6 secrets to Excel as an Introvert at Work

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Drew Carey, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

The best message I can send to many of my career coaching clients is to let them know they are part of an awesome group of people: the introverts. They aren’t weird, or antisocial, or bitchy, or grumpy. They just need to recharge their batteries in a different way than extroverts.

The simplest explanation of an introvert is someone who gains energy from their internal world versus the external world. Put another way, an introvert would recharge their energy tank by being alone, reading a book, listening to music – the internal world of ideas and thoughts.

An extrovert, on the other hand, would get a lot of energy from being around people – at a party, at a bar, a concert, even in a restaurant surrounded by other people. For most introverts, these environments would have the opposite effect; the introvert would feel their energy draining away the longer they were exposed to this. Those people napping in the college library are probably extroverts — there isn’t enough happening around them to maintain their energy level.

So here are the 6 secrets to rock your introverted self in the workplace:

1. Realize you are different, and that is okay.
Many studies put the number of introverts at about a third to half of the population. Many introverts naturally self-select into careers that honor the strengths of introverts: serious, self-driven, reflective, and thoughtful. These include engineers, scientists, and researchers, among many others.

But even in these professions, there is movement toward teams, open office environments, and certainly more meetings than work time. So it is still important to learn how you operate, what your particular work style is, and figure out how to thrive in the workplace as an introvert.

It’s important to point out that introverts are not a homogeneous group. Within introverts, there are vast differences in personality styles, coping skills and energy levels. For one introvert, working on a team could be torture, but for another, it’s not the same experience. They might not relish it, but it doesn’t sap their energy like it would for a different kind of introvert.

One way to learn more about your personality type, and specifically your unique expression of introversion, is to take a personality assessment such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Many career coaches and counselors offer this test to their clients.

In my own coaching practice, if I suspect someone may be an introvert based on our conversations during sessions, I will recommend using a more in-depth MBTI test called the Form Q. This version goes into far more detail about additional facets of each personality type.

For example, shyness is not synonymous with introversion. In fact, some introverts can be as, or more, gregarious than many extroverts!

2. Begin to understand your energy cycles.
How long can you be around a group of people before you want to go be alone? It doesn’t matter if the answer is 5 minutes or 60 minutes. Find out what that number is and honor it.

If you can only spend 5 minutes at a long meeting or work event before you start losing energy, understand you may have to step out every so often. You can make the excuse that you are expecting a phone call or are monitoring a situation back at the office. Can you make a pit stop at the potty to recharge a bit, and come back out, recharged? Or step outside and walk the length of the parking lot?

Especially for work events or that dreaded holiday party, if you know that after 5 minutes or an hour that you will be ready to leave the party, then make sure you drive yourself to the event so you aren’t dependent on an extrovert to be ready to leave the party when you are. If you can only stay 5 minutes, make sure you find the host or your boss and acknowledge you were there!

Think about how you plan your day. Everyone has periods of the day during which they are more productive. This is especially true for the introvert. If your job offers you the flexibility, come in later in the morning when you know you can hit the ground running. Or come in earlier in the morning before everyone else arrives to get a jump start on your day before the distractions begin. If your body clock tells you to nap at 2 p.m., it may be that you could recharge in your car for 5-10 minutes, listening to music or a book on CD. As an hourly employee, use your breaks wisely to fit in activities that let you recharge yourself for the rest of the day.

3. Understand what you do well and do more of that.
There are work activities that affect energy levels as well. You may find that doing online research or analyzing financial data is invigorating to you. For another introvert, that could be an energy vampire. For that same introvert, making sales calls— while not what many people would consider “introvert-friendly” at all — is a source of burgeoning energy for her. For another introvert, that would put him under the table. Again, understanding your complete MBTI profile will help you understand how other facets affect you, such as your sensing versus intuitive functions.

If there are parts of your job that you can delegate to someone better suited to it, consider doing so. Can an assistant or intern help with research or budgeting? Could you hire a college student to come in on the weekend and help you file? If you put your mind to it, there are solutions to every challenge!

While I myself am not technically an introvert, I am barely on the extroverted side of the scale. So I notice that my energy goes down as a result of my scheduling decisions. For example, I know that for myself, I can’t have a networking event in the morning or over lunch and also one in the evening. I have to plan activities for the rest of the day that don’t use up much energy for me, such as catching up on my reading list. I have learned to schedule only one major networking event in a day, otherwise I will be miserable at that evening event, too exhausted to function effectively.

4. Speak up!
One characteristic of introverts that many extroverts don’t understand is that introverts like to think before they speak. They are thoughtful about their responses. They will not say the first thing that comes into their head.

Often, introverts will get steamrolled in meetings because the facilitator moves on to the next agenda item without letting the introvert finish or waiting for everyone to share their thoughts.

In team meetings especially, you may have to work a little harder by meeting with 1-2 team members individually at a time before or after a team meeting. Or use water cooler exchanges to prepare for the meetings, to get your team members’ opinions on what will be discussed. See if you can meet for 10-15 minutes with your team leader before the meeting to get a sense of the agenda so you can be prepared with some thoughts to share.

In project meetings, you will have to become comfortable with coming back to an agenda item. If it’s an important point, you may have to say, “I have had a chance to think more about what we talked about a few minutes ago. I’d like to share it with the group.”

In one-on-one interactions with co-workers, you may be approached by a colleague who expects you to give an instant answer to his questions. As an introvert, you can address this head-on by saying to the person, “That’s interesting, let me think on that and get back to you.”

In office settings, I often had people come to my open office door and ask me for a project update. My brain didn’t engage fast enough, and I left many people with the impression that I had let something fall through the cracks or I wasn’t on top of the project. I learned to acknowledge the project and to promise an update soon, in order to not answer right then and allow myself time for my brain to engage.

With the popularity of books like Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and other business studies, the power of the introvert is becoming better known. You might consider speaking to the meeting host or facilitator AFTER the meeting and share your ideas then. Managers are starting to understand that introverts aren’t withholding information or not thinking at all about the issues, but carefully mulling over the best possible solution. When an introvert speaks, you know you will have hit gold.

The boss is starting to see the value that introverts bring to the workplace and will be happy to get your thoughtful ideas. She will see that you are excelling as an introvert in the workplace.

5. Be social, to your limit.
While it is true that we as a society try to make introverts act more like extroverts, it’s hard to deny that a little bit of extroverted behavior can help you get ahead in the workplace.

Sometimes the most challenging aspects of being an introvert at work are the social expectations. “Why don’t you ever eat lunch with us? Why don’t you ever come out drinking with us after work?” Say yes to these invitations occasionally and plan your time there. Think of current events to talk about. Take time to remember the details of your co-workers’ lives. Spend more time asking questions of other people.

And have your exit strategy in mind. If you get to your breaking point — no more energy for people — then have a plausible excuse ready: “I have to finish a project for a meeting this afternoon. I should get back to my desk. But this was fun. Thanks for inviting me!”

You’ll win a lot of points with your co-workers and be seen as a team player. Plus, you will be stretching yourself in new and wonderful ways!

6. Come out of the closet.
No, not that way – unless you’re ready. No, what I mean is this: The tide is turning for the introvert in the workplace. Slowly, maybe painfully so, upper management is learning the benefits of having strong introverts on their teams. They understand the importance of having introverts excelling in their workplace, under their leadership.

Introverts traditionally shun public recognition and disdain self-promotion. It may be time to rethink that strategy in today’s workplace. By now you should understand better how valuable you are to your boss, team and workplace. It’s time to be loud and proud. Educate your boss and coworkers about what you bring to the table as an introvert: thoughtful consideration of ideas, well-constructed plans, and sage advice. Stop being embarrassed or ashamed of what makes you strong in the workplace. Declare yourself to be an open introvert!

Before you know it, you will be excelling as an introvert at your workplace. Soon enough, the world will be catching up to you and you’ll be celebrated as the hero we always know you were.

Drew Carey trained as a life coach at Erickson College in Vancouver, BC. He works a life and career coach at Solution-Focused Coaching Services in Indianapolis, Indiana.