Personal Branding for Introverts
andrew.hedges.name
andrew.hedges.name
Does this imply that extroverts don't? Did I sleep through this lecture in False Dichotomies 101?
It's easy to get caught up in the apparent dualism of each of the 4 types. A deeper read of the thinking behind MBTI (and other personality inventories) shows that it is meant to express a continuum of tendencies.
Not every introvert perfectly fits the definition, just as not every extrovert does. If you tend to affiliate with more of the feelings and behaviors associated with introverts, then you more likely fall under that category.
There's no judgment involved. It's just a tool for understanding. If you know your tendencies and the natural tendencies of those around you, it can make you a more effective team member, life partner, etc.
So, yes, somebody that happens to be a "total extrovert" speaks before thinking. Not that they are dumb, or don't think. It's just that their do their reasoning externally, "out loud".
Introverts care less about the feelings and emotions of their co-conversationalists and extroverts are more socially motivated to say nice things that make the group feel good or work better.
I think both introverts and extroverts think about what they are going to say. The question is, what do they tend to say once they've thought about it?
Wow, this would make me an extremely reticent extrovert. That isn't the dichotomy. The chief difference between introverts and extroverts is not whether they think about the feelings of others but how outgoing they are.
Extroverts may or may not think about what they say but enjoy the attention saying it will bring. Introverts are less interested in the attention.
I think before I speak - and I certainly do not use out-loud speech as my reasoning playground. Broad brushes like these really should be avoided.
The point is that most of HN identifies themselves - on the Myers-Briggs scale anyway - as introverts. The test labels me an extrovert, yet I do not see these artificial, and frankly invented, differences between all of us.
I also mentioned that this sort of broad labeling is divisive - and I certainly feel this way. I've been labeled as a Myers-Brigg extrovert, and now I have the rest of HN to thank for assuming that I'm a brash, shoot-first-ask-questions-later sort of guy.
I don't see the problem labeling my Dad an extrovert... there's nothing negative about it, and it describes one general aspect of his personality pretty well. Even more so, recognising this aspect of his personality has helped me interact with him in a much more productive manner.
That is not at all the definition of "extrovert" that I use. An extrovert to me is someone who is happy to speak up in social situations, jovial and engaging, socially adept.
I've never thought of extroversion as "outloud logical progression" or "self-argument posing as argument". Indeed that last one sounds rather like an introversion to me as it is ignoring the external stimulus to focus on the internal, a sort of outloud internalisation.
I just dislike the line in the sand between E and I. I'm both, swinging between the extremes sometimes, exhibiting characteristics of both at the same time, whatever. It varies by setting, mood, etc. Having said that, when it comes to the Internet, I'm definitely extroverted - telling the world about my life on a regular basis - and saying what's on your mind is the power of social media, innit? If we all stopped to think about the 'self' we are inadvertently exposing, we'd end up staring at our virtual feet and never twittering at all.
Myers-Briggs is simplistic. Check out Kolbe testing ($$) for a more detailed picture of 'you'
A repost but: We had a team bonding day in which we were split up randomly into small groups. Random or not, the group I was put on was all introverts. We were given a problem [a clever problem-solving exercise] and the observer (who was an extrovert) noted that (to him) 'it was like they were all just staring at the puzzle for 5 minutes. They were just sitting there thinking. No one in the group said much of anything until they arrived at a silent consensus.' Contrast that to other groups where members debated the relative merits of their solutions. We won the game.
In another company exercise, done after a Myers-Briggs session, they split the I's and E's into groups. And then they said (hypothetically) 'You have the day off. What do you guys want to do with the day? You have $100 each'. The I's were like - I'm gonna read a book, run errands etc. And the E's were like - 'Who's going to Vegas? Party at our house.' The E's were planning parties while the I's were planning alone time.
It's hard to claim to be introverted when you have a blog that's <yourname>.com and tweet private thoughts to 700+ strangers several times a day.
I mean, I'm thrilled that a random article that I stumble on from the iPhone PPK post is getting a surge of readers. Feel like I connected people in a small way.
I know a few introverts who constantly connect with about a hundred contacts through Twitter (I was relieved when Twitter added the @filter)
Technology levels the playing field for making & building human connections (whether it is one-to-one, one-to-many, uni/bi-directional). Introverts can leverage technology to build and nurture communities. And, yes, make a living doing it.
And, I'm going to assume the extremely influential Daring Fireball's Jon Gruber is an introvert based on what I've read about him and his articles and the fact I've never really heard of him making public appearances.
For Meyers-Briggs I've tested as an INTJ (taken at a previous job), and ISTJ in a personal test. Since I scored the personal one myself, I could see my scores in S/N and J/P were very close. In examining descriptions of the types I'd tend to classify myself more INTP/INTJ - clearly recognizing the traits of each in myself, but the only section I'm truly certain of is the I and the T.
I also tend to disagree that a person is one way online versus offline. I know I suffer from anxiety, but I have no problem standing in front of a crowd making a presentation for which I'm prepared and/or confident in my subject knowledge. That does not indicate I don't suffer from general anxiety though. I'd say it's the same with introversion. I could have a blog or tweet, but I think you'd notice a distinct difference in tone versus an introvert and extrovert, or how much personal information is shared versus professional. I'm sure there are introverted bloggers just as there are introverted journalists, actors, musicians, and other professions with a high public profile. The 'public' nature of what one does is not what defines their personality traits.
I thought that introvert had to do more with whether or not you thrive on social interaction or not. It's possible for an introvert to be a 'life-of-the-party' type.
I consider myself introverted because sometimes social interaction really exhausts me. Whereas someone that is extroverted feels exhausted and tired without social interaction; and social interaction energizes and motivates them.
Even though he's trying to talk about intro/extroverts it seems like he's further perpetuating myths about what those terms actually mean.
For example, I'm sometimes very extroverted and sometimes very introverted, and often something between. And that's me, so I'm not pretending to be anything else.
However, the key question, it seems to me, is that introverts eventually lose more energy than they gain while interacting with other people. Then they have to recharge themselves alone. Extroverted people seems to gain energy from social interactions, and eventually lose more of it when they're left alone. Again, they can enjoy solitude but it drains them.
Both can do both but an introvert being extroverted or an extrovert being introverted isn't sustainable in the long run.
Do you find that online interactions count as alone time vis-a-vis recharging?
Generally if I don't feel like going online to "see" my friends I generally don't feel like going out to see them either. Sometimes I might chat with someone when I wouldn't do that physically but often the said discussion is then less connecting and more shallow.