“We all
need to be
challenged….
Lift me
higher.
Insist on
excellence.”
— BRYAN WILLIAMS
in. cain, an introvert who has
become the world’s leading expert
on unlocking the potential of
introverts at work, delivered the
opening keynote and a handful of
practical takeaways on getting the
most out of the introverts on each
attendee’s team. She began by
asking the audience to consider what
they imagine a business leader being:
gregarious, bold, alpha. however, good
leaders come in all stripes, and cain
challenged the audience to “stretch
their view” of what traits a leader
should have.
the goal, then, is balance between
the extroverts and introverts on one’s
team. “how do you get that yin and
yang working so that everyone under-
stands each other?” asked cain. the
first step is to identify who, including
yourself, is an extrovert and introvert.
She demonstrated this with an activity:
“i want to get each of you thinking
about who you truly are. Break into
groups of four, and share a story from
your childhood about who you are.
then, select the most personal story
and we’ll share some of them with the
room as a whole.”
“and i’m just kidding. We are not
going to do any such thing.” however,
whether one felt fear or excitement to
participate in the exercise is a good
indicator of an introverted or extro-
verted nature. according to cain,
top: bryan Williams accepting his IsPa
dedicated Contributor award. above: human
nature performing at the start of the session.
nature is indeed the operative word:
introversion and extroversion are two
of the most basic traits of human
psychology, reflected in the sensitivity
of one’s nervous system. it is therefore
essential to work with each team
member’s nature, rather than trying to
shape everyone into an extrovert—
often the cultural default.
Practical Strategies
fortunately, there are a number of
things one can easily implement to
start working with, rather than
against, the nature of the introverts on
their team.
“in the typical meeting, three
people do 70 percent of the talking,”
says cain. “it’s definitely not a good
thing, because on average each person
has the same number of good and bad
ideas.” for introverts, cain suggests
spending time before the meeting
thinking about what one wants to
contribute. once they’re in the
meeting, it’s equally important to
speak up early so that the conversation
evolves around one's initial input.
it’s also critical to understand that
introverts express enthusiasm in a
more muted way than extroverts.
introverts need to ramp up their enthu-
siasm when interacting with
extroverts, and extroverts need to be
mindful to not overpower introverts
with their own enthusiasm. By simply
being aware of expressions of enthu-
siasm, cain says “you can avoid a
world of misunderstanding.”
creating a safe space for people to
speak up is the next step in elevating
the voices of one’s introverted
employees. Seek out dissenting
opinions and challenge someone on
your team to play devil’s advocate
during a meeting; doing so ensures
that there’s always a diversity of
opinion.
Lastly, cain suggests that leaders
try to match their leadership style to
the engagement level of the
employee or the team as a whole. if
possible, hire team leaders who
complement the engagement of their
team; this is because research has
shown that introverted leaders get
better results from teams that are
actively engaged, whereas extroverts
get better results when employees
need motivation.
When the right environment is
created, introverts will begin to speak
up more frequently and offer their
intelligence and creativity to the world.
cain parted by asking a question of the
introverts in the room: “What is the
thing that matters so much to you that
you carry it around with you wherever
you go? every so often, take those
things out and share them. the world
needs you, and it needs the things you
carry.” n
novEmbEr/dEcEmbEr
■
PULSE 2019
27