The Introvert Manager

The Myers-Briggs test says I am a ‘moderately expressed introvert’. So what? I cannot be a manager? Well, I am already. Sorry about that. I didn’t know introverts can’t lead so I went ahead. Of course, it was hard in the beginning and didn’t get any easier when the liquidity storm hit, but then, life is hard. There is no magic trick, just accept the facts and fight. On the bright side, fighting is fun.

Now seriously, Google dug out some good reading material on the topic, like this article , or the review of this book . This guy has some interesting posts  as well; he has the same MB profile type as me as a matter of fact. These provide advice and more importantly, some insight as to what ‘introverted’ actually means. It doesn’t necessarily mean lack of social skills or shyness. It is more to do with how you get you energy and solve everyday problems – by interaction with others, or by reflection. So far it looks I am following the advice alright. I may not be an entrepreneur, but many aspects of my job are similar and it has helped overcome the negative aspects of being an ‘I’.

One thing many such articles don’t cover very extensively, is that one’s level of ‘introvertness’ (is this a word?) is not constant throughout life. I was born a classic nerd, now it is ‘moderately expressed introvert’. After one or more years doing this job, who knows what will become of me. I read the article by Rob May and I remembered the beginning of my career, how I used to dread the big meetings and having to call clients. Now I present deals to the board and it doesn’t feel scary. I don’t feel strained, as if I am going against my nature, so the explanation must be that my nature has adapted to the environment.

The combination of my personality type and career is something that sets me apart and I am proud to be an INTP. We ‘I’s can be managers or entrepreneurs just fine, thank you very much. We can also think and solve problems. If this helps with the GMAT, as it should, all the better.