Bette Frick brings us another guest post in her series on Business Matters.
One of my favorite columnists, Leonard Pitts, Jr., recently wrote a commentary titled “I (heart) introverts” in which he reviewed Susan Cain’s New York Times bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. I immediately bought the book and found myself on almost every page.
For most of my life, I’ve urged myself to be more extroverted, but the opposite has happened—I see more evidence of introversion every year. Classic definitions suggest that extroverts are drawn to the external life of people and activities; they recharge by socializing. By contrast, introverts are drawn to the inner world of thought and feeling and recharge by being alone. But Cain shows that the differences in personality are much more complicated than that as she traces the history of introversion and some of its political ramifications. For example, she posits that the 2008 meltdown was caused by too much power being concentrated in the hands of extroverts, whom she defines as aggressive risk-takers. That’s a separate, but very fascinating, discussion.
For this blog post, I want to share my revelation that once I recognized my introversion, I applauded it as one facet of a complex personality and celebrated the opportunity to do what makes me most comfortable—enjoy the solitude and quiet of self-employment that allows me to generate ideas and content and then embrace that small part of me that enjoys the extroversion of collaboration and communication. For example, I love being in front of a room full of people―the more the merrier―but this involves stepping outside of myself for a specific time period. Afterward, I retreat to my “restorative niche” as identified by Cain.
Cain estimates that introverts make up one-third of the general population. I was interested to find that, while teaching a recent STC webinar on freelancing, 75% of potential and current freelancers self-identified as introverts. Perhaps introverts become freelancers because they feel that they can control their work environment more than they might in a normal, noisy work setting at a company or organization.
Cain says that our culture undervalues introverts and elevates extroverts, but she warns against that bias. She urges introverts to recognize their true nature; to choose a job or self-employment that will allow them to thrive; and to strengthen their communication skills, both in writing and speaking, so that they may counter some of the irrational exuberance of extroverts in their workplace. Of course, as a presentation and writing trainer, that makes a lot of sense to me. Since I’ve stopped trying to convert myself into an extrovert, I feel I have a lot more energy. I still go forth into the world, greet fellow hikers and bikers, and interact in all my personal and professional communities. I just enjoy my solitude more now that I’m not feeling quite so guilty about it.
The “Quiet Quiz”: How do you score on the Extrovert-Introvert spectrum?
Love the article! At one well-known computer company I was employed for 11 years, the company pushed…I meant, encourage all workers to become sociable and extroverted. Never was comfortable becoming more social. Tech writing confirms I’m in the right professions. I (heart) introverts!