When I was in my 20s, I took the Myers-Briggs test, like most of the rest of the world has at some point or another. I was assessed as an ENFJ, though barely an "E". While the meaning of the last three letters can be challenging to come up with, most people have no trouble with the "E" and "I". As an "E", I'm expected to be outgoing and gregarious.
Except yesterday reminded me how much I'm really an "I". I work in business development - an "E" occupation if there ever was one - and yesterday was my company's annual offsite with all the folks in that organization from the top of the chain on down. It's a chance for us to share ideas and meet each other. It started very early in the morning and lasted through a reception in the evening. All in all, a long day.
As I'm also in the middle of a proposal, I ended up popping out of several of the meetings for conference calls to keep my proposal moving forward. I was hardly the only one. Most people ended up on a Blackberry at some point during the day. It's very hard to keep a room full of "E"s off their phones. On one of those calls, the proposal team decided they needed another call in the evening to talk more details with our partners. I was annoyed because that meant I was going to miss the reception, which really was an opportunity to talk and network. The "E" in me wanted to have a chance to talk to folks outside of the offsite.
The main offsite schedule ended, and I dashed home to be ready for the call. I took off my suit and put on my sweats, fed the cats, and got on the phone. And all but collapsed. All of a sudden, I was completely exhausted. The "E" was done; now I was in full "I" mode.
I find that this is often the case. When I'm around a crowd, I can be very convivial. I enjoy the company of others. At something like yesterday's offsite, I don't feel enervated by being "on". I don't notice the drain until I'm done. But when it's over, when I don't need to be an "E" anymore, I find that I am completely and totally spent.
The same thing happened a couple of weeks ago with my open house. For those four hours, I was happy to have everyone around, talking with my family and friends, and truly pleased to be able to share. And the second everyone left, done. Kaput. I got the house cleaned up and collapsed in front of the TV. It was all I could do not to go to bed. At 7 pm!
They say that the real way to tell an "E" from an "I" is how they get energized. An "E" needs to be around other people to get energy. An "I" is exhausted by being around others all the time. Clearly Myers-Briggs was right. I am right there, in the middle. Enjoying my "E" and energized when I'm in the midst of the crowd. And fully an "I" when it's over. The only thing I think they got wrong is that ultimately, I'm more of an "I" before an "E".
No comments:
Post a Comment