The Genius of Opposites

The Genius of Opposites

How can you build a constructive relationship between people with opposite personalities?

Manageris opinion

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg: each of these pairs surprises us by the different personalities of their members. For example, Sheryl Sandberg is as extraverted as Mark Zuckerberg is introverted. Not only did this not prevent them from working together, but they have also been able to take advantage of this strong difference in personalities to perform better.

However, successfully creating such synergies is not obvious. Kahnweiler explains why the relations between introverts and extraverts are generally a source of frustration and tension. She proposes five steps to build a constructive relationship with the opposite personality. Chapter after chapter, we thus discover how, for example, to better understand and accept the partner’s working preferences to find a collaborative mode that is acceptable to both. She also stresses what enables them to maintain the quality of their relationship over time: nurturing friendship, accepting conflict as natural, not letting what is left unsaid build up, etc. A concise book, rich in examples and practical advice.