I am surrounded by introverts!
Some of my best friends are introverts, I married an introvert, some of my favorite clients are introverts… but alas … me – nope, you guessed it – I am an extreme extrovert! Surprised?
At the recommendation of one of my dearest friends I checked out the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking and have thoroughly enjoyed the research, comparisons and qualities outlined in this book. We recommend it to everyone who manages a team of people, works with others, or shares their lives with anyone … yep that means pretty much everyone.
If you don’t want to read the book but prefer to invest 18 minutes watching a TED talk you can get the gist of Susan Cain’s research. Some of my favorite takeaways she shares in the TED talk:
Stop the madness for constant group work: I was thinking extroverts thrive in this environment … introverts maybe not so much. A more productive approach might be to combine the group work with individual refection and analysis to leverage the brilliance of both types of people.
Go to the wilderness, have your own revelation – unplug and get in your own head (admittedly for some of us that’s a scary place), this is great advice! In our busy lives and busy cluttered minds we don’t always make time to meditate on a great idea, create a new system or process – we are too busy doing and not spending enough time thinking and creating.
Take a good look at what’s in your suitcase: (this gave me flashbacks to the Up in the Air movie staring George Clooney , he asked ‘what’s in your backpack” but I digress). I was thinking, what are the true gifts you have to share with the world? Don’t hide them – shine them. Take a moment to reflect on how you could be even more productive if you showed up daily as your authentic start sharing your talents – that would be amazing!
On LinkedIn I read Richard Branson of Virgin fame also recruits for personality, no not just extroverts, but those who are introverts. While extroverts could talk their way in (and out) of anything… don’t be mislead – invest time to really understand the profile of the people you meet.
Some of the most famous leaders were introverts; people who changed the world were introverts think Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Bill Gates.
This whole conversation on introversion and extroversion has got me thinking. What if you spent more time thinking about a project before just launching into it? What if you thought more carefully before providing a response in a meeting? What if you were more thoughtful and diligent when having conversations with people?
I love my introverts and want to be more like them and think that if we all did that in business today we would be more productive, more creative and more connected.
What are your ideas on how you can maximize the introverts and extroverts in your team? Share your ideas with us here on our blog.
PS. If you want more ideas on how to increase your productivity – check out other blogs here and several eBooks you can share with your team.
