Dr Nivedhitha KS, Assistant Professor, IIM-Kozhikode; Pancham Dogra, Head – Human Resources, Times InternetWhen it comes to introverted employees, researchers and practitioners are trying to provide insight into how to make use of the introverts; what introverts need to do to thrive in an extrovert world and how not to convert introverts to extroverts. Although these insights reflect the consequences of forced extroversion and the positive effects of introversion, companies cannot eradicate extroverted culture given the hypersocial nature of the world.
Therefore, companies should carefully look at the overly defined extroverted environment and create an introverted microenvironment (or inward facing pockets) at workplaces. This can provide both business and human value for the organizations.
How can they construct such pockets? Here are some suggestions:
Promote slow combustion, reduce burnout: Thanks to endless social media applications and related paralinguistic digital opportunities, we have been acutely inclined towards faster and more comfortable conversations. These instantly gratifying conversations can easily get lost among the message storms.
A paradigm shift towards consistent, steady and unhurried meaningful conversations can gradually increase slow burn relationships, leading to sustainable employee engagement.
Interestingly, introverts are slow burners; they take time to understand and distinguish between deceptive and genuine ties. Organizations can bring in specific socialization techniques that induce slow burn culture and grow slow burners.
Embrace networking from the giving lens: Networking is almost taboo for introverts simply because networking has long been defined from the receiving lens, ie. individuals perceive networking as a tool for seeking career opportunities and growth. Instead, networks can be operationalized from the given lens.
Introverts, in addition to being thinkers and observers, also respond selectively to individuals. Based on these assumptions, introverted experts can be good mentors and at the same time set limits to have healthy cognitive freedom. Organizations can foster informal and small mentor-mentee circles, which strengthen closed social connections and help new employees gather knowledge from insider experts.
Can we go back to pen pals? Introverts don’t really like small talk, but can immediately embrace writing letters. A famous introvert, Albert Einstein constantly wrote back to both significant and unknown people and children. So introverts are just not vocal, but can become loud and good communicators in non-vocal media.
A small experiment with 50 knowledge workers and 180 management students revealed interesting insights: extroverts became quiet and introverts became loud when asked to communicate with their peers via personal emails and letters. So organizations can open up to other forms of non-vocal conversations.
Quiet brainstorming: The very preference of thinking out loud over quiet thinking reflects how our preference has been skewed towards introverts. Thinking out loud can be one of the perspectives of brainstorming. On the other side of the spectrum, this jargon can also introduce noise into meetings. Information overload, clutter and overemphasized idea quantification can reduce the ability to think before thinking out loud.
Companies need to recognize the importance of silent thinking by employing other techniques that reflect the silent evaluation of ideas. A few companies have implemented “silent meetings” and “no voice meetings” along with other voice meetings. These optional introverted pockets can not only bring a spectrum of democratic ideas from introverts; they also create an inclusive climate for the minority working groups that were otherwise discussed.
Jeff Bezos’ meeting idea of ​​silently reading through well-prepared notes containing relevant arguments before starting the conversation is an example of an alternative meeting model that combines introverted themes with extroverted conversations.
In addition to memo reviews, companies can think about silent voting systems. Inspiration can be taken from non-vocal games (eg XO games) and companies can introduce gamified non-vocal discussions where members can also contribute to the proposed ideas using items such as simple paper pens, stick notes and poster cards .
If organizations do not inculcate such alternative and democratic meetings, then, as reported by Vyopta, the increasingly declining participation of the virtual employees may push the conventional voice meetings into forced silent meetings.
Why only rechargeable social batteries? Why not also a soundproof battery? While it is a true fact that introverts may have limited social batteries, we should understand that they have extended muting batteries to reflect and introspect.
Organizations can rethink and introduce environments such as linguistic sound limiting acoustic panels, quiet days – meaning no meetings – and quiet zones in social settings where individuals can recharge the silence, a soundproof battery.
According to an MIT study, no meeting days resulted in high productivity due to decreased micromanagement and increased autonomy. Additionally, such soundproof batteries can be recharged through silent team bonding activities such as silent book reading practices and mandala art exercises.
Once companies understand the benefits of introverted pockets in extroverted work environments, their sustainability in terms of business and employee growth can be easily achieved.
Dr. Nivedhitha KS is Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. Pancham Dogra is Head of Human Resources at Times Internet.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely those of the author and ETHRWorld does not necessarily subscribe to them. ETHRWorld will not be liable for any damages caused by any person or organization directly or indirectly.
