The one about pitting extroverts against introverts and honestly what a waste of time is that!
If
you tell me that you have never taken an online test to determine your ‘true’
personality type then I don’t even want you here. Social media isn’t your deal mon ami. Go play with puppies or
something, clearly you haven’t fully given yourself in to the inanity of the
interwebs.
In my quest for complete self awareness that
can put Yoda’s wisdom to shame, I have clicked on at least 1 million tests
promising to reveal my one true real self. From the color of my retina to the
length of my toenail, I have discovered secrets to my inner self that no Freud,
Jung, Briggs or Myers could have possibly analyzed. And after a million such
‘credible’ tests, I have come to realize- I still have no darn clue what I
really truly am. There are many moons in a year when I feel like the ’ceiling
can’t hold me’ but on most other occasions, the ceiling of my room is the only
thing I am interested in observing.
Even
with the wisdom passed on to me by tests such as ‘Which ancient Goddess are you
most like’, I am yet to discover if I was made to conquer the world with my
undeniable (and often alcohol induced) charm or to write a blog on ‘how to
conquer the world’, sipping on my Red Label (Chai, of course). But along
with my eternal quandary, there is a bigger debate that we have on hand here. Does
it really matter whether you are an extrovert about town or an introvert
day-dreaming in your pyjamas, to be happy AND thriving? How important is it
really is to be charmer strutting in every party, butting in every
conversation, and living off other people’s energy in general, to be a
successful person? Before we attempt to
answer this, here is a scale for you to identify your personality color,
created by Herr Carl Jung of Germany:
I
have given it some (or a lot of) thought to why do extroverts seem better
placed for success in life than the introverts who, even with all their talent,
have been restricted to the “non-leaders” territory. Why have the Blues been
largely reduced to supporting roles and the Reds are visibly encouraged and
viewed as stronger personalities?
Even
with my relatively short 6 years of work life, I have experienced a serious
difference in the treatment of an introvert and an extrovert in a typical
corporate workplace and it really bothers me. Really, if I am not much for your
useless chatter and the compulsive need to ‘make my presence felt’; does it
make me any less of a leader? There was once a glorious time when ‘stand out’
wasn’t the life goal of all and sundry, and introversion was actually
appreciated and spoke of depth. And then capitalism happened. Anyway, that is a
debate for future.
Now,
before you start Tsk-ing in your all-knowingness, that I am dishing it out to
extroverts because I am aware of my strong introvertedness, here is the thing-
I don’t have a problem with extroverts at all. Infact all of my close friends
happen to be bundles of boundless energy planning on world domination. However,
I have a problem with a society that has stopped believing in the power of
quiet and faith in individualism. A lot, perhaps, is to do with how we no
longer have the patience to give a chance to those who have vast potential but
a thoughtful or deliberate working/life style. We, as companies, as managers,
as humans, as cats, honestly have 3 seconds for you to show results, and if not
then at least talk loudly about showing results, so the real issues can drown
out in the noise. We, sir, have no time to invest in your talent or wait for
you to actually prove your genius when we can get someone who can talk about
being a genius. You can, as Mr. Russell Peters most famously conveyed, take it
and go!
Some might say that there are certain ‘types’ of jobs fit for introverts and extroverts. Not sure if that stereotypical categorization is entirely fair- I mean if I am an introvert, I will be an accountant or an engineer, what if I have a massive bank of ideas for brand management as well as the acumen to execute them? Are my networking skills (or lack thereof) really a deterrent? And what if being an extrovert doesn’t mean I want join a clique of a 1000 other Marketing MBAs to become CEO, and just actually want to be a freelance photographer? And here, let me break a little myth backed by quickly googled facts- according to a recent study by Wharton Business School, extroverts, as opposed to the general notion, do NOT make good salespeople- mostly because they are incapable of trying different approaches to deal with a situation/person.
And
while we are breaking myths, here is another fun fact- most of us are actually neither
extreme introverts nor extroverts. And quoting Herr Carl Jung again, as he succinctly
said- if we were anything extreme between these two types- we would inhabit
mental asylums! Most of us in fact are
ambiverts- largely balanced personality types, either truly enjoying the best
of both worlds, or at least successfully pretending to be one of them. Think
about it, just because you are right handed and use your left brain,
doesn’t mean your right brain is lying dead. Anyhoo, this has gone on for too
long- here’s my parting thought if you are still confused about who actually
won- IT DOESN’T MATTER! Each type is essential to making life/work successful-
So stop romanticizing introversion or gratifying extroversion. Give people a
chance on one thing we seem to forget too often- Merit.
And
really, I love all my happy chirpy extroverts and quiet thoughtful
introverts. Big kiss and awkward hugs
respectively.
(Okay, who am I kidding, I really like my company the best)
(Okay, who am I kidding, I really like my company the best)
Love,
Me
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