Quiet: How to Harness the Strengths of Introverts to Transform How We Work, Lead, and Innovate (101)

Abstract

•Create more engaged employees by recognizing, validating, and rewarding people's authentic selves.•Foster creative breakthroughs and problem-solving by rethinking and restructuring how team members work together.•Strategize how to tap into the power of quiet leadership for themselves and others. Did you know that introverted leaders often deliver better results than extroverts? That the most spectacularly creative people tend to be introverts? That the most innovative thinking happens alone and not in teams? One of the central challenges of any business is to bring out the best in its employees. Yet when it comes to introverts—who make up a third to a half of the workforce—our leadership strategy mainly consists of asking them to act like extroverts. This is a serious waste of talent and energy. In an enlightening, relatable, and practical talk, Susan Cain shows us that introverts think and work in ways that are crucial to the survival of today's organizations. How can you structure your organization so that the best ideas dominate, rather than those of the most vocal and assertive people? How do introverts' and extroverts' different personalities cause them to solve problems and evaluate risk differently? What do introverts know about creativity that the rest of us should learn? Drawing on her original research and the latest in neuroscience and psychology, Cain will radically change your view of the best way to develop leaders, manage teams, make smart hires, and stimulate innovation.