Two introverted participants in a recent communications seminar told me how frustrated they both were. What about? It turns out their company wants them to “talk out” project ideas to a variety of people outside their internal group. This is the new expectation in their culture – that they float ideas in the early stages. These introverted leaders are concerned that this reluctance to carefully think through ideas before sending them half baked into the “corporate universe”results in lower quality output.
Yet they know that they will have to get with the program and are trying to figure out how to create a healthy balance between thinking and talking..a common organizational challenge for introverts.
Taking time to pause so that we can carefully consider proposals(even sleep on it?) makes total sense. It is hard to do when the message is “Talk to us, talk to us!”
I would guess that millions of dollars have been spent this past year on time management books and training programs. We all seem to want to know the answer to managing the chaos around us. Continue reading the rest of this article...
“Much of my work as a virtual assistant involves social media these
days. Initially, this was much easier for me to handle as an
(extreme) introvert. Strangely enough, I find that as friend counts
climb and the volume of online communication grows, I react with the
same sense of overwhelm, stress and exhaustion as I do to live or
phone communications. Have you heard this from others?”, she asks. Continue reading the rest of this article...
3 Responses
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As an introvert, I find that we really don’t mind talking about things, its just that we don’t want to talk to EVERYBODY about it. We are articulate, creative, intelligent and fluent to change, the problem comes when we have to do that for the massess.
I love the “everybody” comment. “One on one’s work great, don’t they?”
I’m an introvert (often prefer the term “lone wolf”) and find myself collaborating on a joint venture. While talking through everything important takes time and energy and even can put me at the breaking point if I don’t manage it, the benefits of collaboration far outweigh my personal preferences and needs. The quality of a creative endeavor or a decision can be greater if diverse minds are involved.