BNET Video

Best Practices

Now Playing:

Working with Introverts | Leila's House of Corrections

Don't assume that the lack of an immediate response to a question means a person is unprepared, uninterested, or unknowledgeable—you may be working with an introvert. Introverts like to give thoughtful responses after they've had time to process. Learn 3 ways to forge a relationship with introverts.

If you have questions or suggestions for future video topics, Leila wants to hear from you.

Speaker: Leila Bulling Towne, Executive Coach, The Bulling Towne Group

Comment

See Full Transcript

Tags: Response, Video, Corporate Communications, Marketing, Response, Video, Corporate Communications, Marketing, introverts, managing, business, employees, coworkers, Leila's House of Corrections, relationships, team

 

BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

Please add your comment:
  1. You are currently: a Guest |
  4.  

Basic HTML tags that work in comments are: bold (<b></b>), italic (<i></i>), underline (<u></u>), and hyperlink (<a href></a)

advertisement
advertisement
  • Click Here
  • Click Here
  • Click Here
advertisement
Working with Introverts | Leila's House of Corrections

Don't assume that the lack of an immediate response to a question means a person is unprepared, uninterested, or unknowledgeable—you may be working with an introvert. Introverts like to give thoughtful responses after they've had time to process. Learn 3 ways to forge a relationship with introverts.

If you have questions or suggestions for future video topics, Leila wants to hear from you.

As a manager, you work with many types of people. Some of them are opinionated, expressive, and maybe even too vocal at times. Others are more restrained and conservative with their thoughts. They re not necessarily shy, quiet, or withdrawn. They re introverts, and if you dismiss their contributions, you re losing a chance to tap a wealth of knowledge, so

Come on managers, it s time to get to know introverts.

What do Winston Churchill, Jackie O., Albert Einstein, and Al Gore have in common? They are regarded as being introverts, people who prefer to process information internally vs. externally. Introverts form opinions after doing research, not at the drop of a hat. They think first and then act or speak. This is the opposite of extroverts, who think out here and eagerly bounce ideas off each other. As a manager, you must harness the power of all your employees so here are guidelines for working with introverts.

Tip 1: Don t rush to judge.

Introverts respond judiciously to questions and are excellent listeners. Managers sometimes judge them unfairly, assuming that lack of an immediate response means the person is unprepared, uninterested, or unknowledgeable. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Tip 2: Silence doesn t indicate agreement.

This is a best practice for all situations, but particularly with introverts. If you pose a question or provide a proposal and you don t receive any feedback, it s false to say to yourself, OK, they agree. Otherwise, they d say something. Instead introverts need time to compose a thoughtful response rather than blurting out a half-baked idea.

Tip 3: Give time for preparation.

Introverts feel most comfortable responding to agendas and discussion topics that are provided ahead of time. They excel at formulating detailed, considered reactions, and they don t do that on the spur of the moment. Therefore, provide meeting agendas a few days in advance. Also set expectations with the team on when you need feedback and how. If you need everyone to provide thoughts during the meeting, then let people know in advance.

A final thought: don t be quick to label anybody. As a manager it s up to you to bring out the best in all people and ultimately everyone is an individual, not an introvert or an extrovert. The best managers cultivate relationships with understanding, tapping the individual strengths of all of their team members.