Sunday, April 1, 2012

The Power of Introverts

In this powerful Ted Talk, Susan Cain talks about the power of introverts, Cain talks about the role introverts can play on a team. I really appreciated this article, because it looks at how a diversity of personalities can contribute to a team. Personally, i'm an introvert and I've always felt extroverts were the only types of people that could be successful in social entrepreneurship. But this talk lies out some of the important qualities introverts hold. In the talk she says:

"And interesting research by Adam Grant at the Wharton School has found that introverted leaders often deliver better outcomes than extroverts do, because when they are managing proactive employees, they're much more likely to let those employees run with their ideas, whereas an extrovert can, quite unwittingly, get so excited about things that they're putting their own stamp on things, and other people's ideas might not as easily then bubble up to the surface."
I found this statement incredibly powerful because it spoke so well to a necessary need in an innovative space. Statements like this made me feel like I could be leader despite my introvertive ways.  I was incredibly inspired when Cain listed world leaders such has Gandhi, Rosa Parks and Eleanor Roosevelt has self proclaimed introverts. These were people who made measurable impact on the world, yet they were people like me who appreciated being alone in their thoughts.

What I liked the most about Cain's talk was her assertion that introversion spurs creativity.  While I do appreciate the collaborative model of working in groups, I best feel I can be creative and get the most out of my ideas when I am in solitude. This was an ethos Cain repeated throughout her TED talk, that idea that solitude matters and that is where the best ideas can sometimes come from. "Groups famously follow the opinions of the most dominant or charismatic person in the room, even though there's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas." By doubting introverts or not listening to their voice, while it may not be the loudest int he room, teams may be losing out on unique and out of the box solutions.

Here is the link to the video.


http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts.html

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