Following up on the first part of this story, we’re back with Casey Carpenter, CEO of Speak & Own It Communications, a New York City-area-based consultancy, to discuss the other side of the coin—learning to receive feedback thoughtfully and productively, especially if you’re an introvert boss or other leader. Carpenter is the author of Introverts in Sales: Turn Your Peaceful Power into a Profitable Selling Machine.

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Giving feedback is central to growing as a professional. Yet many of us are uncomfortable and unskilled at conducting a feedback conversation. In this two-part interview with Casey Carpenter, CEO of Speak & Own It Communications, a NYC area-based consultancy, we discuss productive ways for introverts to give and get feedback. In this first part, we focus on giving feedback, especially if you’re an introvert who is a boss or other leader. (more…)

Jenn Granneman is the author of the latest entrant into the burgeoning field of popular introvert literature. Her book, The Secret Lives of Introverts, is autobiographical, relatable, and filled with strategies to help introverts accept and even embrace their differences with the mainstream. I interviewed Granneman to learn more. (more…)

Sophia Dembling, used with permission

Remember when it was a curse to admit that you were an introvert amid all the judgment you would face? The increasingly popular introvert movement in recent years has raised awareness of the normalcy of introversion. One of the leaders of that movement is Sophia Dembling, author of The Introvert’s Way and most recently Introverts in Love(among a fascinating array of other books); she also pens the Introvert’s Corner blog for Psychology Today. With the advent of more and more books and blogs for and about introverts, we now have a wealth of tips and tools to thrive in a noisy world and are increasingly seen as productive members of the workplace and society. Dembling and I will take this year-end moment to reflect back as well as look forward together on behalf of other introverts.

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I’ve known Jennifer B. Kahnweiler, Ph.D., CSP over the years in the initially tiny and now ever-widening circle of authors who write popular books for and about introverts. She’s become the most prolific of those authors and an enduring champion for introverts. In her latest book, The Genius of Opposites, Kahnweiler, a raving extrovert*, explores the ins and outs of pairing introverts and extroverts with the passion of a sommelier pairing food and wine. In this interview, she describes some successful pairings in the business world. (more…)

Meetings are an essential part of work life—yet, they are universally reviled. After all, how often do you hear people complain that they don’t have enough meetings? With too many meetings crowding your calendar, it can be hard to find time in between them to actually get anything done. It’s no surprise that a Salary.com survey found that 47 percent of respondents considered meetings their number one time waster. (more…)

In the first and second parts of this interview with David Goldstein, author of Creative You with Otto Kroeger, we discussed everything from ideal work environments for introverts to how introverts and extroverts can collaborate successfully. In this third and final installment, we explore the power of play. Goldstein also offers special insights for introverts about firing on all cylinders in their careers as well as tackling the challenges of marketing their own creations. (more…)

In the first part of this interview, David Goldstein, author of Creative You with Otto Kroeger, offered insights about how introverts and extroverts express themselves differently, ideal work environments for introverts, and the counterintuitive logic about why introverts should speak up at meetings—even if they think their contributions are obvious. Goldstein is back to tell you how you can ace your career by finding the right collaborators to support your creativity. He will also share surprises about how introverts and extroverts relate differently to praise, and the relationship between introverts, creativity, and time. (more…)

What’s the latest thinking about introverts and creativity? What are our strengths, struggles, and blind spots—and how can we offer the world our creative best? I invited internationally recognized artist and personality-type expert, David Goldstein, to answer these questions and more. He just collaborated on a new book, Creative You: Using Your Personality Type to Thrive, with a pioneer in the field of practical applications of personality type, Otto Kroeger. (more…)

When you think of diversity and inclusion, accepting people of different races, religions, cultures, and gender orientations might come to mind. However, another important aspect of diversity is also accepting people of different personality types—and learning to work well with and manage people whose styles are different from your own. (more…)