Posted 7/14/21
When looking through job ads for open positions in fundraising (as well as sales), many employers use words such as “high energy,” “fast-moving,” “active,” “outgoing,” and “persistent,” which has been the rule of hiring for several years. Awhile back, there was a psychological tool called the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory which was used often in therapy as well as hiring, and later used with the general public to provide some understanding of their own personality, and it became quite popular. The results indicated where each person fell on a continuum between four sets of two contrasting traits, the first and most popular set being Extroverted and Introverted. The general public gravitated to this information. The results showed that people favor one more than the other, to varying degrees, and the more your results leaned to one side, the greater the tendency to show that behavior.
Needless to say, the job description for fundraising and sales generally fell under the high energy, highly active Extroverted type, (wheres a tech position might tend to indicate an introvert for a better fit). Soon the terms Introverted and Extroverted became part of the American culture.
More recently, psychologists began looking closer at these two types and found that most of the general population fall somewhere in between. While there are some people who are almost textbook outgoing extroverts, and others more reserved introverts, many people can relate to both. People who utilize a mix of both traits are called Ambiverts, and can navigate between the two when needed. When it comes to fundraising and/or sales, the rule of thumb was to hire extroverts, but more recent research is showing that ambiverts have actually been performing as well if not better in raising funds and selling than the pure extrovert. The reason for this is that an ambivert can provide sufficient energy and enthusiasm when needed to promote and draw attention to an organization or mission, similar to an extrovert, but they can also tone it down and listen when necessary, stopping the continual promotion of the organization, switching the focus to the donor’s concerns, hesitancy, questions, philanthropic intentions, mission interests, and even fears related to a donations. This often opens the door in the donor relationship to a point where trust and collaboration develop. The ability to adapt creates a stronger bond and deeper connection between the donor and the fundraiser. It was a surprising revelation. (Not to say that extroverts are not good at fundraising, it’s just that the combined response from an ambivert can be more effective, according to research).
When I was selling as well as raising funds, my supervisors / managers were not always sure of my personality as a “fit” for fundraising, because I was not necessarily “high energy.” But after awhile, they asked me how I was achieving such respectable numbers? Until recently, I did not know myself. Remember, there are more variables related to hiring a fundraiser and/or salesperson, and extroverts do a good job of promoting and drawing attention, but it can be a mistake to overlook the Ambivert as a candidate to create deeper and more engaged relationships. This does not require the need to take the Myers Briggs Inventory, only to recognize that some successful sales/fundraisers may not fit the typical high-energy extroverted mold, so if a candidate does not appear to fit, yet you feel comfortable interacting with that individual, the same comfortable feeling will most likely be experienced by the donor, which often results in a long-term, trusting relationship. For larger departments, a combination of personalities is probably the best for overall fundraising performance, but don’t overlook the Ambivert.
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