Introversion and Extroversion in Business

Monday, January 19, 2015

Understanding your temperament will have a profound influence upon how you arrange your tasks in the pursuit of maximising your productivity.

If your primary tendency favours the introverted personality type, you will most likely find yourself drawn to completing a task from start to finish, and then moving on to your next task. For some reason, an extrovert is much more comfortable with the idea of having two or more tasks in progress simultaneously.

Please keep in mind, however, that the traits of introversion or extroversion are seldom completely exclusive. An introvert who normally feels intimidated by the prospect of making a presentation in front of a group of people is quite capable of overcoming that feeling, provided the reason for the presentation is sufficiently compelling. If you think you are stronger in introverted traits than extroverted ones, that group presentation will exact a higher toll on your mental energy than it would for someone who exhibits primarily extroverted tendencies. This group presentation will also have a greater effect on your physical energy. From a practical sense perspective, you might want to avoid scheduling a complex task too soon following an occasion where you have to go outside your comfort zone.

An extrovert would find the group presentation scenario less taxing, and would even find it to be the source of a boost to physical and mental energy levels, meaning that it might be an ideal time to approach one of those more introverted types of tasks that normally evoke a mild sense of dread and a tendency toward procrastination.

Whilst extreme introversion and extroversion are not all that common, and the majority of people are capable to adapting when necessary, understanding which one is your predominant preference will help you to plan a customised strategy for managing the multitude of different types of tasks that are an unavoidable consequence for anyone who has to adapt to the challenges of wearing all the different hats required of the small business entrepreneur.