PR exec: Nourish your company’s introverts
The author, an introvert, argues that companies are doing a disservice to themselves by not fostering environments where employees can work in solitude.
It popped into my brain when I saw, “The Rise of the New Groupthink” in The New York Times last week.
Combine those two pieces of content and you may have actually heard me yell, “Hurrah!”
I’m an introvert. Until about two years ago, I thought there was something wrong with me (well, there is clearly something wrong with me, but it’s not because I’m an introvert).
I know, I know. When I say that people don’t believe me.
It’s true, though.
Being an introvert doesn’t mean you are shy or have no social skills. It means you get your energy from being alone while extroverts get their energy from being around people. Lots of people.
The New York Times article talks about the Groupthink phenomenon, 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.
That very idea makes my heart rate rise a little bit. Having no solitude at work? No. Thank you.
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