Did you know there are a lot of amazingly successful people out there who are introverts?
For example Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and one of the richest people on the planet Earth.
Warren Buffett, who is one of the most successful investors of all time, who runs Berkshire Hathaway, which owns more than 60 companies, including insurer Geico, battery maker Duracell, and restaurant chain Dairy Queen.
Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Steven Spielberg, and Marissa Mayer all are introverts and some of the most successful people in the world.
Who exactly are introverts?
Most people think that introverts have a lack of confidence and are very shy. But It’s far from shyness, which is fear of social judgment.
Introversion and Extraversion are the ways of how we respond to the outside world and what energizes and drains us.
Extraverts get energized by communicating with people, they’re usually more loud, assertive, and energetic and they resist quiet time alone.
Introverts, on the other hand, need to recharge in a quiet space, because interacting with people drains their energy, even though they are friendly and social.
If you don’t know who you are, an introvert or an extravert you can easily take the 16 Personalities test, which is free and takes around 12 minutes to complete. (My type is ISFJ-A, let me know what is yours in the comments )
In everyday life and business, we need both. So this is not a bash against extroverts. In fact, I love extroverts!
You are so energizing, outgoing, and ambitious, you help us lighten up a bit when we stay in silence. You are the ice-breakers and I love it.
I think that in today’s world introverts are a little bit underestimated, that’s why in this article I want to talk about why businesses need introverts as much as extraverts.
Why do businesses need introverts?
1. Quiet Confidence
A lot of people think that introverts lack confidence and the ability to assert themselves because they’re quieter. But in reality, it’s often the opposite.
The fact that introverts don’t need an external affirmation to make the right decision makes them confident in what they do.
Even though we welcome external validation, we listen and appreciate it, but it’s never a crucial part of the process for us. Neither it can distract us from our ultimate goal.
Introverts build their self-confidence by achieving goals, mastering skills, and building relationships. And for that, we don’t need to talk all the time.
That’s why I call it quiet confidence, and it’s highly needed and appreciated in leading positions. Being louder, and talking over other people doesn’t mean being right or better.
2. Introverts are relationship masters
Naturally, introverts have this amazing trait of being highly empathetic and thoughtful of other people.
Maybe they are not very conversational in large groups and hate small talk, they prefer developing more meaningful connections in a one-on-one setting.
That is crucial for building strong working relationships with colleagues and clients.
That’s why introverts often make great leaders, who think of others’ needs and how to make it work better as a team.
3. Well-planned thinking
In terms of productivity and time management, introverts take a longer time to process information and then make a decision. However, once the decision is made, it’s planned very thoroughly and detailed.
We don’t jump in head-first.
Introverts are deep thinkers which makes them good at studying, analyzing, and problem-solving. These qualities are also incredibly important for business planning.
Read about: Time-Management Hack To Get Things Done – The Pomodoro Technique
4. Introverts can remain objective
Introverts stay rational and remain objective even through tense moments. They analyze different points of view and look for different ways to solve the problem at hand.
It’s amazing that even though introverts may have a strong emotional connection, it never overrules their rationality and steadiness.
And tell me what hot-tempered executive doesn’t need this type of person in the company? Who can see things and speak with a clear mind, taking control of the situation?
5. Introverts are highly creative
As introverted people, we spend a lot of our time in our heads. All introverts will understand me here, our minds are constantly planning, wondering, analyzing, and dreaming. That’s why I was shocked when I found out that some people don’t have an internal monologue in their heads (I have it 90% of the time!).
Spending a lot of time in our heads, planning, and imagining gives us expansive creativity and amazing insights that translate into innovative ideas and solutions.
It is true though, that most of the time we are more productive and creative when we’re working independently in a quiet place, compared to group brainstorming sessions.
6. Introverts are better listeners
Just like in personal life, in the business world introverts achieve order out of chaos by listening, analyzing, and observing. We don’t speak unless we have some valuable ideas and thoughts to contribute. Meaning that we don’t jump into conversations, but instead, we are processing the other person’s words, so our response is more thought out. Isn’t it important in business?
By analyzing in our heads we often connect disparate dots and eventually bring great ideas to the table.
Listening to your customers is essential in every business, of course, if you want to succeed. It’s as important as speaking, sometimes even more, when the talk is cheap.
It’s crucial to hear out your customers’ needs and introverts are amazing at it!
7. We enjoy solitary working
Introverts thrive in independence and feel very comfortable in their own company.
Does that make us great small business owners and freelance workers? Yes! Working alone doesn’t bother us in any way, we even enjoy working by ourselves.
It doesn’t mean that we don’t welcome others to work with us. As I said previously introverts are great listeners which makes them amazing teammates. It simply means that introverts don’t need external stimulation like busy offices, constant meetings, and guidance.
We can be as productive or maybe, even more, working by ourselves and focusing on our agenda.
Here are 8 practical tips on how to excel as an introvert in business
1. Focus on your strengths
The first thing you should do is focus on what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing. Being an introvert doesn’t have to be a liability when it can be your biggest asset!
Focus on things that you’re good at. It can be photography, writing, graphic design, mentoring, painting, teaching, and so on. Master your skills in the area you enjoy working in.
It’s important, especially when you want to start a business.
2. Ask good questions and have good answers
In a networking situation, it’s very important to master your questions and answers.
Just imagine that you arrived at some event where you have the opportunity to make connections. What questions you’re most likely to be asked in the first 15 minutes?
- “What’s your name?”
- “What do you do?”
- “Where are you from?” And so on.
Try to put some thoughts into your answers, so they can lead to better conversations.
Instead of answering “I live in Columbia, South Carolina”, I would say “I live in Columbia, South Carolina but I grew up in Kazakhstan, it’s a country near Russia. Have you ever been there?”
Do you get the point? Have a good answer that can lead to a longer and better conversation.
The same with questions. Show true curiosity about another person.
3. Focus on building meaningful relationships
As mentioned above, introverts don’t enjoy small talk and noisy crowded rooms most of the time. However, in business, you will have to deal with both.
Introverts are good with people, but they prefer small groups of those whom they know than a large group of strangers.
Try to use it as an advantage by scheduling one-on-one or small group meetings. This, for sure, will help you improve quality over quantity by building meaningful relationships with your colleagues.
In most cases, it’s more important to build a trusted team where people care about the company and each other, rather than a large number of employees who don’t care at all.
4. Make plans at the moment
Instead of only exchanging your business cards at the end of the event, make plans at the moment to connect again.
For example, instead of saying “It was nice to meet you, let me know if you’re ever in Columbia”, invite to a dinner party, or if you both have kids, you can make plans for some shared activities.
If it’s sports that you both enjoy, invite them to a game or some other event.
The key is to make a better connection.
5. Be prepared to pitch
If you need to offer something prepare to pitch!
I know it may sound overwhelming, but it gets easier every time you achieve great results from it. It’s all about getting that experience that will work on auto-pilot once you master it.
The good thing about it is that you can learn, practice, and become good at it even if you have an introverted personality.
You will feel more comfortable and confident if you pitch something win-win.
6. Be relentlessly helpful
Look for opportunities to help people, because you’re attracting what you give.
Remember that people don’t forget when you help them, and when you do it without thinking of getting something back, it makes you feel amazing.
It’s a boomerang effect, once you help somebody, you get helped too, even if it’s from another person.
Just think of how you can help:
- Maybe you’re good at whatever people need help with or you know somebody who can help
- Maybe there’s an amazing service or product that can resolve their problems
Read about: How To Create A Healthy And Productive Routine In Isolation
7. Adopt a “growth mindset”
In the very first tip, I mentioned that you focus on your strengths rather than something that you don’t enjoy doing.
Adopting a “growth mindset” is different. Despite your personality traits, you should always be ready to get out of your comfort zone to learn and more importantly, grow.
8. Recharge
No matter how much time it takes you to collaborate and be around people, take some time alone to recharge your batteries.
It will restore your energy and make socializing more enjoyable and pleasant.
I love both introverted and extroverted people I know both who are successful in what they’re doing.
If you’re an extrovert who’s trying to be an introvert or vice versa, it becomes very difficult and draining to live. And I hope you enjoy who you truly are.
Here I listed the 7 reasons why introverts are important in business and 8 tips on how you can excel in it as an introvert.
Pin it or share it over your social media if you enjoyed it! 😊
Now tell me, are you an introvert or an extrovert? How do you handle it?
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Great article to motivate the introverts and promote inclusion.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I agree about this. As an introvert, I am very careful about what will come out to my mouth. and When it comes to decision making, I am very much thorough and detailed about it. I am always prepared in any discussions or presentations. Yes, I couldn’t agree more that introverts are very creative. I love squeezing my creative juices and focus on my objectives to work it out.
I totally agree with you, Nikka.
One of the reasons why I decided to write about this topic is because lately, I’ve seen a lot of people who naturally are introverts, but they’re trying to be extroverts so much, and I thought why not embrace your introversion, it’s so amazing!