The third among the Big Five personality traits is extraversion or extroversion (a mnemonic for the Big Five traits is OCEAN — Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism). We looked at the first two in the previous two posts. Extraversion is arguably the most well-studied personality trait and a lot has been written about it. This trait relates to a person’s level of social interaction, assertiveness, and energy levels. When a person interacts comfortably in a social setting to a large number of different people simultaneously, or makes a public presentation or speech, they are displaying their extroversion personality trait. Likewise when someone is being confident, articulate, clear, and displaying uninhibited emotion, they are being highly extroverted.
Notice in the previous paragraph I was careful to not say a person is an extrovert; or its opposite, an introvert. Let us not brand a person as an introvert or an extrovert. In fact, lots of studies have shown that people are what are called ambiverts. So extroversion as a trait can be thought of on a scale of, say, zero to one. Most people are typically in the continuum from 0 to 1 but not exactly 0 or 1. That is the general idea of being an ambivert, i.e. neither an extrovert nor an introvert. Also, the level of extraversion a person displays can change with time and circumstances. When someone is stressed or anxious they may display low levels of the extraversion trait. Likewise, when someone needs to speak about a topic they are extremely familiar with and passionate about, they may display high extraversion.
The Pros and Cons of Extroversion in the Workplace is a wonderful article (click here to view) that uses several bullet points to articulate the benefits and demerits of both extroversion and introversion. However, the middle of the article does delve into testing for extroversion and also labeling people as introverts and extroverts. So although the article uses words like “high in extroversion” suggesting the continuum, the middle of the article seems to indicate that each individual has a constant level of extroversion that is invariant. While that is convenient, it is not accurate as stated in the previous paragraph. The degree of extroversion a person displays depends on how they are feeling and who they are with. Of course, one can argue that some folks “on average” are above 0.5 level of extroversion.
As an individual, it would be useful to gage our level of comfort with the level of extroversion we display. If we feel we could increase it for certain events such as in a group meeting, then that would be a worthwhile goal to strive for. It is important to realize that the need for increase comes from our comfort level and not what is “expected” of us. It would not be a good idea to increase the extroversion to live up to some expectation while feeling miserable. Likewise, if we feel uncomfortable and wish to cut back on extraversion, that would be reasonable too. Sometimes people say, “I keep talking too much in these meetings, and I should cut back”. Some of us are the type where when we are “in charge”, we crank up the extroversion, and otherwise we prefer to keep it low. For such people it is important to tell them explicitly when the floor is theirs.
As the title of this article suggests, we wish to explore the implications of the extraversion trait in the workplace. In a group meeting, the folks displaying extraversion get heard easily and it gives a (possibly false) notion of what everyone thinks or wants. Networking, especially in a group setting (as opposed to one-on-one), can be easy when one is displaying high extraversion. However, a cubicle with constant interruptions can be draining for some. Situations like burn-out affects more when a person displays introversion than when they exhibit extraversion. This is a double-whammy because the folks are not only feeling burn-out but they are unable to speak out about it. This creates a negative spiral that is counter-productive for an organization.
Having pointed out a small number of implication of level of extraversion in the workplace, here are some things to consider so that everyone in an organization can thrive:
Appearing Confident
When people display high levels of extraversion, they tend to appear more confident (not the Dunning-Kruger effect, that is a bit extreme). But sometimes when folks are quite outwardly-confident, it is easy to tell them that their ideas will not work, even if they are confident of them working. These folks will take it up as a challenge. However there are folks that are not so confident. If we tell them their ideas are not going to work, they would just not bother to pursue. Those folks need assurance and encouragement, not early questioning.
Expressing Oneself
At the workplace usually everyone gets an opportunity to express themselves. But when we display introversion, it may not be easy to express. This is in particular when there are enough people talking. As the person that called for the meeting, it is important for us to give an opportunity to the ones displaying low levels of extraversion to express themselves. In fact, when some folks do not say much in meetings, but feel comfortable expressing when called upon, it would be good to call upon them first (and not after an apparent consensus is reached).
Interacting with Others
Many organizations are experimenting mixing up work-from-home and being in-person at the office. This would mean 2–3 days of working from home each week. While displaying high levels of extraversion, it would help to be in company of others, so a mix-up is certainly ideal. Also, the issue of interacting in meetings (on-line or in-person) can have different impacts based on one’s level of extraversion. Although difficult to scale, offering one-on-one meetings for those that need would be a good way to strike a balance.
In summary, as a leader it would be useful to be cognizant that people may be displaying different levels of extraversion, and realize that everyone may not think or act the same way as we do in a given circumstance.