Your Personality Type & Its Impact on Influence

The way you communicate, lead, and influence is shaped by your personality type. We've grouped key traits into three categories:

Extrovert, Ambivert, or Introvert
Intuitive, Hybrid, or Analytical
Too Strong, Balanced, or Too Weak

Understanding your own traits is crucial—but just as important is recognizing how these affect your interactions, leadership, and ability to influence others.

As you read on, consider not only how these apply to you but also how they shape those around you.

Extrovert, Ambivert or Introvert

Extroverts, Your Watch Outs:

Talking Too Much: Over-talking can overwhelm others and hinder meaningful exchanges.
Poor Listening: Missing key details by not listening attentively alienates colleagues. There’s a probability that you need to develop active listening skills.
Arrogance: Appearing self-centered undermines trust; great leaders uplift others.
Impulsiveness: Rushing decisions without reflection can lead to poor outcomes.
Disregard for Introverts: Overlooking quieter colleagues reduces team cohesion.

Consider how much time you spend speaking versus listening—aim for a balanced 50/50 exchange to foster true interaction.

Around 20% of people are extroverts, at best, these people initiate conversations, organise meetings, social events but at worst they want to be the centre of attention.

To improve:

Understand that many of the smartest people are the quiet ones. Often, they have applied strong logical thinking, carefully considering both the upsides and downsides. They may also take a holistic view, identifying factors you’ve overlooked—and sometimes, they have the best ideas. You need to bring their best thinking to the table, not just your own.
Active listening means fully focusing, understanding, and responding thoughtfully to a speaker. It requires genuine engagement through both verbal and nonverbal cues—listening with the intent to understand, not just to reply. Many extroverts only half-listen, splitting their attention between the speaker and their own thoughts about what to say next.
True active listening means being fully present, absorbing the message before formulating a response.

Ambiverts, Your Watch Outs

Lack of Spark: Failing to energize or captivate others can lead to missed impact in meetings or presentations.
Inconsistency: Shifting between introverted and extroverted behaviors creates unpredictability and mixed signals.
Burnout: Struggling to balance socializing and solitude risks disengagement and reduced productivity.
Ambivalence: Hesitating between action and retreat can result in indecision and diminished effectiveness.
Mixed Communication: Conflicting styles confuse colleagues and undermine leadership credibility.

To improve: Pick more winning moments and situations in which to take the lead, speak up more and do so more often.

You may wish to be mindful of identifying and choosing the moments that matter most to you—whether in how you contribute to the company and team, what you do, or the values you uphold—and seize them. Work out how you can bring an extra spark when it matters most.
Consider how you can add emphasis to the way you communicate, operate, and express yourself.
Some sixty percent of the population are ambiverts—it’s a good group to be in. But you don’t want to be a wallflower!
Aim to bring a little bit more spark into your interactions, for consistent behavior, clear communication, and balanced energy management.

Introverts, Your Watch Outs:

Low Visibility: Staying in the background or avoiding the spotlight can lead to being overlooked and undervalued.
Underestimating Impact: Self-doubt and lack of self-advocacy reduce recognition of contributions and achievements.
Networking Hesitation: Reluctance to engage socially limits collaboration and career opportunities.
Reluctance to Speak Up: Hesitating to share ideas or opinions leads to missed chances for influence.
Limited Assertiveness: Avoiding conflict and lacking confidence can hinder leadership and career progression.

Around 25% of the population are introverts, so if this is you – you're not alone and are in good company, because you excel in certain types of intelligence, particularly deep thinking, problem-solving, and creative pursuits.

If this is you, you may experience social overload, feeling overlooked in group settings, or pressure to be more outgoing in extrovert-driven environments. Finding a balance between your need for solitude and external demands is key to your well-being.

To improve: You may feel nervous when speaking up or joining conversations.

However, when you're discussing something you know well, you come into your element, and your nerves dissipate.
You'll benefit from practicing small talk and asserting yourself in a pleasant way—perhaps with phrases like "I don’t see it that way" or "Let me challenge you on that."
To make this even easier, you could soften your approach by first offering a positive acknowledgment before presenting another perspective, such as: "I can see much of the logic in what you’re saying; however, there’s another consideration…"
An easy way to increase your visibility and be more assertive in meetings is simply by asking questions. Since you're at your best when you feel confident about your subject or point of view, mentally role-play different scenarios, practice assertiveness, and rehearse what you might say and how you'd say it. This will help you build confidence.

Intuitive, Hybrid or Analytical

Intuitive

You’re a thinker. You have big ideas, you spot patterns, and gut instincts.

Your watch outs:

Lack of Detail – Missing key facts weakens credibility.

Impulsiveness – Acting too fast can lead to poor decisions and you’re prone to making errors.

Inconsistency – Your constantly shifting ideas can confuse others.

Over-Idealism – Your vision without execution is just a dream and you need to be careful about how many ideas you offer up – there's only so much time in which to do so many things.

Vagueness – Be careful you’re likely to frequently use abstract language and without substance, you’ll lose people’s buy in.

To improve: People need to have confidence that what you’re saying is right, logical and supported by facts. Focus on details, consistency, and clear, actionable plans.

Hybrid Types

Intuitive and Analytical. The best of both worlds—if balanced right.

Your watch outs:

Blending In – You risk being overshadowed.

Communication Confusion – Mixing big ideas with data can lose your audience.

Overthinking – Your interests to achieve balance can translate into decision paralysis.

Perfectionism – Unrealistic standards slow progress.

To improve: Prioritize, simplify decisions, and communicate with clarity.

Analytical Types

You’re data-driven, structured, and logical.

Your watch outs:

Lack of Connection – Strong in logic, but you may struggle with building rapport and relationships.

Over-Analysis – Stuck in the details? You’ll miss opportunities.

Struggle to Inspire – When you communicate, you’re likely to focus on facts. However, people need emotion, not just logic.

Rigidity – Facts matter, but so does flexibility. You may be stubborn, set in your ways, or see things from only one perspective.

To improve:

Consider how others feel, think about their motivations, and engage in more small talk. Smile a little more, nod when someone is right to build rapport, and ask more open-ended questions—such as, “What do you think about this?”, “How do you feel?”, or “How do you see it?”
Reflect on times when you’ve been inflexible—was it a problem? What were the implications? Is there a better way to handle similar situations in the future?
When faced with a request that doesn’t align with your approach, try restating the key points to give yourself thinking time. Ask yourself: Can I be flexible? Does it make sense?

Too Strong, Balanced or Too Weak

Too Strong

Overbearing: Dominating conversations or decisions, you can alienate others and appear arrogant.
Lack of Flexibility: Insisting on your way limits collaboration, creativity, and innovation.
Dismissiveness: Overlooking others' input damages morale and stifles team cohesion. You’ll come across as dictatorial rather than as a leader!
Impatience: Rushing processes or colleagues undermines thoughtful decision-making.
Overconfidence: Underestimating challenges or ignoring feedback can lead to mistakes.

To improve:

Be more inclusive, listen more, and ask for input and ideas. Ask open-ended questions. Acknowledge what people have said—both one-on-one and publicly. Encourage open and effective team communication. Note: One of the qualities of great leaders is their openness to ideas from all directions. A final point—practice patience.

Balanced

Stuck in the Middle! – A risk for you is a lack of distinctiveness, making it difficult to stand out. This can result in reduced visibility and influence.
Assertiveness Challenges – You may struggle to take charge or effectively advocate for ideas, limiting the perception of your leadership capability and effectiveness. This can also impact your potential for promotions, projects, or contracts.
Inconsistent Presence – If your level of conviction and expression varies, you risk losing engagement. When you withdraw, it creates a sense of unreliability.
Neutral Positioning – Avoiding strong stances to keep the peace weakens your advocacy and impact.
Risk Avoidance – Shying away from risks hinders innovation and growth.

To improve:

Speak up, take a stance, and own your opinions—don’t just blend in. Push yourself to be more assertive, even if it feels uncomfortable at first. Start by practicing in lower-risk situations—small meetings, casual discussions, or giving input on non-critical decisions. Rehearse your points, refine your delivery, and gradually build confidence. Embrace calculated risks; growth comes from stepping outside your comfort zone.

Too Weak

Lack of Confidence: Doubting abilities diminishes authority and influence.
Indecisiveness: Struggling to make decisions creates instability and erodes trust.
Passivity: Avoiding initiative and conflict leads to being overlooked and missed opportunities.
Over-reliance: Depending on others for validation undermines independence and leadership.
Fear of Failure: Avoiding risks stifles growth, innovation, and visibility.