Managing Extroverts Matter in a Security-Minded Culture

No human resources professional ever complained about an extroverted employee. You know the type: friendly, talkative, often volunteering to organize events. Some might say they’re loud and brash, but extroverted employees make sure they get noticed. They’re better at self-promotion than most.

An extrovert will happily tell you why they’re your best employee, but is that always the case? As we've discussed in a previous article, introverts are an invaluable part of your workforce — especially in programming and development.

Often, the shy and quiet employees — those who remain in the shadows and don't seek recognition for their efforts — contribute the most in terms of technical expertise. Managing the quiet ones can be a challenge. But so too is managing the more-obvious extroverts.

Extroversion and introversion

Seminal Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung introduced the terms introversion and extraversion into psychology. He believed that extroversion “tends to be manifested in outgoing, talkative, energetic behavior, whereas introversion is manifested in more reflective and reserved behavior.”

Typically, extroverts are enthusiastic people who enjoy socializing and seek novel experiences. They want to interact with other individuals and can feel bored or anxious when spending too much time by themselves.

Extroverts: rechargeable batteries “power up” when they're around other people

Extroverts prefer a full schedule, especially if packed with meetings and other social opportunities. While they may be seen as “the life of the party,” extroverts often irk introverts who find extroverted energy challenging to tolerate.

You can think of extroverts as pack animals (and introverts as lone wolves). But be careful about categorizing your employees. Some people are better defined as “ambiverts,” and their personalities display both introverted and extroverted traits. Instead, think in terms of a spectrum.

Energy drain

Try to view extroverts as people with rechargeable batteries that “power up” when they're around other people — chatting or otherwise actively involved. An extrovert seems to draw energy simply from interacting with other people. By contrast, introverts may experience an “energy drain” from such interactions.

No human resources professional ever complained about an extroverted employee

Introverts sometimes express feelings of energy drain from socializing with other people, although many cannot articulate this. Organizers of group activities should keep the battery analogy in mind when planning such activities — which of your employees look like they're “recharging” in group situations, and which look like their batteries are sinking into the red zone?

Training exercises

Many companies use group training exercises, which is a great way to see which of your employees are more towards the extroversion side of the spectrum. They will talk to other employees, volunteer to set up teams, and organize group activities.

Extroverts enjoy such social work moments but remember that introverts may regard it more as a form of torture. When planning such exercises, it's important to remember this and not make your endeavors a showcase for the extroverts just because they visibly enjoy such group activities. The objective is to include everyone in the group.

It's worth mentioning that not all introverts are loners, although it may appear that way. Some simply prefer socializing with a finite group of people they know well—as opposed to making small talk with a bunch of strangers at a party (or coworkers at a group exercise. These individuals may feel that they recharge their mental batteries during alone-time after socializing with others.

Managing extroverts

Too many HR directors think extroverts manage well by themselves. When you're faced with a group of employees who mostly speak in monotones and avoid eye contact, it's easy to gravitate towards the more social members of the group. The appeal is simple: they chat with real people in real life, easing the artificial strain of in-person or online meetings.

But if we view introverts as antisocial, we must consider that their counterparts have evolved “anti-anti-social behaviors” as part of their extroversion. They want to convert the shy into more versions of themselves, so extroverts have all sorts of “ice-breaking” techniques. However, these techniques can backfire in group settings.

Planning group work

Among your workforce, some people prefer to work independently (free from the distractions of human interaction), while others enjoy social collaboration with colleagues. Remember that there's no “right” way to tackle tasks — introverts and extroverts have strengths and weaknesses.

Extroverts in the workplace are thrilled with group work as it allows them to include others in their brainstorming processes. They're skilled at motivating people around them, and their participation in group work can drive higher group performance and overall employee satisfaction.

And collaboration exercises favor extroverts by default. Interaction with coworkers, a common goal, endless brainstorming, and bouncing ideas off each other is a dream environment for many. But if left alone to work on projects, extroverts can become bored and frustrated.

Human resources professionals must analyze the weaknesses of their extroverted employees as well as their strengths. Collaboration exercises need to consider the skillsets and preferences of all employees — no matter where they lie on the introversion/extroversion spectrum.

This article is the sixth in a series on effective collaboration techniques for cybersecurity.

Stefan Hammond is a contributing editor to CDOTrends. Best practices, the IoT, payment gateways, robotics and the ongoing battle against cyberpirates pique his interest. You can reach him at [email protected].

Image credit: iStockphoto/Kudryavtsev Pavel