The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength

De: Jennifer Kahnweiler

Narrado por: Tiffany Williams

"Finally, a book that recognizes the immense value that introverts bring to the workplace." - Daniel Pink, author of Drive and When

A prevailing myth is that a big, vibrant personality is needed to succeed in the workplace, but often, the quietest people have the loudest minds. Unfortunately, in our extroverted business culture, introverts can feel excluded, overlooked, or misunderstood. Jennifer Kahnweiler shows that introversion is a source of strength. Just look at Arianna Huffington and Mark Zuckerberg, two introverts who have learned to be themselves and thrive in type-A work environments.

This revised and expanded second edition draws on new research, interviews, and insights from thousands of introverted leaders, including fresh information on the unique challenges faced by introverted women; how leaders can shape a more inclusive, introvert-friendly workplace; the brains of introverts; and the correlation between introverted leadership and company performance.

Kahnweiler lays out a well-tested, progressive four-step strategy called "The 4 Ps Process" for succeeding in the workplace by building on your natural quiet strengths. First, preparation: carefully devise a game plan for any potentially anxiety-provoking situation. Then, presence: knowing you're prepared, be completely focused on the present moment. Then, you can push - go beyond your comfort zone. And finally, practice, practice, practice.

A newly revised quiz helps pinpoint where to amplify your quiet strengths and when to consider flexing your style. Kahnweiler shows exactly how to apply the 4 Ps in areas that can be particularly challenging for introverts - including networking, making presentations, and handling meetings. Aspiring leaders will be able to contribute more fully to their organization while staying true to themselves and serve as models and mentors to others as they move forward in their careers.

©2018 Jennifer Kahnweiler, PhD (P)2018 Jennifer Kahnweiler, PhD

The advice

I like that although the author wanted us to be ok with being an introvert, she addressed how some of the behaviors of an introvert isn’t always acceptable and provided tips on how we can move pass some of those behaviors.

Introverts are leaders too!

The book was awesome! I learned a lot of skills and techniques to navigate corporate.

It gave examples you could really use

Very helpful book for the introverted leader, tools you can test out, use and not unrealistic.

It was just ok

Some good tips but nothing I haven’t heard before. It was more of a reminder of how to interact with colleagues and how to grow in your career.

Torn about this book.

Any additional comments?

I'm torn about this book, some parts of it, including some of the suggested tips and models (The 4-P's or GROW for instance) may very well help and be beneficial for both introvert leaders and also extrovert leaders who are trying to work with/understand introverts.

However there are several passages that were, to be honest, quite uncomfortable and not easy to listen to, not due to the narration, but due to the conveyed text.

For instance, the author goes a bit overboard in the beginning, with her praise of what an introvert person may be able to achieve.
Additionally, while I am sure that some of the suggestions may work in certain work environments... they might not work in every work environment and can therefore potentially be detrimental to your career. It's worth to first scour the overall company climate to see if you can get away with applying these suggestions or not.

Despite the uneasy listening (again only content-wise, the narration was clear and fluent and pleasant to listen to) of this book, I'm thinking of buying the kindle or paperback version to easier check back/look up some of the passages that do offer interesting advice.