Apart or A Part?

Report Support Article Written by Carol Buckner

Earlier, I was talking with one of my colleagues discussing a recent trend I have been noticing on my Twitter feed—a grammatical error that is becoming common throughout the internet. I have seen many Twitter comments from people I follow saying "I am thrilled to be apart of a new team!" In this particular example, I'm associating “team” with a sports team since I am a die hard football fan!

During the conversation, I was telling my colleague (okay, I’ll admit that it was Dan Perryman) that I wondered if they understood that when this phrase is referenced, they are actually saying the exact opposite of what they are trying to say.

It's also hard to not wonder if, sometimes, they actually mean what they are saying and are trying to subtly tell us they are not so happy to be on that new team after all!

Dan immediately picked up on the fact that not only are they saying something opposite of what is intended, but that we can also look at “being apart” and “being a part” as good descriptors of the low and high Social Energy scores.  Feeling welcome, accepted and a part of the team (a sports or a work team) is along the lines of a high Social Energy score. On the other hand, feeling comfortable being apart from the group could indicate a low Social Energy score. 

After working at Birkman for over twenty years, I now have a new way of asking about someone’s Social Energy scores: Do you prefer feeling a part of a group, or do you prefer feeling apart from a group? Thanks for the interesting insight Dan!