Are you an Introvert or Extrovert?

(Introducing 🎵 The Workday Soundtrack and 🌿The Reluctant Gardener!)

MUSIC! It’s a thing. It’s good for your soul (and body, when you dance!) and there’s all kinds of truth in the lyrics. Enjoy….❤️

🎵 The Workday Soundtrack

In this season of life, I’m loving audiobooks - great for listening while you cook, weed or sew. This week, I ran across a fascinating book titled, QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain. As a career coach and confirmed extrovert, I was hooked.

Without getting into the zillions of types of introverts or extroverts (available online everywhere), the most striking theme was the history of how our society changed from a “Culture of Character” in the early 20th century that prioritized inner virtue, integrity (when no one was watching) and moral discipline. Abraham Lincoln was praised as embodying these traits.

Enter Industrialization, where men and women began working in factories, large stores and interacting with more and more strangers, requiring more finely-honed social skills. The history of the “rise of the Salesman” (think Dale Carnegie) led directly to the “Culture of Personality”, where we all now require new “public-facing behaviors”. Let’s look at a couple quotes:

“In the Culture of Character, the ideal self was serious, disciplined, and honorable. What counted was not so much the impression one made in public as how one behaved in private. The word personality didn’t exist in English until the 18th century, and the idea of “having a good personality” was not widespread until the twentieth.

… But when they embraced the Culture of Personality, Americans started to focus on how others perceived them. They became captivated by people who were bold and entertaining. “The social role demanded of all in the new Culture of Personality was that of a performer,” Cain wrote. (selfie, anyone?) “Every American was to become a performing self.” — Susan Cain, Quiet

I see this play out in Career Direct consultations all the time. Extroverts are praised for the strength of their social acumen, while being warned that “a strength overdone becomes a weakness.” There is wisdom in knowing when to stop and listen. For introverts, strengths always include their ability to focus, listen well and speak succintly — with substance. Introverts are warned to actually communicate their ideas, or they will be lost to us. We all generally know these things, but how does this play out in our current culture? Extroversion is praised and introverts are regularly coaxed out of their hiding places, but how does this affect us?

“If we assume that quiet and loud people have roughly the same number of good (and bad) ideas, then we should worry if the louder and more forceful people always carry the day. This would mean that an awful lot of bad ideas prevail, while good ones get squashed. Yet studies in group dynamics suggest that this is exactly what happens. We perceive talkers as smarter than quiet types - even though grade-point averages and SAT and intelligence scores reveal this perception to be inaccurate. “ —Susan Cain, Quiet

As one with top StrengthFinders traits of “Woo” and “Positivity” (and a high extroversion score), I am often struck by the strengths of my introvert friends — their quiet, deep reflections, their ability to focus (and accomplish things!) and their often rich talents that require a quieter mind.

I highly recommend this book. It further covers the benefits of Solitude, Practice and Mastery, how our open offices and collaboration efforts affect productivity and creativity, covers nurture vs. nature, cross-cultural differences and of course the myth of multi-tasking.

Below is a link to Susan Cain’s Introvert or Extrovert Quiz, so you can find out for yourself. (You probably already know!)

https://susancain.net/quiet-quiz/

These dynamics matter at work. For employers, team leads and employees alike, we can all mistake visibility for ability. The person who speaks first in a meeting may not be the one with the best idea. The employee who thinks before answering isn't necessarily disengaged. And the person who loves people may still need to learn to listen. Understanding our natural tendencies helps us appreciate what we bring to the workplace—and what our quieter friends and co-workers bring to the table.

Enjoy. If you’re an Introvert, stand a little taller. If you’re a confirmed Extrovert, take a closer look at your quiet friends. (Aren’t they just lovely? And so are you…..)

This week in the Garden…

(This will be a regular part of each post… because I knew you would love to know!)

I survived Cucumbers, so Pickles, Salsa and Relish are now IN the canning cabinet. But now TOMATOES are rolling in fast & furiously, so dreaming of sauce, salsa and bruschetta. Also, basil has gone wild!

What I’ve learned is that faithful consistency equal beauty and good food.

Have a great week . . .

Regards, your favorite weeder