Bluentree Productions produces shows for Korea’s largest educational broadcasting network (EBC). They cover topics like this one on Personality (Death and Imagination were the subjects of other recent documentaries. ). The producer wants to show people in Korea that quieter types can be successful.
After lots of emails, and several stops and starts, they arrived at my home office to film me on Saturday. I was asked all about what strengths introverts have, why some leaders are considered introverts and what managers can do to bring out introverts.
Laurie Nichols, non-profit consultant extroadinare, participated in an exec coaching session with me as the film crew documented our dialogue. We had a few “lost in translation” moments, but for the most part, Jinwoo, our interpretor and asst. producer did great. Even introvert husband Bill got into the act as the crew wanted to see how I’s and E’s live together. They also interviewed Kim Bui, Exec Producer at CNN, who has such respect as a calm, level headed manager in the company.
I love the universality of the introverted leadership theme. Language is no barrier when we strive to deepen our understanding of temperaments.
Actors like Streep prepare extensively to take us into the world of that character. Likewise, introverts often emphasize how much they prepare for meetings, calls, presentations, etc. so that they perform at their best ( a side note: Meryl Streep is an introvert like many actors). Yet, despite careful preparation, you can’t always anticipate what is thrown at you. Handling the moment sometimes trumps preparation. Continue reading the rest of this article...
The sort of coaching that fosters effective innovation and judgment, not merely the replication of technique, may not be so easy to cultivate. Yet modern society increasingly depends on ordinary people taking responsibility for doing extraordinary things: operating inside people’s bodies, teaching eighth graders algebraic concepts that Euclid would have struggled with, building a highway through a mountain, constructing a wireless computer network across a state, running a factory, reducing a city’s crime rate. In the absence of guidance, how many people can do such complex tasks at the level we require? With a diploma, a few will achieve sustained mastery; with a good coach, many could. We treat guidance for professionals as a luxury—you can guess what gets cut first when school-district budgets are slashed. But coaching may prove essential to the success of modern society. Continue reading the rest of this article...
Introverts are so often mischaracterized and even blamed for the woes of the world. Now government workers seem to be taking the hit. Continue reading the rest of this article...
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