Silence in An Extroverted World.
From the beginning of time (ok, maybe that is an exaggeration, but anyway), the north and south of temperament are identified as the loud, social, assertive, extrospective Extrovert and the quiet, solitude, sensitive, introspective introvert. Although no universal classification of personality exists, the aforementioned — extroversion and introversion — enjoy the highest media and global acceptance.
Research data show that an individual’s personality is a mix of genetics and environment. And luckily for the extroverts, the world is Extroverted— The Extroverted Ideal. The culture where the ideal self is expected to be gregarious, outspoken, sociable, loud. This is evident in the labour culture of ‘how well you could sell yourself?’ ‘how robust your network is?’. It’s also noticeable in the open office plan — where offices are wall-less and border-less — and the rise of the new groupthink.
Despite the ideas behind these developments being well intended, none is all-encompassing and more often yields undesirable results. No bag fits all.
In sharp contrast, introverts prefer self-company to the ‘exhausting’ work of hangouts and parties. An introvert is not ‘antisocial,’ instead, s/he has a reticent definition of social life and prefers solitude — meditating, reading, writing, designing — or in company of close two or three friends than a large company with music and dance.
The extroverted ideal, reinforced by the phrase — which is becoming a maxim— that, ‘it is not what you say, but how you say it,’ is at the opposite end to introverts who are more contemplative of the two and have difficulty expressing their thoughts and convictions in their usual soft, gentle manner to a noisy world that’s not listening.
Introverts Vs The Business World.
The 2008 Wall Street’s crash is a good illustration of the danger of the extroverted ideal. According to Susan Cain, the crash could have been avoided if the impetuous extroverts — all talk and hardly listen — chairing the companies had listened gently to the introverted financial analysts beforehand. The analysts’ inabilities of expression failed the dexterity of their projections. There is a reason Warren Buffett was saved. He is an introvert!
However, this is not trying to discount the roles of extroverts in the business world. The business world requires people that can take action, make decisions in the face of insufficient data, network, excite the company to investors. At the same time, attention should be paid to the ideas of introverts; because, while face value might run the company — for the short term — the content and foundation run it for longer. Forever.
There is no such thing as a pure extrovert or a pure introvert. Such a man would be in the lunatic asylum.
Introverts Vs Groupthink.
Collaboration is the order of the day, right? At least that is what is being sold. Nevertheless, are we not overstating the importance of collaboration (groupthink) over individual creativity. Although groupthink facilitates ideas sharing, most suffer from:
social loafing — when some individuals sit back and let others do the work; production blocking — only one idea can be produced at once, while the other members remain passive; evaluation apprehension — the fear of looking stupid in front of other members.
These limit the productivity from groupthink. Picasso, a Spanish sculptor, said: ‘without great solitude, no serious work is possible.’ Stephen Wozniak designed the model of computer in use now alone, and Newton got curious about the falling apple while enjoying his own company, Einstein, T. S. Elliott, Marie Curie, amongst others, shows how powerful the introvert tools of solitude and self-company are.
Extroverts achievements are innumerable too, but what if we mold a system that accommodates the two personalities instead of designing a one-bag-fits-all system? An Extrovert — Introvert relationship. This could be seen in the fight against racism in America. Admitting the effort of Martin Luther King Jr and his famous ‘I have a dream speech, another activist was Rosa Parks.
Rosa Park is described as a shy, reserved, and quiet woman; who refused to give up her seat to a white man despite the driver’s threat to push her down from the bus. Following this incident, the introverted Rosa and extroverted formed a formidable team that demanded equality of all men.
Another instance is the relationship between the introverted Eleanor Roosevelt and Francis Roosevelt as the first family during their reign. Eleanor was sensitive to social vices and will relate this to her husband, a man of big talks and action.
Introvert Vs Social Gathering.
This is the most evident. The Extrovert is always at the centre of attraction engaged, doing the talking, dancing, games etc. And the Introverts are observed to sit alone, analyse how to escape the gathering, and listen. In a survey, Introverts were observed to be engaged in deep conversation — racism, economics, book — with a fellow Introvert compared to extroverts, who were engaged in small and petty talks with fellow extrovert.
These show the beauty and intelligence of Introverts if only we listen to them. Jung felicitously explained this: “There is no such thing as a pure extrovert or a pure introvert. Such a man would be in the lunatic asylum.” This corroborates the ‘Free-Traits theory’. It explains how flexible our personality can depend on the environment and situation.
A case of being an extraverted-introvert. Where, with unfamiliar people, we might be reticent and recluse, but with those we are comfortable with, we are extroverts. This ‘extroversion’ is, however, limited to what the body allows.
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