I felt the push to be a lawyer probably from about the time I was eight years old. At that time, I did not fully know what it meant to practice law, but I thought it sounded like an honorable profession and seemed as though it was something at which I would excel. I’ve always loved reading and writing, and I could turn a word when given the floor. Choosing to become an attorney seemed a sensible choice.
I did not know then that for me to excel, I had to find working environments that were the right fit for me. After I had graduated from law school, I spent many years trying to fit my square personality into round holes, so to speak. I found myself feeling drained, burnt out and unfulfilled by profession I thought I loved. I did not know how to use my unique personality to my advantage. And because of my ignorance, I flitted about from job to job without really understanding why I couldn’t find a great fit.
The January 2016 issue of the ABA Journal, “Introverts in an Extroverts’ World,” shed light on the issue that I’d been facing for years. Although most people in the world are extroverts, nearly 60 percent of lawyers are introverted. For many years this worked to the introspective attorney’s disadvantage, not only because extroversion is valued by society much more but also because extroverts have always been seen as the type to excel in law because of their temperament and unique personality traits. Extroverts tend to be assertive, are comfortable with conflict, and tend to excel in public speaking or negotiating—all qualities that are fitting for the practice of law.
I am classified as an INTJ (Introvert, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging) on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator scale. I am individualistic by nature. I enjoy solitude, and I am the most focused and the most productive when I am working alone. So why would a person with my personal makeup be drawn to the legal profession? Well, in the beginning, I was attracted to the study of law for the wrong reasons? I was drawn in by the cultural cachet of what being an attorney meant. Cultural Respectability. But, over time I began to be drawn in by the law itself. I loved learning new things and finding new angles of looking at things. I enjoyed solving complex problems by playing with theories and facts. I loved the written word and using those words to tell a compelling story. And, when I invested in an important case, gaining justice or righting a wrong was the biggest stimulus of all.
But, I struggled in the early stages of my career.
Many moons ago, my boss admonished me for being an introvert. No, my boss didn’t call me into his office and say, “You’re failing because you’re an introvert!” Rather, he chastised me for being distant; frequently working with my door closed and not being more “engaging” with co-workers…I believe I was called “stand-offish.” Ouch!
I was floored by that conversation, and completely unprepared for it. I thought I was productive; that keeping my head down and getting my work completed was a good thing; that I was ultimately showing myself to be a hard worker. It did not occur to me then that behaving this way could be off-putting to co-workers and clients, and thus hinder my professional growth.
What I did not know then, but I do now, is that I could have excelled I found a way to make my personality work for me and sought out work that allowed me to nurture my individuality.
According to the ABA article, introverts and extroverts can both excel as lawyers but are typically drawn to different fields of law and enjoy performing different tasks. Extroverts, for example, are drawn to trial work and tend to thrive as district attorneys or public defenders. Introverts, such as myself, are often drawn to sophisticated legal research, appellate work or a field such as intellectual property. Knowing who I am and where I excel are a couple of the reasons I started my own legal outsourcing business. I love legal writing and legal research since it grants me the latitude to work in a way that is fulfilling for me.
Law schools and law firms are catching on to the ways that personality can play into a person’s effectiveness at work. They have begun using introversion preferences to inform hiring and placement decisions and to groom young lawyers to be more efficient. HR departments of law firms and other companies looking to hire new attorneys are also employing temperament testing to help them identify which law students and lawyers fit within a particular corporate culture, and steering attorneys to e-courses, seminars and live workshops explaining how to network as an introvert, how to advance in their legal career as an introvert and how extroverts can manage and co-exist with introverts in the corporate setting.
I say this newfound corporate enlightenment can only benefit employees and employers alike. Knowing your employees and how to bring out the best in them by tuning into their individual dispositions will only set them up for success. As an employee, knowing yourself, being unafraid to be yourself, and asking for the tools you need to thrive will put you on a path of success as well. It certainly did that for me!
Talk to me below and tell me what types of legal work you like to perform and why? I’m always interested to hear from others in the legal world about what motivates them.