Group Dynamics - The Contributors and the Absorbers

Okay, hopefully this is my last blog entry today, but... no promises.

Anyways, I was just thinking about groups of people and my role in them.

Now generally in groups theres 2 types of people, or more a spectrum of those types of people.

You have your contributors of group energy - ie your very outgoing people, your group leaders, the crazy hyper energetic types, the types that make the jokes etc.

And then you have your absorbers of group energy. Now when I say absorbers I don't mean it in a negative way. You can't have too much group energy or it just gets crazy - imagine if you had 5 really energetic people going to a movie - it would get out of hand and just be a bit too much for everyone. The absorbers are the ones who listen, who are laid back, who take in what the contributors put in. These are the introverts of the group, so to speak. They are not to be confused with what I will refer to as group vampires though (the people who suck the life out of the group and/or conversation - they absorb energy, and replace it with negative energy).

I often consider myself an absorber, as I am somewhat introverted and quiet. I prefer to try to make valuable contributions to the group, as opposed to saying tons of stuff and being crazy. However, I often find I have to be the one who initiates contact in order to make stuff happen. For example, if people are going out I'll usually be the one who ends up having to ask if anything is going on, or ask to come. This used to bug me, however I've realized that if everyone in the group waited to be invited to do something, nothing would ever happen. The roles of absorbers and contributors are present in all group situations, including the planning of stuff.

However I often find the best people to have in a group are the ones who are a mix of the 2 - consider it a spectrum.

Absorber <----------------> Contributor

Ideally, you'd like to be here:

Absorber <--------O--------> Contributor

However, I often find myself somewhere around here:

Absorber <---O-------------> Contributor

Now there are some groups of people where I am comfortable being closer to the middle, and thats what I'm working towards, but I think that its a valuable skill to be able to play the different roles in different groups. For example, I have friends where I would be on the Contributor end, and some where I would be on the Absorber end. It all really depends on who I'm with and how comfortable I am with that group. Usually I prefer to be an Absorber if possible. Sometimes though, I feel I need to play the role of Contributor though - its often beneficial when breaking into a group to be a Contributor, but I find everyone appreciates it when someone is good at playing the role of Absorber. For me right now I guess the trick is getting into the group a bit more, so I can play the role of Absorber more, which is where I'm more comfortable.

This blogging thing is tougher to do than I thought lol. HUUUUUGE TIME SINK.

Thoughts anyone?