 |
| Image source : http://bit.ly/18hr0xh |
Recently I realised that I unconsciously tend to classify people into two broad categories : 'energisers' and 'drains'.
'Energisers', as the name suggests, are people who energise you when you interact with them either in a formal meeting or just a casual conversation. During the course of the conversation, you feel engaged, you enjoy the exchange, you connect with the person well. And at the end of the meeting, you feel it was time well spent and you feel good about having met the individual. It doesn't matter that you might not have closed the deal, won the business or convinced the person to take up the assignment, or whatever.
Often, after an interaction with an 'energiser' you feel you have learned something new or gained some additional insight into some aspect of life, personal or professional.
And then there are the 'drains'.They just have this unique ability of sucking out all the enthusiasm and energy and hope and everything positive out of you.
Ok, maybe I am exaggerating here. But you would know what I mean.
An interaction with 'drains' leaves you feeling sapped of energy, annoyed, and frustrated. You feel that the conversation has been a waste of time and you haven't made any progress whatsoever with the individual. You feel like shaking them up and asking them to wake up and move on! (Or sometimes you just want them to get to the point!)
But what I usually do is politely try to cut short the conversation and let the individual know that I will reach out to him or her. These are people you tend to avoid over time.
It is not surprising that 'energisers' tend to get shortlisted and hired by companies more often than the 'drains'!
So here are a couple of questions for you : why are some people 'energisers' and the others 'drains', and is it possible for a 'drain' to change into an 'energiser' over time?
Please post your comments of write to me at ckguruprasad@gmail.com and I will publish your responses in my next post.
Great article Sir - hope you dont mind my sharing it on FB
ReplyDeleteI think its more to do with intro & extroversion .. since extroverts will definitely tend to be at ease in conversation, they would energize. However making decision based on extroversion may not be good idea unless the job specifically requires lot of interaction and reaching out to new people on d2d basis..
ReplyDelete-Suresh
I guess, it more depends on the attitude and the posistivity towards whatever your dealing with. Most of the time it is contagious and infectious marking them as energizers :)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I find this article to be overly-comical. This simply shows that you lack of true attributes of identifying the real personality bases on "Who YOU really are," and hence, you tend to build perception on others (the ones that you meet / met) by means of "energises vs drains - whatever."
ReplyDeleteGrow up for a change!
@Anonymous (Sept 3, 11.35 AM) : Sure! Please feel free to share on FB. Please ensure you provide the link to this URL. Thanks.
ReplyDelete@Suresh : Good point you make here. But I am not sure it is only to do with intro & extrovertedness. I know a few 'extroverts' who can be 'drains' too.
@ Anonymous (Sept 3, 7.06 PM) : I agree. But I wonder which comes first? But finally, its all about the attitude. Thanks for writing in.
@Anonymous (Sept 4, 11.18 AM) : I don't claim to be able to identify who people really are. But yes, I can only honestly say that I do tend to classify people in many different ways. (Grow up? Ah, I wish I could skip that entirely! :) )
But thanks for writing in. And if my posts disturb you terribly, please let me know, and I will remove you from my mailing list.
This is a very interesting & useful classification & I agree with it at the simplest level. Most people (knowingly or unknowingly) show biases based on this classification. At the risk of adding complexity, I would elaborate your classification as follows:
ReplyDelete1. Some people have the basic ‘energizer’ (I call them Optimists) or ‘drainer’ (I call them Pessimists) traits. Much like you imply, I would agree that most of us like the energizers more than the drainers in normal day-to-day life.
a. Energizers: There are people who are bullish about life in most situations, if this is based on reasonable optimism, it is GOOD, if it is just wishful thinking without reason, it could be fool-hardiness and their energizing ability becomes laughable and waste.
b. Drainers: There are people who play victim or resign to fate too often or early, and to them the entire cosmic forces are conniving against them. These are true drainers, and it is best to keep away from them. On the other hand, there might be risk-averse people who can be bearers of bad news or frequently highlight why things may not work. The latter is a useful quality.
2. Then, there are people who might play energizers or drainers based on situation or audience. i.e. somebody might be very good at energizing the subordinate but bring-up tough discussions (that could be draining) to the boss/mentor or vice-versa.
a. I can see certain professions having plenty of ‘energizers’ (Sales / Marketing / Innovation / R&D?);
b. I can see certain professions having the so-called ‘drainers’ (Audit & Compliance, Finance & Risk Management), not bad at all.
While, this type of classification helps one understand one's biases, I would caution that folks reflect on it deeply, while making judgments and taking actions.
Cheers.
Nat
@nat : Thanks for your comments. You have made some great points here! I agree, its not black-n-white and cannot be over-simplified.
ReplyDeleteHi Guru: agree there's probably no way to oversimplify the method of thin-slicing people tend to do of situations, of people. Judgements typically tend to be based on the first 10 mins of a conversation. However I do appreciate that on a a broad level most people fall into either of the categories. The purpose is not to label them, but simply to know how to respond to them. What you have briefly touched upon is a method of thin-slicing which definitely can be useful in every interaction if it has been developed by one as a strong intuitive faculty. I must say, I as a manager definitely can relate to this article. On another note, I'd love to read your views on managing the EQ of employees.
ReplyDeleteVery well written Guru....such an appropriate article to the current scenario.
ReplyDeleteDinu Nanjappa
@DinuNanjappa