the person. You're talking to or you're interacting with and when you understand their side of the story, it's much easier to reduce friction and misunderstanding because if you just see from the outside you will tend to judge and to come to conclusion before even knowing how the person feels and perceive their reality.

3. Finally companies and society need both introverts and extroverts to function properly. So one category is not better than others category, don't make the mistake of believing that society only needs extroverts. So here I sharing websites and you can go and take a free personality test online. That will help you understand where you stand on the introversion versus extroversion spectrum. Once you understand that better it will give you a better idea of what kind of career fits you best.

Conclusion

From now, your mind will it's an automatic process your mind will always look for a workaround. It'll do this automatically. For example, if you're senior enough, then you'll start considering a different leadership approach like why not try to lead from behind. It's meaning you can encourage your team to be in front and you can support them from behind. Only When things go wrong or when they need motivation and division or further support or with further strategies. You don't join every single call or every single meeting anymore. Your team does that for you and you are there to give them the support, they required. When I was a manager at a chemical company, that's what I did I developed a wonderful team that has done amazing things. Amazing things leading the agenda for our clients and I was always there to support them with whatever they needed, but I wasn't interfering with every single decision. I wasn't there to influence them with my way of thinking or with my decision. I didn't join ten phone calls or they got five meetings a day. Not, and it's waste of time. They did that because they loved it because they were extroverts. They felt important. They got energized and quickly they become important. They grew much quicker and they ended up becoming highly confident people themselves. As a result, they got so many promotions and I was able to maintain my strong career at any company I joined. It's a win-win situation for all. Now I would love it if you love it.

Thanks for your valuable time and reading this article up to this. If you like it, then share your thoughts and this post as much as you can. 

Free Personality tests website:

1.https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test.
2.https://personalitypath.com/free-enneagram-personality-test/

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