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by simpixelated 2696 days ago
As an introvert who was a manager for several years, I agree that it is very difficult and draining. I believe that I have the skills to be a good manager (empathy, EQ, organization), but I did find it extremely draining. Towards the end of my experience I could tell I wasn't giving my best to my direct reports and so I've gone back to being an individual contributor.

I still entertain the idea of getting back into management, but I'll have to figure out how to offset that drain, or even gain energy from personal interactions, as you said, in order to sustain it for more than a few months/years.

1 comments

What specifically was draining about it? What drained you? Why?
Because that's basically the definition of the difference between introversion and extroversion: introverts "recharge" by being alone, while extroverts "recharge" by being around people. If you are an introvert and forced to have lots of people interaction daily, you basically don't have a chance to recharge.

My experience was basically exactly the same as subpixelated.