Your answer is 10 questions away! And after you're done, why not ask your coworkers to take it too? The payoff could be big. As Adam Grant says in his Work Life podcast, produced by TED, "To work well with other people, you need to understand their personalities and they need to understand yours."
Extroverts tend to be outgoing and bold. They gravitate toward roles that put them in the center of attention. Introverts tend to be quiet and deliberative. They prefer one-on-one meetings, working on their own, and long walks on the beach (just kidding). Ambiverts fall in the middle of the spectrum, and they're equally comfortable in leadership and supporting roles, and they tend to adapt to fill voids in their teams.
Which type makes the most effective leader? Introverts and extroverts are equally effective, although with different kinds of teams. If you’re an extrovert, you have an edge in leading teams where people want direction from above; thanks to your gregariousness, you can engage with and motivate a wide range of colleagues. If you’re an introvert, your advantage is in leading proactive teams; your penchant for listening means you hear more ideas and leave colleagues feeling more valued.
So is it better to be on Team Extrovert or Team Introvert? Neither. If your team is dominated by extroverts, you can run into conflict about who’s in charge; if the team is full of introverts, you may end up with too little communication. Teams with a mix of extroverts and introverts tend to be more productive than teams made up mostly of one of those types -- they have a better mix of task focus and social cohesion.
Where do ambiverts shine? It turns out that ambiverts often achieve greater sales productivity than extroverts or introverts. Ambiverts are more inclined to listen to customers’ interests and less vulnerable to appearing too excited or overconfident, tendencies that can also make them highly effective in leadership roles. And because ambiverts naturally engage in a flexible pattern of talking and listening, they’re likely to express sufficient assertiveness and enthusiasm needed to close a sale.
But no matter your type, flexibility is a quality we can all embrace. Think of your personality as serving like an anchor -- instead of constraining you, it keeps you from drifting too far as you pursue new possibilities.
Find out more about extroverts, introverts and ambiverts by listening to WorkLife with Adam Grant, a new TED podcast. In Episode 4, Adam talks to Brian Little, a personality psychology professor, and Susan Cain, who literally wrote the book on introverts, and he also visits management-consulting firm Bain & Company, which considers personality type to be such an important factor in the workplace that they ask every new hire to take personality tests.