About 25% of the population are introverts. This is a minority, but a significant one, especially since there seems to be a greater concentration of introverts amongst intellectually gifted people.
Myers Briggs defines introversion in terms of the source of energy which a person draws on in order to function in the world. Introverts get their energy from within. Extroverts need external stimulation (a bit like lizards in the sun). Jung says that we all prefer to behave as introverts or extroverts – one or the other. We are born with this preference, and it remains with us throughout our lives. However, this does not mean we cannot behave in other ways.
If you are an introvert, there are some very interesting things going on in your head and your heart. Myers Briggs identifies four functional preferences (sensing, intuition, feeling and thinking), all of which play out in a person’s behaviour. But they do so in a particular order (from most preferred to least preferred). So the first thing introverts can do to bring balance to their personality is to focus on their second preference. It’s the easiest one to work on, and usefully it happens in the outside world – so people will notice the change quickly.
Practice makes perfect, so try out small ways of extravert-like behaving during your day. Here are some examples:
- Take a look at your diary and move meetings so that they occur when you will have most energy
- If you have friends who are introverts, or many of your colleagues are introverts, talk to them about their experiences of this preference.
- At the next meeting you attend, seek out a participant you have not met before and introduce yourself to them before someone introduces you
- The next time a thought occurs to you in a meeting, say it rather than writing it down
- If someone asks a question in a meeting, get the first word in rather than waiting for everyone else to speak
Click here to read the full article on ‘How to live on Planet Introvert’
Mindful leaders
CAPT.org – publisher and provider of the MBTI has a 1998 USA national sample of 3K people and found Extroverts 49.3%; Introverts 50.7%. I believe there is another sample study close to the same. Introverts do not makeup a minority; we just think we do.
Your idea of focusing on the second preference – LOVE that! Can you say more about it?
Intriguing post. Thanks.
Patricia Weber
Business Coach for Introverts
Thanks for your comments Patricia, we think this is a really intriguing field too.
The idea of the second preference is that, for introverts, it’s the one they show to the outside world. The problem is that it is not their first preference, and therefore they are not quite as good at it normally. This means sometimes that they are underestimated. So if they focus on their second preference they can address this issue.
If you’d like to read a bit more, please click on the link at the bottom of the post.
Thanks