Tapping Your Energy – Introversion or Extroversion?!
When you understand where you instinctively draw your energy, possibilities show up in great (and sometimes quiet, peaceful) places. Applying your energy style to your career is an excellent top-of-the-year awareness tool. You probably have a hunch as to whether you prefer to tap introversion energy or extroversion energy. Those who prefer introversion draw their energy from reflection and enjoy quiet time for pondering; they tend to like deeper conversations with fewer people, thinking through their words before speaking them. In contrast, people who prefer extroversion harvest their energy from high-energy environments, often process externally, (AKA “thinking-out-loud”), and can be at ease in dynamic conversations, speaking unrehearsed, “in-the-moment.” We need people with both preferences in the world, with their differing gifts. Knowing your preference can inform your choices about career development activities, and appreciating the opposite preference can increase successful interpersonal interactions wherever you go.
Just in time for introversion/extroversion reflection, consider attending the upcoming noontime workshop, “Introverts at the Office: Learning to Thrive,” where you can explore the value and draw upon the power of introverts’ thoughtful, quiet nature. Not sure where you fall on the introvert-extrovert continuum? In this workshop, you will have the opportunity to take a quick assessment and gain insight on-the-spot. If you want to delve even deeper into your personality style and consider how to use it to your career development advantage, make a one-on-one appointment with our career counselor (call 530-752-1766 for a confidential appointment). Whatever your energy source, the top-of the-year is a perfect time to identify and tap it!
About the Author
Carina Celesia Moore
Carina Celesia Moore, M.A., SPHR, CPLP, is Director of HR Talent Management and Development at the University of California, Davis. In this role Carina provides leadership and strategy in talent management (including learning and development and work life) for the UC Davis campus and UC Davis Health. She oversees delivery of talent management human resources services by providing strategic advice to departments and units. Carina has also been an instructor at UC Davis Extension and has served as part-time faculty at CSU Sacramento in the Graduate Career Counselor Education Department. Before joining UC Davis, Carina worked at Connecticut College, Vassar College and a distance learning consulting firm. She earned a master's degree in curriculum and teaching from Columbia University, Teachers College.