I look a lot like an extrovert. As a marketing and communications consultant I put myself out there a lot; and as the wife of a pastor I have worked hard to be the first one to extend a hand of welcome and initiate conversations and friendship.
But don't be fooled, I am definitely more introvert than extrovert. I have
always defined this by how I like to recharge my batteries. For me that tends
to be alone; I need to withdraw every day. In fact an active day of consulting
usually has me running for cover. As my friends can tell you, I rarely agree to
anything in the evenings. It just makes the day too long and draining.
My favorite mother's day present for several years was Todd driving me to a nearby Colorado State Park; hooking up the RV and leaving me there for three days. Heaven.
So, when I saw this Fast Company article today it was like I was reading
from my own journal. If this stuff interests you as well, it's a great article. Beth understands that introvert/extrovert is not about your public persona.
I
took the test offered in the article. Not really a surprise based on the questions..."You're an ambivert." Frankly I'd never heard the term before, but its that in-between place. Because I'm a consultant, I know I skewed to the middle because I've trained myself to be outspoken and outgoing professionally. And then there is that pastor's wife thing. Yep, skewed to center. So here's the definition of ambivert:
That means you're
neither strongly introverted nor strongly extraverted. Recent research by Adam
Grant of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Management has
found that ambiverts make the best salespeople. Ambiverts tend to be adept at
the quality of attunement. They know when to push and when to hold back, when
to speak up and when to shut up. So don't fall for the myth of the extraverted
sales star. Just keep being your ambiverted self.
And yes, I am a seller of ideas.
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