Appreciating 'Innies'

Copyright © 2004 by Don Blohowiak
Don@LeadWell.com www.LeadWell.com

One out of four people is an introvert. And they are usually misunderstood by the other three. And often by themselves.

It's no wonder. From Freud forward, the quarter of the population that draws more energy from reflection than interaction has been viewed as abnormally withdrawn, self-absorbed, and even anti-social.

Introversion, modern medical and social researchers confirm, is a temperament, not a pathology.

A person's tendency to be extroverted -- focused on and energized by the outward world, or introverted -- more reflective and internally energized, is simply innate, a function of genes and brain wiring.

So your colleagues who are quiet, shy, and less overtly gung-ho are neither broken nor deficient. Just different.

Introverts bring strengths to a team that can be disastrously negated if they aren't recognized and valued.

ACTION to Take

• Examine your environment for bias toward impatience, instant decisions, and fast action. Does it steamroll people whose natural rythyms are slower-paced?
  
  
• Understand the tendencies and strengths of all your teammates. Give assignments that allow everyone to naturally give you their best thinking and work.
  
  
• Make a point to draw out (often one-to-one in private) the viewpoints of less verbal and assertive members of your team.
  
  
• Demonstrate patience with your reserved and thoughtful colleagues. Their considerable insights may take a little more time to bubble up. Don't miss them by blowing by them.
  
  
• Order the very informative book The Introvert Advantage by Dr. Marti Olsen Laney here.

Let us know how we can assist. Coaching introverts on how to cope, lead and prevail in the frenetic business world is one of our specialties... For more information, see our coaching web site.

Lead Well® helps organizations to improve measurable results by developing their current and future leaders. For more information, please contact us. By phone, toll-free in the USA: 1-888-LeadWell (532-3935), or 1-609-716-9490. By email, Info@LeadWell.com.

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Don Blohowiak, a management consultant and popular conference speaker, is the author of several business books. The executive director of the Lead Well® Institute in Princeton, NJ, he may be reached at http://www.LeadWell.com/.

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Copyright © 2005, Don Blohowiak, Lead Well Institute

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