Creative Commons licensed on Flickr by: khrawlings
I’m a training & development expert. I frequently get up in front of people, from 5 to 500, & facilitate learning opportunities in creative, engaging, sticky ways. It’s my passion, it’s my calling.
I’m also an introvert.
My fuel tank gets refilled in small groups, 1:1 or by being on my own.
The juxtaposition of the two – being energetic on stage & enjoying solitude – is where things get interesting. My yearning for quiet time isn’t necessarily popular or encouraged which is why I responded to the call of the following article.
Susan Cain, New York Times author & TED speaker, in an article called ‘The Rise of the new Groupthink’ says ‘Solitude is out of fashion. Our companies, our schools and our culture are in thrall to an idea I call the New Groupthink, which holds that creativity and achievement come from an oddly gregarious place. Most of us now work in teams, in offices without walls, for managers who prize people skills above all. Lone geniuses are out. Collaboration is in.’
I love the title of her book which is QUIET: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can’t Stop Talking. Note to self – get book, find quiet place & read.
It’s yet another continuum, with introversion on one end, extroversion on the other & lots of stops in between.
Where’s yours?
