The Los Angeles Dodgers promoted one of their Triple-A Oklahoma City affiliate minor league pitchers to the majors on this past Saturday. Normally, this kind of roster move during the middle of a baseball season doesn't get a lot of attention - in fact, these kinds of moves happen all of the time throughout the season. However, this particular roster move was different. The player in this case was a 32 year-old pitcher named Pat Venditte. Again, the name Venditte shouldn't necessarily mean anything, unless your last name also happens to be Venditte or if you happen to take a closer look at his personal Wikipedia page. Pat Venditte is known as a switch pitcher - in other words, he can pitch equally well with either his right arm or left arm! A switch pitcher (also called an ambidextrous pitcher) is rare - the last switch pitcher to play in the major leagues as Greg Harris, who was known as a right-handed pitcher throughout his career until his penultimate (next to the last) game, when he pitched left-handed. Venditte regularly pitches with both arms, though it will be interesting to see how well he does pitching both right- and left-handed.
Webster's online dictionary defines the word "ambidextrous" as the ability to use both the right and left hands equally well. True ambidexterity is fairly uncommon - only about 1 percent of all individuals are naturally ambidextrous. However, the ability to switch back and forth between dominant hands is definitely a useful skill that is often encouraged in many activities such as typing, juggling, playing a musical instrument, batting a baseball, martial arts, and surgery.
I've talked about introverts and extroverts in the past (see my previous post on the Lemon Juice Test as one example). As we discussed, there are certain advantages to being an introverted leader as well as an extroverted leader. After reading about Pat Venditte, I started asking myself whether there was the "ambidextrous" equivalent to the introvert/extrovert personality typology. Well, it turns out (of course - why else would I be writing this post!) that there is an ambidextrous equivalent to this personality dimension - some individuals just don't classify well as either an introvert or an extrovert. Wharton's Adam Grant calls these individuals "ambiverts." Grant found in his studies that up to two-thirds of all individuals do not strongly identify as either introverts or extroverts (i.e., most of us are ambiverts). Granted (no pun intended), most ambiverts will lean towards the introvert or extrovert side, but in the majority of cases, whether they show more introvert tendencies or extrovert tendencies is context-dependent. Grant also found that, at least when it comes to individuals in marketing and sales, ambiverts are 51% more productive than the average salesperson.
Grant explains, "Because they naturally engage in a flexible pattern of talking and listening, ambiverts are likely to express sufficient assertiveness and enthusiasm to persuade and close a sale, but are more inclined to listen to customers' interests and less vulnerable to appearing too excited or overconfident."
Travis Bradberry wrote an article for Forbes magazine ("9 Signs That You're an Ambivert") and listed 9 statements that if they describe you, you are likely to be an ambivert:
"1. I can perform tasks alone or in a group. I don't have much preference either way.
2. Social settings don't make me uncomfortable, but I tire of being around people too much.
3. Being the center of attention is fun for me, but I don't like it to last.
4. Some people think I'm quiet, while others think I'm highly social.
5. I don't always need to be moving, but too much down time leaves me feeling bored.
6. I can get lost in my own thoughts just as easily as I can lose myself in a conversation.
7. Small talk doesn't make me uncomfortable, but it does get boring.
8. When it comes to trusting other people, sometimes I'm skeptical, and other times, I dive right in.
9. If I spend too much time alone, I get bored, yet too much time around other people leaves me feeling drained."
Do these statements describe you perfectly? If so, you are likely to be an ambivert.
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