The Power of Introversion

This Ted Talk video is about the power of introversion. The speaker is Susan Cain.

She says, “When it comes to creativity and to leadership, we need introverts doing what they do best.”

Did you know that one-third to one-half of the population are introverts?

Introverts feel more at home in a quiet, low key environment, though not all the time. To maximize our talent, we should be in a zone of stimulation that is just right for us.

Our society is geared to extraverts, both in schools and in the work place. Somehow, according to research, introverts get better grades.

Examples of introverts include Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Rosa Parks.

Susan says,

“Even Carl Jung, the psychologist who first popularized these terms, said that there’s no such thing as a pure introvert or a pure extrovert. He said that such a man would be in a lunatic asylum, if he existed at all. And some people fall smack in the middle of the introvert/extrovert spectrum, and we call these people ambiverts. And I often think that they have the best of all worlds. But many of us do recognize ourselves as one type or the other.”

Her calls to action:

1. “Stop the madness for constant group work.”
2. “Go to the wilderness. Have your own revelations. Be like Buddha.”
3. “Take a look at what is inside your own suitcase and why you put it there.”

Point 5 on the enneagram is usually populated by introverts. They make outstanding leaders because the usually let people run with their creative ideas. The can sit back in their castles (back offices) and run a large company effortlessly.

I once had a friend who ran a large company, even though he was an obvious introvert. He and his business began as a customer of my software design business. I think we became friends because we are both introverts. He later went on to create a most successful commodity trading program on an Apple II computer!

Are you an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert? How do you know? Do you ever take time by yourself to go out in the wilderness or simply take a walk? Please comment.

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Books by Susan Cain

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain The book that started the Quiet Revolution At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Ros… [Read More…]