Creative friction, framing it up and other lessons from Genius Opposites

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Dave Summers, Director, Digital Media Production at the American Management Association and I  recently sat down at AMA headquarters in NYC. He interviewed me about The Genius of Opposites: How Introverts and Extroverts Achieve Extraordinary Results Together. We had an engaging conversation about introverts and extroverts and how successful opposites make it work.

Here are a few highlights from our 15-minute dialogue. You can listen to the podcast. here.

  • “Creative Friction” – Mix up teams. Interesting ideas come out of pairing opposite personalities.
  • Introverts need time to recoup and recharge.
  • A characteristic that you find ” quirky” in the beginning of your partnership can become annoying after time goes by.
  • Don’t worry too much about whether you are an introvert or extrovert.  Focus on behaviors, and which are working for you or not. Avoid labels.
  • Siskel and Ebert are examples of two opposites who channeled their differences into a 13-year successful show.
  • If you name what is going and “frame it up”  you avoid disconnects.  When Dave is kidding his team they may tell him that they don’t know when he is joking. He has learned to clarify his intention by remembering to share when he is being intentionally funny,  Then they can relax and understand better how to respond.
  • Changing behavior and flexing is not a one-time event. It takes practice.
  • Training programs can help shape introvert-friendly cultures but even more critical are those  “hallway conversations” after the classes take place. Those convos show that real awareness and change are occurring.

 

 

 

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