Understanding the Introverted Leader - Part III

Three Traits Characterize Introverts

Attention all introverts.... you are a different breed and it's time to accept and celebrate your uniqueness.  According to Dr. Marti Olsen Laney, author of The Introvert Advantage, our uniqueness centers around three main traits that earmark us for introversion. 1) The way you recharge your emotional batteries. 2) The way you respond to stimulation. 3) Your need for depth rather than breadth.

With that said, I have chosen to comprise a list of statements that hopefully will exemplify the three things that make us unique. I have written them in first person in order to accentuate them and make a point. If think you are an introvert, look carefully and you will see yourself. If you're extroverted, maybe you will catch a new glimpse of your introverted friend, boss or spouse. Here we go:

• We are different as introverts but we don't need to apologize for it.
• We love social relationships, but they drain us emotionally. 
• Because of the draining effect of social interaction on our emotional energy we tend to avoid extended seasons with large crowds.
• In light of the above, we don't need a large number of relationships, just meaningful and real ones.
• We don't mean to come across aloof and mysterious, we are by nature more private and thus reveal less of ourselves to the average person.
• We keep a lot of our energy inside, often times making it difficult for others to know us.
• Because of our deeply reflective nature, we often hesitate before we speak.
• Like it or not, we are usually absorbed in thought, processing life from the inside out.
• We usually proceed with caution in most matters.
• Right or wrong, we usually don't offer our ideas freely, we need to be asked at times.
• If you try to read by viewing our body language you will not get an accurate reading. We are not as expressive or demonstrative as our counterparts.
• Unfortunately, our facial expressions don't always tell the whole story. We need to work on this!! LOL
• We are usually hesitant to engage extroverts that we don't know very well. And some we do!
• When we do speak, we really have something to say!
• We don't necessarily desire more conversation, just deeper ones.
• The same goes for our relationships, life experiences, information, and almost every other area of our lives.
• We tend to overstimulate very easily. Rapid amounts of information, excitement, emotion, conversation, etc. and our minds go...TILT. Remember we internalize and process EVERYTHING.
• There is a lot more about us you need to know and we need to tell.

Conclusion:

The above statements exemplify the three main traits that make us introverted. They are not in any way meant to be a cop out or an excuse not to grow. All introverts should work diligently to develop their extroverted expression and find balance in these areas. However, can a leopard change his spots? I don't think so.

We are a different breed,  let's celebrate our God-given uniqueness and lead accordingly.

Coach John

Works Cited:  Marti Olsen Laney, The Introvert Advantage, How to Thrive in an Extrovert World, New York, NY, Workman Publishing Co., 2002

P.S.  Introverts, Get the book!

Comments

[Coach John]

Tim,

Thanks for the comment. We are who we are.... can we grow and improve?Absolutely !!

Yet we have to live in the skin we're in.

Blessings,

Coach John

[Tim Hooper]

Another great word John. I am going to go buy the book this weekend. I think my wife would call your list above "A description of Tim Hooper".