Comments on: Embracing Your Extrovert in Business

By: Rhea Drysdale

Rhea Drysdale — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:04:34 +0000

Hi Jessica, thanks for the comment. We’ve put a lot of work into getting here and it’s great to see the team and business growing as a result of the internal changes.

As for your conversations with your husband, I can relate! You aren’t crazy. :) I haven’t gotten to the point of talking to mine while he sleeps, but I will have a conversation with him for five minutes without him saying a word and then thank him for an idea that I came up with on my own. He knows it’s what I need to process so it works out. It’s a good thing they love us, right?!

By: Rhea Drysdale

Rhea Drysdale — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:59:20 +0000

Hi Bo, somehow it makes total sense that you’re an extrovert! ;)

Steamrolling is interesting. I’ve absolutely been there, done that. It’s taken years to realize that I need to give an introvert time to think, but that I also need to prioritize time for me to speak. It’s difficult for me to write out long thoughts when I can talk through them in two minutes or less. At this point the team knows to bring what they can to me in-person, but I’ll give them as much time as they need to think through something prior to then!

By: Rhea Drysdale

Rhea Drysdale — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:55:39 +0000

Hi June, thanks for swinging by and we’re really loving Mack Web! I’m an ENTP/ENTJ with just a slight preference to extroversion (I need to talk, but still get energized through alone time). Definitely understand the need to bounce ideas off of the team. We have two writeboards that are a major tool for communicating verbally and visually in a collaborative way. It seems to work well for different types because we can hear, see and process at our own speed.

By: Rhea Drysdale

Rhea Drysdale — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:51:41 +0000

Thanks Anthony! Recognizing and adapting to these dynamics is vital. We have more introverts than extroverts in the office and more “intuitive thinkers” than the opposite. It’s a challenge adjusting to everyone’s needs, but being aware of them makes it much easier to be supportive of one another and get the job done!

By: Jessica Nunemaker from little Indiana

Jessica Nunemaker from little Indiana — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:04:26 +0000

Wow! I’m impressed. It’s not every day that a company would completely change things around to match what works for its employees.

I like to talk things out. Hubs and I have a deal–some nights when I need to talk things through and he needs sleep? Well, he gets to sleep and I can just talk and not feel like a crazy person talking to myself. I mean, he’s still there! Right? Right? I think it counts. ;)

By: Bo Vejgaard

Bo Vejgaard — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:30:31 +0000

As an ENTP with extreme strong extrovert and thinker sides, I have had to learn to hold my self back. In my first couple of years as a leader/manager I had a tendency to “steamroll” the introverts. I’m getting better at giving people time and space.

By: June

June — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:45:31 +0000

I am also an extrovert and know exactly how you feel. I am specifically an ENFJ/ESFJ. (It was a toss up.) It’s important for me to talk about my social strategies with the team. It helps me create better ideas.
It’s important for people to know how they work best…like really spelled out for them. Myers-Briggs does a good job of this.
Thanks for the insight. Mack Web looks forward to the rest of the week.

By: Anthony Pensabene

Anthony Pensabene — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:39:10 +0000

Great insights here, Rhea. As a former student of and omni-supporter of psychology, it’s super refreshing to see a professional, leader, and manager of people notice such dynamics (Because THEY ARE THERE and need attention for future internal success…and success with people in any arrangement for that matter.)

As an intense introvert, one of the greatest tools I have, which you mention in the post, is understanding extroverts approach thinking and the external world differently. That in itself is a gem. It’s so easy to assume others ‘see’ things in the same manner. That is so very untrue and why effective communication is sooooo crucial.