As an extremely introverted person myself, I can't quite put my finger on this article. I agree with everything in it, but I feel like you are selling introverts a little short. It isn't like we hole up in an office or cube and would rather chew glass than have to work with others.

Being around people in large bustling group settings absolutely drains me. I could go home and sleep for hours after a presentation or mixer event. But in my own office, with my own team, in a place of comfort and confidence I'm more than willing to step outside myself a little bit and work with people whom I work closely with anyways.

There are many projects in a workplace that you can be introverted in. But there are also a great number that will require you to flex the less developed extroverted side as well. It works vice versa as well. Extroverted people won't ALWAYS have a slew of other people to work with/rely on. If you* can't do both, then perhaps you might need to reassess your career decisions.

*You is a collective all introverted people "you," not a personal directed at you "you"

Very interesting post. May I add another perspective? I think that the perceived value and success of introvert vs. extrovert also depends on the culture of the workplace and possibly the industry.

I work at a company with mostly engineers. The culture of my particular group tends to favor the introvert for all the reasons that you listed above: They work well alone and with little direction, they are reserved and they seem to think things over almost too much.

If anything in the past few years, I have definitely tried to adopt several introvert characteristics although I am very much an extrovert because it helps me to be more effective in my work environment.

One of the biggest challenges I have while working with introverts is not knowing what their true intentions are. How can one know if you've really gained the trust or respect of an introvert on your team? I am definitely a 'what you see is what you get' type of person so it is difficult to 'read' introverts. I suppose the best advice I can give to extroverts working with introverts is not to take things personally when interacting with introverts.

For example, it is not uncommon in my office for someone new to have no interactions with their cubicle neighbors. One could easily go weeks without speaking to anyone. As an extrovert, I think its rude and ridiculous not to speak with your neighbor but it is common place behavior for introverts. In fact, many times I have approached new employees to introduce myself only to have my introduction met with an almost frightened response. I don't get discourages though because every now and then I come across someone who is an extrovert like me.

Trina,

I am always happy to find someone who values the MBTI. In most organizations with whom I've worked, managing the polarity between extroversion and introversion is always a challenge. Each preference usually has lots of questions for the other.

You've done a nice job of delving deeper into the Introversion preference. I offer a couple of friendly observations.

First, you correctly note that in the MBTI typology, having a preference for Introversion has nothing to do with being shy. Similarly, having a preference for extroversion has nothing to do with being outgoing - which is the first characteristic you list.

Second, technically, the MBTI is not a personality test - it is a style preference tool or instrument. Although the MBTI does require a "certification level B" through Consulting Psychology Press to administer and interpret it.

Third, the population data you cite is outdated. Current statistics from CPP for the general US population suggest that there are actually slightly more with a preference for Introversion: 51%. There are, however, many organizations where there is a higher percentage of people with a preference for Extraversion.

I enjoyed reading your post very much.

DrJohnDrozdal

Great article. I'm a certified "I" and I agree with you, especially regarding the rewards section. I'd much rather a day off than, say, a giant party. As an introvert, i tend towards the behind-the-scenes work at any organization and more often, it goes unnoticed. It's important to remember that everyone is crucial to the sucess of an operation, whether they're right up front, or somewhere in the back with the pulleys :)

where would-be users 642-631 need to bring their own 642-982 wireless-enabled devices such as a laptop or PDA. These services may be free 646-985 to all, free to customers only, or fee-based. A hotspot need not be limited to HP0-S25 a confined HP2-E32 location. A whole campus or park, or even an entire 000-200 city can be enabled. Grassroots efforts have led to wireless community 70-270 networks. Commercial Wi-Fi 642-661 services covering large city areas are in 646-230 place in London, Vienna, Toronto, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago and Pittsburgh. The 640-460 Internet can then be accessed from such places as a park bench.[22] Apart from SK0-002 Wi-Fi, there have been experiments with proprietary mobile wireless networks like 642-415 Ricochet, various high-speed data services over cellular phone networks, and fixed 642-611 wireless services. High-end mobile phones such as smartphones generally come with JN0-304 Internet access through the phone network. Web browsers such as Opera are available 352-001 on these advanced handsets, which can also run a wide variety of other Internet 70-630 software. More mobile phones have Internet access than PCs, though this is not HP0-S20 as widely used.[citation needed] An Internet access provider and protocol matrix MB2-632 differentiates 642-533 the methods used 642-691 to get online.