As many people begin the process of returning to work, there might be the need to wake up habits from being in the same rooms as our teammates a couple of years back or for a learning curve on how to navigate the post-COVID ways of interacting with each other.
One of the most common ways of making sense of how people act in the workplace is by looking to any of the proven models that highlight communication styles, personalities, or working styles.
For a very long time, I have been an avid fan of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. While I am not certified as an MBTI facilitator, I have worked with it on myself for more than 25 years.
I vividly remember the first time I was given my results and I noticed that all of my points were in Extraversion. Back in my thirties, I had no idea how to draw energy by being alone. I only jazzed up by being in rooms with other people or being out and about in crowded places.
I made the goal from the first time I learned I was an ENFJ, to explore the opposite of my style which was an ISTP. When I realized I was surrounded by Introverts, I knew I had the perfect support for finding my way to balancing my E and I.
I worked with a colleague who has since become a very dear friend for more than 25 years and is an Introvert. The work we did required us to teach a class for a week to about 20 people. We went back and forth with leading the class each day for the full week.
Each time my colleague presented; I was in the room keeping pace with what was going on with the participants. When I presented, she usually left the room to go recharge. I was intrigued by this and we talked about it over the many months we worked together.
I tested leaving the room while she was teaching and going off on my own to a quiet place. I came back refreshed each time, having realized that there was something to this introvert recharging process.
For many years after that experience, I had a more balanced score with the E and I on the MBTI and found it was more supportive of the life balance I enjoyed.
I started working in China extensively in 2010 which required long travel days to get there and full schedules while was in the country. I was exposed to an overwhelming volume of people in airports and on airplanes which was great for my Extraversion.
The balance that I needed to achieve would only come from taking time to be in my hotel room. This meant there were times when I was expected to attend a business dinner after a long day of traveling on the road and being in meetings.
There were many times when I declined to attend dinner and would go to my room for the evening. This was not popular given the expectation to do business over dinner and well into the late hours of the night. I refused to give up my Introvert recharging process of being in my room and as a result, would show up for the business breakfast the next morning rejuvenated.
Too often, before I knew better, I would self-sabotage by not getting the rest and recharge that I needed to be productive and successful. I am grateful that I was willing to see how I might manage my own behaviors to be more balanced and in harmony. The results over time supported my habits.
As we reenter the workplaces that many people left abruptly a couple of years ago, let’s be mindful of the human dynamics that take place when we gather in person. The potential clash and conflict might be mitigated or diminished by having awareness of those around us and how they perceive their surroundings.
How can you balance your own recharging process when you return to work?
What might you do to support those in your workplace as they come back?
What impact might being mindful of differences in how people perceive their surroundings have on your company’s culture?
With much gratitude…
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Shutterstock
