{"id":10854,"date":"2017-04-28T20:46:07","date_gmt":"2017-04-29T01:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/"},"modified":"2017-04-28T20:46:07","modified_gmt":"2017-04-29T01:46:07","slug":"make-the-most-of-introvert-traits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/","title":{"rendered":"Make The Most Of Introvert Traits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people don\u2019t associate \u201cintroverts\u201d with being \u201cleaders.\u201d In fact, a poll by USA Today once shared the results that 65 percent of executives believed being an introvert was a barrier to leadership (\u201cNot All Successful CEOs Are Extroverts,\u201d USATODAY.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

But leadership really is about having the right skills. Those of us who are introverts often don\u2019t recognize some of our personality traits as the \u201cright\u201d skills. Here are three examples:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. We prepare, prepare, and prepare.<\/strong> It doesn\u2019t come naturally for introverts to speak in front of a group. So we tend to prepare beforehand. This is a key to success in any field.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I gave a few talks last year. Most of my audience was about twice my age, some had more years of work experience than I had being alive, some were seasoned business executives. Giving an hour talk in front of them was nerve-wracking. After all, what could a 20-something possibly teach them about business?<\/p>\n

    It was a terrifying thought. I tempered my expectations for myself, just hoping \u201cnot to screw up too bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

    And I prepared, prepared, and prepared. \u201cWhat do people want to hear in this discussion?\u201d \u201cHow do I want people to feel?\u201d<\/p>\n

    The talk turned out to be great. People took notes, asked lots of questions, and thanked me for sharing my knowledge.<\/p>\n

    All I did was to prepare. By preparing, you are ready to add value when you walk in front of a group.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. We listen and ask questions<\/strong>. Many people fail to connect with others genuinely. Instead, they think about what they are going to say, and never have time to listen or ask questions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Personally, I find it\u2019s extremely valuable to ask good questions. For one thing, you get your itch scratched by asking people how they\u2019ve dealt with a similar situation. For another, you learn insights you wouldn\u2019t otherwise.<\/p>\n

      For example, ask people about how they handle e-mails. We use e-mail at work all the time, and most of us often feel overwhelmed by the number of e-mails we receive. We spend so much time on it, wouldn\u2019t it make sense to ask people how they handle e-mails more efficiently?<\/p>\n

      Of course, some questions are more important than others. But listening and asking good questions can pay off in a big way.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. We are comfortable working alone.<\/strong> Jason Fried, founder and CEO of Basecamp, once gave a talk on \u201cwhy work doesn\u2019t happen at work.\u201d The point was that we need focused, uninterrupted time to get real work done. Constant interruption is the No. 1 killer of productivity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        In general, introverts are comfortable working alone, which is a good way to avoid interruption and get work done. Being comfortable working alone doesn\u2019t mean being anti-social or avoiding face-to-face communication at all costs. But it\u2019s an effective way to communicate on your own schedule.<\/p>\n

        For example, one day a week, I work from home instead of being in an office. Without someone knocking on my door, I can choose to not respond instantly. I can close my HipChat messages, or not check e-mails right away. I catch up with those messages when I\u2019m ready.<\/p>\n

        You don\u2019t have to be outgoing to be a leader. But you should make sure to get everything out of being an introvert!<\/p>\n

        Siwei Dodge is an analytical marketer for B2B Technology companies. She is proud to be an introvert and rants on her blog: www.siweidodge.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Leadership really is about having the right skills. Those of us who are introverts often don\u2019t recognize some of our personality traits as the \u201cright\u201d skills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[30],"class_list":{"0":"post-10854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-magazine","7":"tag-how-to","8":"magazine_issues-may-2017"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMake The Most Of Introvert Traits<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Make The Most Of Introvert Traits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leadership really is about having the right skills. Those of us who are introverts often don\u2019t recognize some of our personality traits as the \u201cright\u201d skills.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Training\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TrainingMagazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-29T01:46:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Siwei Dodge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TrainingMagUs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TrainingMagUs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Siwei Dodge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Siwei Dodge\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/604b27f4758c6962605895c1a219cda5\"},\"headline\":\"Make The Most Of Introvert Traits\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-29T01:46:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/\"},\"wordCount\":590,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"How-To\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Magazine Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/\",\"name\":\"Make The Most Of Introvert Traits\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-29T01:46:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Make The Most Of Introvert Traits\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/\",\"name\":\"Training\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Training Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/training-logo-544.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/training-logo-544.png\",\"width\":554,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"Training Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TrainingMagazine\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/TrainingMagUs\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/training_magazine\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/lakewood-media-group-llc\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCBRVPGzg9czIhhjPcViYh-w\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/604b27f4758c6962605895c1a219cda5\",\"name\":\"Siwei Dodge\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a75ee9da8e72cbce6f79ade9560f314bee940ae275d1a9afa34a0860bc97724f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a75ee9da8e72cbce6f79ade9560f314bee940ae275d1a9afa34a0860bc97724f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Siwei Dodge\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/author\/siwei-dodge\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Make The Most Of Introvert Traits","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Make The Most Of Introvert Traits","og_description":"Leadership really is about having the right skills. Those of us who are introverts often don\u2019t recognize some of our personality traits as the \u201cright\u201d skills.","og_url":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/","og_site_name":"Training","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TrainingMagazine","article_published_time":"2017-04-29T01:46:07+00:00","author":"Siwei Dodge","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@TrainingMagUs","twitter_site":"@TrainingMagUs","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Siwei Dodge","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/"},"author":{"name":"Siwei Dodge","@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/604b27f4758c6962605895c1a219cda5"},"headline":"Make The Most Of Introvert Traits","datePublished":"2017-04-29T01:46:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/"},"wordCount":590,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["How-To"],"articleSection":["Magazine Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/","url":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/","name":"Make The Most Of Introvert Traits","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-04-29T01:46:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/make-the-most-of-introvert-traits\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Make The Most Of Introvert Traits"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/","name":"Training","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#organization","name":"Training Magazine","url":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/training-logo-544.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/training-logo-544.png","width":554,"height":150,"caption":"Training Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TrainingMagazine","https:\/\/x.com\/TrainingMagUs","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/training_magazine\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/lakewood-media-group-llc","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCBRVPGzg9czIhhjPcViYh-w"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/604b27f4758c6962605895c1a219cda5","name":"Siwei Dodge","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a75ee9da8e72cbce6f79ade9560f314bee940ae275d1a9afa34a0860bc97724f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a75ee9da8e72cbce6f79ade9560f314bee940ae275d1a9afa34a0860bc97724f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Siwei Dodge"},"url":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/author\/siwei-dodge\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10854\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trainingmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}