Jennifer Kahnweiler - Creating Introvert-Friendly Workplaces: How to Unleash Everyones Talent and Performance

Creating
Introvert-Friendly
Workplaces

Other Books by Jennifer B. Kahnweiler

The Introverted Leader

Building on Your Quiet Strength

Quiet Influence

The Introverts Guide to Making a Difference

The Genius of Opposites

How Introverts and Extroverts Achieve Extraordinary Results Together

Shaping Your HR Role

Succeeding In Todays Organizations with William M. Kahnweiler

Creating Introvert-Friendly Workplaces

Copyright 2020 by Jennifer B. Kahnweiler
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First Edition
Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-5230-8651-1
PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-8652-8
IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-8653-5
Digital audio ISBN 978-1-5230-8655-9

2020-1

Book producer: BookMatters; Text designer: BookMatters; Cover designer: Susan Malikowski, DesignLeaf Studio; Copyeditor: Lou Doucette; Proofer: Janet Reed Blake; Indexer: Leonard Rosenbaum

To my precious granddaughters, Ava and Millie
May you inherit a world that embraces everyone

I was teaching a week-long leadership class for 30 engineers from different companies when I noticed that one of the participants, who I will call Sean, hadnt been very vocal. At a break I asked him how the class was going for him. Sean hesitated and then said, Well, Jennifer, I think the material is interesting, and I may be able to use some of it. However, I know I will never be a manager at my company.

Why do you sound so certain? I asked.

Because the managers in my workplace talk really loudly and move so fast. Thats not me, Sean replied.

I tried to provide the usual encouraging words like Dont give up! and You have so many strengths! but I could tell that Sean wasnt buying my seasoned pep talk.

In my previous books, The Introverted Leader (2018), Quiet Influence (2013), and The Genius of Opposites (2015), I made the case for how introverts can own their quiet strengths and use them to achieve results and make an impact.

In that moment of talking to Sean, however, I realized that my work with introverts had to be part of a broader movement, one in which organizations also worked to harness introvert power.

How can we tap into the potential of introverts like Sean and support their working styles in our traditional extroverted workplace cultures? That is the question I attempt to answer in this book.

I believe if we dont factor introvert strengths and personalities into how we run our organizations, we risk missing out on the talents and skills of millions and the huge positive impact they can have on our businesses. If introverts like Sean are continually told that they need to change who they are and to be more vocal and outgoing, they will eventually hit a wall. They will check out, taking with them their ideas, creativity, and unique perspectives. And what then becomes of our workplaces? Our cultures become less vibrant, our solutions become more homogenous, and we lose our competitive edges.

TABLE 1 Common Characteristics of Introverts and Extroverts

I am an extrovert. I get my energy from the outside world, and I feed off of other people. I have shared this in my books, and I say it often from the stage. But still some people scratch their heads. Why would I spend over 15 years of my life on a quest to create a world where introverts, who are the opposite of me, are celebrated and valued?

So, let me explain what led me to this niche, introvert champion role. My spouse, Bill, a proud introvert (and frequent curmudgeon) with a heart of gold, was the original impetus for my fascination with introverts. His yin balanced my yangthough we can still drive each other crazy when our introvert-extrovert differences dont jive.

Learning about how that introvert I married functioned helped me tremendously with my introverted clients as I pursued my career in counseling, consulting, and training. My work became less about changing the temperaments of those clients and more about helping them to appreciate and maximize their own quiet superpowers. Their resulting successes made me realize that people and the business world at large need to get educated about what introversion is and isnt. I want others to discover, as I did, how introvert awareness and inclusion can open up the possibilities for more flexible workplaces.

Second, I come from a family that believes you should do work that you love and that enables you to make a difference. I was fortunate to find that type of work, and now I try to help others not waste their days pursuing work that takes away their joy. When many of my career counseling and seminar clients learned they were introverts and embraced their style, they became lighter, gained more self-acceptance, and often found the right career path and work situation to support their whole selves. That is how I work to make a difference.