WHAT I'M READING WEDNESDAY : Quiet by Susan Cain

When I first took the Myers-Briggs test, I came out as an extrovert, clear as day.

My husband disagreed.

He knows all the times when I have skipped a party or event in preference for a quiet night at home with a book.

Cain points out in her book that our society has created a mistaken hierarchy between extroversion and introversion, where extroverts seem to come out on top, with introverts inevitably coming in second place.

Earlier this week, I was working with a group around how to create processes that lead to true collective intelligence.

One of the leaders mentioned that too often, the loud talkers take up so much space, that the others can't be heard. (Loud, fast talkers aren't necessarily extroverts either.)

I briefly introduced them to the voice and silence work of Amy Edmondson and Tijs Besieux, where quiet can have two components -- those who are quiet because they are processing the information, and those who are quiet because they are actively withholding because they don't feel psychologically safe.

In Cain's book, she advocates for making space in our world and in our work for the more quiet among us.

It has to be more than just telling someone to "speak up" in a meeting.

It has to be deliberate, and we have to see the power in reflection and connection.

We have to look underneath the quiet and get curious about it.

I am a quick-talker when I feel safe in a group.
I am a withholder when I don't.

I also can spend hours in nature pondering a single question, letting my mind spin in whatever direction it wants to go.

In this fast-paced world where efficiency and productivity are king, it seems like being quiet and reflective continues to be a thorn in some people's sides.

Yet, there is power in quiet.

Susan Cain lives it, and I know so many others do too.

💛 Have you taken the Myers-Briggs?
🩶 Were you an E or an I?
💙 Do you agree with the results?

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.
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