Introverts at Work – Strengths and Opportunities
University of the People
It is a general assumption that in order to reach corporate success, one has to be a domineering individual who feels invigorated and energized in social situations (Leadership strategies for introverts, 2009). In other words, many people’s idea of an accomplished professional embodies the personality traits of an extrovert. As a business major and a psychology enthusiast, I am interested in researching and presenting facts, views and opinions, which challenge and/or enrich the common narrative about introverts. This essay explores some of the strengths introverts possess that …show more content…
The one definition that I think is insightful and does not polarize people in terms of the outgoing vs.shy dichotomy, is the following by 16personalities.com: “Extroverts … need to seek … out [external stimuli] in order to gain a kind of functional equilibrium and to perform well. Introverts, on the other hand, are more sensitive and need to escape the same stimuli in order to be more functional.” The source explains that introverts often find social interactions draining and tend to long for solitude once they have run out of their “mental energy reserves (Mind: Introverted vs. Extraverted).” Considering this, the way introverts experience the world as opposed to extraverts, must put them at an obvious disadvantage at work. However, this might not be necessarily true. Speaking from a business point of view, Author Jeffrey Hayzlett argues, that while conversing may not be their strong suit, introverts have superior listening skills (2016) and “ask the right questions,” which he considers especially valuable in managing customer relations. Hayzlett also believes that, when it comes to writing, introverts tend to outperform extroverts, a definite advantage, since, according to him, writing is an indispensible part of all things business
University of the People
It is a general assumption that in order to reach corporate success, one has to be a domineering individual who feels invigorated and energized in social situations (Leadership strategies for introverts, 2009). In other words, many people’s idea of an accomplished professional embodies the personality traits of an extrovert. As a business major and a psychology enthusiast, I am interested in researching and presenting facts, views and opinions, which challenge and/or enrich the common narrative about introverts. This essay explores some of the strengths introverts possess that …show more content…
The one definition that I think is insightful and does not polarize people in terms of the outgoing vs.shy dichotomy, is the following by 16personalities.com: “Extroverts … need to seek … out [external stimuli] in order to gain a kind of functional equilibrium and to perform well. Introverts, on the other hand, are more sensitive and need to escape the same stimuli in order to be more functional.” The source explains that introverts often find social interactions draining and tend to long for solitude once they have run out of their “mental energy reserves (Mind: Introverted vs. Extraverted).” Considering this, the way introverts experience the world as opposed to extraverts, must put them at an obvious disadvantage at work. However, this might not be necessarily true. Speaking from a business point of view, Author Jeffrey Hayzlett argues, that while conversing may not be their strong suit, introverts have superior listening skills (2016) and “ask the right questions,” which he considers especially valuable in managing customer relations. Hayzlett also believes that, when it comes to writing, introverts tend to outperform extroverts, a definite advantage, since, according to him, writing is an indispensible part of all things business