Why extroverts excel and struggle in modern workplace

For extroverts, it is easy to assume that everything comes naturally since they often find themselves at the centre of attention—whether in boardrooms, classrooms, or networking events.

Yet, the same energy and openness that draw others to them can also lead to challenges, from burnout to frequent misunderstandings.

Before Kentice Tikolo, a 61-year-old, took a personality test, she occasionally worried whether she was normal.
“I’m not one to do just one thing and sit on it; I’m always doing different things,” she says. “People are always asking me how many hours I have in a day, and it would make me wonder if I’m doing too much.”

She then did the Disc (dominant, influencing, steady, and compliant profile assessment test), which revealed that she was an extrovert.

The personality test revealed aspects of her life that she was not aware of. Her Disc profile showed that she was high dominant (D) or high Influencing (I). This result wasn’t surprising to her. If anything, it completely released her of any tensions she had around her character.

“I am a people person. I talk a lot, and I’m not shy,” she says. “And when I talk, I probe and ask questions, which makes people uncomfortable sometimes, but I’ve found that when I verbalise things, I think on my feet and get new ideas.”

Has her extroverted nature worked in her favour or denied her opportunities, especially in the workplace?

Ms Tikolo is a chief executive at Cause Impact Africa, a communication management agency, and a board member in different organisations, which she attributes to her extroverted nature.

“I always step up. I really hate it when you’re in a room, someone is asking for things to get done, and people are just sitting. I find that very uncomfortable,” she says.

Because she is loud and outgoing, it seems to have paid off.
“When I was appointed Dean of Students in Aga Khan Academy, I thought they were giving me the role to shut me up because I was very vocal about how teachers were being treated. In fact, I warned the headmaster that if that was his agenda, it would fail,” she says, laughing.

Similarly, her social life has reaped rich rewards from her personality. She says some of her friendships date as far back as her primary school days.

“For some reason, people really love and remember me,” Ms Tikolo says. “I think it’s because I’m open, I hold no cards under the table, and I show up for people. I really value being there for others.”

But being a people person has its disadvantages.

“I make friends quickly and therein lies my greatest weakness: I trust easily. And I’ve been proven significantly wrong a number of times, in ways that affected me negatively; I’ve suffered huge losses for trusting people,” she says. She also never really rests.

“I was never that person who takes a leave to go and sit around doing nothing. If I took a leave, it would be to go and do something else,” she says, adding that if it really comes down to it, she reads books. She is currently learning golf, and plays the piano.

Having learned about different types of personalities, Ms Tikolo encourages others to warn her if they feel overwhelmed by her talking, to which she responds by toning down a bit to accommodate them.

As a leader, she has learned to recognise the personalities of her team members, their strengths, and how to pull them out individually.

“You’re constantly in motion”

For Awuor Onguru, the most common sentiment is, “you’re constantly in motion”. “I start doing things from place A to place B from the moment I wake up, until around midnight.”

Her typical day involves morning gym sessions, mid-morning writing and administrative work, afternoon classes - half of which she teaches, and half of which she is the student, before closing the day with action packed evenings.

“I always have something to do in the evening. I could be going to a gallery opening, a museum, somebody’s concert, or a DJ set,” she says.

Ms Onguru did the Myers-Briggs personality test and found out she is ENFP-T (extraverted, intuitive, feeling, perceiving, turbulent).

“I was born with a personality that’s curious and wants to explore, and have always been eager to meet and love people from all kinds of situations. I’m always the one to reach out, especially to new people.”

This personality has pushed her, naturally, into leadership roles and opened doors of opportunities. She got a scholarship to the International School of Kenya (ISK), a creative writing degree at Yale University, fellowship programmes, and sold-out shows for a choral performance that she wrote and directed, Surviving Death.

“I’m quick to activate ideas because I don’t really dwell on fear. Even in times when things go wrong, like a performance or a piece not coming out in the way I want, the idea that my art is a chance to connect with the world usually trumps any personal feelings. So in a way, I think my extroversion cancels out the fear of existing in artistic places.”

In her particular category of music, Opera, which blends a number of different genres, Awuor believes her personality helps her to move through the different genres a lot easier.

“Working with young people, I’ve found that they really appreciate it if you're able to approach and meet them where they are. And that does take a bit of extroversion. You have to forget yourself.”
Interestingly, her friends are usually the ones reaching out to her when it comes to her social life.

“I think it’s because they know me as someone who is able to make others feel comfortable and who always has something exciting going on. I’m the kind of friend who will have a plan whether there is money or not.”

On the flipside, her outward nature has made finding and keeping romantic relationships a great challenge.

“I think men can sometimes be very intimidated by women like me who know what they want, have a full life, and are doing a lot of things. The men I’ve met want to be the ones to lead, the ones in the know, and there’s a clash when they realise that I know just as much or more about people, the city, or life.”

Another challenge has been living up to people’s expectations. “There is this idea that extroverts are always interested and excited to be in social situations, but that’s not entirely true. I know a lot of extroverts who don’t like partying or directly engaging with people, but instead have a desire to engage with the natural world by doing things like hiking. Personally, there are times when I don’t want to be out and about and prefer a slower pace to life.”

When she was younger, she would have trouble saying “no”, but she has since learned to draw boundaries. “People are actually quite understanding, and nobody will hate you because you couldn’t show up for a commitment or jump into a project.”

“I’m learning how to strike the right balance”

Stephen Ng’ang’a, a 38-year-old, also did both the Disc and Myers-Briggs personality tests. They both came back that he is an extrovert (68 percent). He says his extroversion manifests mostly through his work.

“Being naturally social helps me to connect with people, and often it allows them to bring me into a space where I can interact with them at a deep level,” says the pastor and HR manager for Hope Alive Initiatives.

He says sometimes how poor or rich you are shapes your personality. He grew up poor and had to talk himself out of poverty. “Putting yourself out there can look silly sometimes, but it opens doors,” he says.

But his openness has scarred him time and again, even costing him financially a number of times.

“Some people can take you for granted. You give them your all, but later come to find that these same people are the ones who betray you.”

Speaking his mind with blunt honesty hasn’t always been well-received. “I’ve never known how to sugarcoat my words, and at times that ends up hurting people. I’m still learning how to strike the right balance,” he admits.

The good and dark side of it

In the workplace, Verolyne Isutsa, a HR professional with seven years’ experience, highlights the advantages and challenges that come with being an extrovert.

“Number one is adaptability. An extrovert will want to know what is happening, what each department does, who is a leader and of what, and so on, and this helps them adapt quickly and easily.”

The second advantage is networking. This plays out through the curious, inquisitive, and talkative nature of the extrovert, which allows them to create networks with many people in different careers within a short period of time.

“And because they can express their views, talk, and convene meetings easily, they tend to land leadership roles,” she says. “Their colleagues also tend to front them in areas where they need representation because they can question things, communicate grievances effectively, and engage actively in discussions.”

Lastly, thanks to their affinity toward interactions, extroverts appreciate working with others and are team-oriented. They are, however, they are inclined to undergo burnout.

“This is mainly influenced by the fact that they are everywhere all the time. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes it so that by the close of business, they are exhausted.”

Ms Isutsa further points out that many extroverts have a propensity to be over-confident and distracting.

“Sometimes their colleagues will want to be quiet and focused on work, but the outgoing worker really wants to talk to them and share, ask, or include them in something or the other,” she says.

“Similarly, they can also unknowingly dominate discussions and choke even the moderators.”

Her advice to extroverts is to take time to understand the workplace culture and traditions, while also being clear about their job role and the team dynamics within the organisation.

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