I don't really like the article. It seems to cultivate the mindset that introverts are somehow disabled or lesser than extroverts in social situations, which obviously isn't true: otherwise, how could we have had any introverted presidents? (I'd argue to be the president, you have to have quite a bit of social finesse.) The reality is that introverts are not incapable of dealing with social situations and don't really need advice on how to "tackle" group situations, as one of the questions implies. As an aside, that question is what inspired me to write this response, because I found it very offending that an introvert would need 'tips' on how to tackle a group situation.
For instance, I am extremely introverted. When I am in a group situation (especially in a position of leadership), it's not that I balk at the contact with others or have difficulty interacting socially. Instead, I am very quiet and much less chatty than the rest of the group because I am listening very intently and analyzing what they are saying. The net effect is that when I do actually start to speak up, everyone else listens because they have a pretty good idea that what I'm going to say is going to be relevant and/or interesting, at least hopefully.
What this boils down to is a different style of management. I'm only in college, but my experience so far is that extroverted 'leaders' tend to guide discussion through conversation and heavy interaction. As an introvert, my approach is quite a bit different: I try to let the discussion happen organically and guide it through questioning/assent if it's absolutely necessary. And if I hear an idea I really like but feel like the person explaining it hasn't done it justice, I'll agree with it and try to add some more reasons. In other words, I only intervene when I feel like it's actually necessary, and that means that when I do talk, people tend to listen more, as a general rule.
I don't really know what method is better, and like I said, I'm only in college so I don't claim to be some manager with a few decades of experiences by any means.
Beyond the manager scenario, typical social interactions aren't much different for me. The real difference that I prefer downtime between big social events, whereas it seems to me that extroverts don't like that downtime. But most of that is based on my trying to classify my friends as introverted/extroverted and looking at their behavior; i.e., this reply is mostly anecdotal.
(I'm also not sure introversion/extroversion is so black and white, which most people tend to treat it as.)
You're right, there's nothing black and white about this introvert/extrovert business.
At one extreme, there are highly extroverted people who simply can't imagine not interacting with hundreds of people on a regular basis. At the other extreme, there are people who actually suffer a medical condition known as autistic spectrum disorder (which itself contains a large gradient). Everything in between is a gradient. Psychiatrists still have no idea how to distinguish a person with mild Asperger's from a person who is simply introverted.
This, of course, doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with taking a slice of the gradient and analyzing the hell out of it. Writing about a complicated topic always involves a certain amount of simplification and drawing lines where it's actually quite blurry. I've read articles that do this job much better than the link does, but this one isn't the worst, either.
"Psychiatrists still have no idea how to distinguish a person with mild Asperger's from a person who is simply introverted."
Classic rule of logical argument: Two things which are equal to one thing are equal to each other.
Or rather: If "Introversion" and High Functioning Autism (HFA) both essentially meet the DSM guidelines for diagnosis, what difference is there besides how pop psychology abuses the concept?
I think the way to treat them. There are tons of illnesses or syndromes out there that have similar symptoms. Take stomach pain for example, or flu-like symptoms.
"Psychiatrists still have no idea how to distinguish a person with mild Asperger's from a person who is simply introverted."
Most psychiatrists still have no idea how to distinguish, but those few who actually study autism are very much able to tell the difference. Asperger's syndrome doesn't just affect how one interacts socially, although that is the most visible manifestation.
For instance, I am extremely introverted. When I am in a group situation (especially in a position of leadership), it's not that I balk at the contact with others or have difficulty interacting socially. Instead, I am very quiet and much less chatty than the rest of the group because I am listening very intently and analyzing what they are saying. The net effect is that when I do actually start to speak up, everyone else listens because they have a pretty good idea that what I'm going to say is going to be relevant and/or interesting, at least hopefully.
What this boils down to is a different style of management. I'm only in college, but my experience so far is that extroverted 'leaders' tend to guide discussion through conversation and heavy interaction. As an introvert, my approach is quite a bit different: I try to let the discussion happen organically and guide it through questioning/assent if it's absolutely necessary. And if I hear an idea I really like but feel like the person explaining it hasn't done it justice, I'll agree with it and try to add some more reasons. In other words, I only intervene when I feel like it's actually necessary, and that means that when I do talk, people tend to listen more, as a general rule.
I don't really know what method is better, and like I said, I'm only in college so I don't claim to be some manager with a few decades of experiences by any means.
Beyond the manager scenario, typical social interactions aren't much different for me. The real difference that I prefer downtime between big social events, whereas it seems to me that extroverts don't like that downtime. But most of that is based on my trying to classify my friends as introverted/extroverted and looking at their behavior; i.e., this reply is mostly anecdotal.
(I'm also not sure introversion/extroversion is so black and white, which most people tend to treat it as.)