My last post, “What Great Bosses Know about Introverts,” was designed to help leaders understand their employees who get their energy from the life of the mind and prefer to pause and think before they speak.
Today, we look at extroverts, who actually think by talking and who get energy from interacting with people. First, a caveat: I am an extrovert. According to the ethics code that accompanied my training in administering and interpreting the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, I need to make certain I don’t inject a bias for my own type into my teaching.
That’s important. Because whether we’re teachers or managers in an organization, it’s common for us to think that what works for us is the norm. That’s why I often title my teaching sessions on personality differences, “Why Can’t We Just Do Things My Way?”
But my way doesn’t work for everyone. In fact, my way may not always work as well for me as I assume. When it comes to extroversion, (which, by the way, in MBTI parlance is spelled “extraversion“) there are benefits and there are drawbacks.
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits. Extroverts are likely to:
- Enjoy meeting people
- Easily “work a room”
- Be comfortable speaking before a group
- Look forward to taking part in team activities
- Not mind making small talk, even with strangers
- Give off a vibe of approachability and friendliness
- Appear to be “take charge” kind of people
All of those things can be beneficial in the world of work. After all, leaders are often called upon to gather and rally the troops, make presentations, give feedback and engage others.
But there are drawbacks to extroversion — serious ones that extroverts fail to recognize until someone hushes them up for a minute and breaks the bad news to them.
Here’s that news. Others can see extroverts negatively in a variety of ways:
- They may appear scatterbrained. When people think aloud, as extroverts do, they can appear unfocused, self-contradictory and rambling.
- They may strike others as selfish. Extroverts are often the first to speak at a meeting. What to them is just “Hey, I have an idea!” can come off to others as “Hey, hey, hey, listen to me, I’m special!”
- They may seem rude. Extroverts are more likely to interrupt and say more than others, and they can give the impression of steamrolling their colleagues.
- They may waste others’ time. They may extend meetings, conversations and even e-mails longer than their colleagues would prefer.
- They may be poor listeners. Extroverts often have to train themselves to listen patiently. For them, the words of writer Fran Lebowitz ring true: “The opposite of talking isn’t listening. The opposite of talking is waiting.”
- They may place too much emphasis on “talking things out” and assume that when others want to take a break to think things over, they’re stonewalling.
Extroverts need to recognize when their gift of gab gets in their way. They need to edit themselves when speaking, to recognize when they are dominating a conversation, to practice the art of active listening, and to know when to bring a meeting to a close.
They also need to remember that their introverted colleagues have important things to say (when they are ready). They shouldn’t misjudge introverts as less able or engaged because they don’t speak as often or ad lib as quickly as extroverts.
How did I do in my quest to describe extroverts without inserting my personal bias? I may have overemphasized the negatives.
So let me add some personal positives I enjoy as an extrovert: When I was a TV reporter, my bosses assigned me to the first “live camera” field reporting at our station because I was comfortable in spontaneous, unscripted and high-pressure venues. At Poynter, I’m energized by teaching highly interactive sessions in my leadership seminars and can schedule a day of coaching sessions with people without burning out.
Finally, here’s a real bonus for a busy extrovert: When I record the “Great Bosses” podcast, I ad lib from jotted notes, a real timesaver. Still, it’s time to confess that I’ve also made some really boneheaded mistakes as an extrovert boss. I share them in “What Great Bosses Know about Extroverts”:
Poynter’s “What Great Bosses Know” podcast is sponsored by The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. Poynter’s leadership and management expert Jill Geisler shares practical information that’s valuable for bosses in newsrooms and everywhere.
You can subscribe to this podcast via RSS or to any of our podcasts on iTunes U.
