https://devsummit.aspirationtech.org/index.php?title=Unleashing_the_Talent_of_Introverts&feed=atom&action=historyUnleashing the Talent of Introverts - Revision history2024-03-29T06:48:48ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.35.1https://devsummit.aspirationtech.org/index.php?title=Unleashing_the_Talent_of_Introverts&diff=157&oldid=prevVivian: 1 revision imported2015-05-05T17:21:38Z<p>1 revision imported</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>facilitated by Arthur Coddington<br />
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==What Is Introversion?==<br />
(hint: *not* the same as shyness or social anxiety)<br />
# Social interaction drains the batteries rather than charging them<br />
# Difficult to process information while talking, need to go away & be quiet to think<br />
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==Initial Thoughts & Questions==<br />
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* What do people experience? How to talk publicly without feeling like a nervous wreck?<br />
* Do goals differ between intro & extra? What different kinds of activity do they bring?<br />
* How to do public social marketingy stuff without being drained?<br />
* Introverts have a lot to contribute in meetings etc, but tend not to want to interrupt, take the spotlight. But can lead in different ways.<br />
* Meyers-Briggs was big turning point, analysis of results helped see what was needed: time to recharge between networking events.<br />
* Book recommendation: ''Quiet'' by Susan Cain - what introversion is, how people have thrived.<br />
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* How do intros talk about what they're working on?<br />
** Not in superlatives, not so strongly pushing, but more matter-of-fact, more objective.<br />
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==What Does Introverted Leadership Look Like?==<br />
* Nudging not shoving<br />
* More collaborative, may seem to conflict with basic traits but OTOH it is more about listening, which introverts like to do<br />
* Selling your work would be not so obviously sell-y, but in a more open way that can nevertheless be very effective - and attracts a different sort of customer/client<br />
* How to handle it when you try to foster collaborative decision-making but others don't step up?<br />
** Hard not to fall back on dictatorship!<br />
** But it doesn't feel good.<br />
* Want people to do their jobs, but to continue doing them because they're invested & engaged & have a stake.<br />
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==Introverts in the Work World==<br />
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* Tech seen as a haven for introverts, but maybe more than that it's actually an incubator or social force nudging business & society towards listening to and valuing introverts.<br />
* Intros can take longer to get to an idea, but there are bigger leaps in the steps along the way.<br />
* Are there ways to foster introvert comfort & contributions in a work world that's not really set up for it?<br />
** Recognize and acknowledge and name the differences<br />
** "Take down the fences" - create open, collaboration-inducing work spaces<br />
** Gather people for conversation<br />
** Or... how about *not* open spaces? need some separation & quiet time<br />
*** Nice to have some noise and activity around, helps create privacy through anonymity, but need to make it not intrusive & distracting<br />
*** Can use headphones (with music or white noise) as a good device<br />
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Also a need for introverts to understand how extroverts talk & how to listen to them, as well as getting them to listen. Like, because they think by talking, if you suggest something and they go off on a tear, it might seem like arguing or shooting you down but isn't -- you might just have to know to sit back and wait for 20 minutes while they come around to the same idea, because that's how they're doing their thinking.<br />
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Extrovert leaders can take active steps to make space for intros to be heard, boundaries in interaction that are respected. <br />
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Specific examples:<br />
* Don't make decisions immediately, but with ideas & proposals brought up on one occasion and then time before the next meeting to go away and think and process and create response.<br />
* Send agenda around 2 days before<br />
* Call for initial input of questions & ideas at beginning of meeting<br />
* Written word can be easier to process & more effective<br />
* Other modes of interaction than group meetings: one-on-one, email, wikis, etc<br />
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And as we do more of it and others come into contact with us, ripples will flow out and scales will fall from their eyes.<br />
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==Three Takeaways==<br />
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# We can use personality typing systems like Meyers-Briggs to identify and talk about, and then recognize and learn to value the innate differences between people.<br />
# Introverted leadership looks more like collaboration, which has to be enabled by and embedded in transparency and trust.<br />
# Extroverted leaders can actively make space for introverts and get the best out of them by structuring meetings and decision-making appropriately: use email & wikis & other tools for written communication, distribute agendas well in advance of meetings, make decisions on a subject only after some inter-meeting time to allow for quiet thinking & processing after it's been brought up, etc. We can create processes and culture that's supportive of everybody's strengths and fosters their best work, but it takes education & care.</div>Vivian