"There are so many different personalities hanging out in the workplace, aren’t there? From the most vibrant extroverts to the most chill introverts, there’s an equal need for both types of personalities in any field. While many successful employees are those extroverts who shine in the spotlight, there is something incredibly unique and valuable about us inverts in the workplace as well.
We’re the low-key superheroes, secretly reading books on strategy and saving our best words of wisdom for a rainy day. We solve problems on the fly and offer solutions without looking for much recognition afterwards. Though we may be overlooked sometimes—especially in an office or corporate setting—here’s why we are timeless assets to any company:
1. Introverts avoid distractions to stay on task toward reaching the goal.
As someone with both introverted and extroverted tendencies, I know all too well how cringy social interactions in professional settings can sometimes be, which is why I can easily be consumed by my tasks board. Instead of socializing in large groups, introverts can tend to keep more to themselves and focus on getting the day started task-wise. Just like extroverts, we love marking complete on Asana projects and look forward to reaching the next challenge. We also find satisfaction in accomplishing goals ourselves because it keeps us interested in what we’re doing.
We love coming up with solutions and discovering new, innovative ways to streamline our processes at work. It’s not so much that we fear human interactions, but rather, we just like to use our energy to the best of our abilities. With so little time and so much to do, we’re using all of our efforts to focus on what’s top priority—especially in the office.
2. Introverts are thoughtful in their decision making.
Both extroverts and introverts value and are intentional with their decision making. They simply respond to them from different perspectives—both holding great value to any team collectively. Usually, introverts will tend to collect their thoughts, analyze them, and then share their nuggets of wisdom with the team on a more one-on-one basis or more relaxed environment with fewer people in the room.
We take value in our internal thought process and also want to give opportunity for others to speak up before making any definite remark regarding an upcoming project deadline. We’re definitely ones to overthink our decisions at times, but this habit can actually propel us to be outside-of-the-box thinkers too.
3. Introverts build solid one-on-one connections.
Though we aren’t huge on large social gatherings, we thrive and constantly look for those one-on-one chances to get to know someone. As introverts, we probably invented the expression, “Let’s grab coffee sometime!” We’re always craving intentionality when it comes to our relationships. When we meet new people, it may take us a bit to warm up to the other person’s personality, but once we’re comfortable, we usually take the opportunity to let our walls down and allow people to connect with us on a deeper level.
We’re not interested in surface-level small talk because we get enough of that from others in passing. We crave authentic community! We take notice of the people around us and genuinely want to know more about who they are—since, after all, we’re working in the same company. An introvert’s tendency to cultivate more meaningful friendships positively helps a company to create coworker and team chemistry.
4. Introverts listen well and notice the details.
What can we say? We are the listening type! We’d rather hear you talk than have to spill the tea ourselves. People are quick to confide in us and trust in our character because we naturally avoid getting into gossip with the crowd. We are loyal and empathetic to our surroundings. We desire to learn the full scope of things so we can take that information and form a deeper understanding of our coworkers.
In the workplace, introverts oftentimes are focused on the nitty-gritty details so they can understand projects from every angle. In order to be strong solution-makers, we listen to the needs of our clients and customers first so that we can take action steps according to what’s most effective and efficient. In connection with our love for building tight one-on-one connections, we’re always on the prowl for learning new things about our coworkers, our boss, and our clients so we can use that knowledge to develop a consistent presence on our end.
As introverts, we’re often the ones working in the shadows or behind-the-scenes. We’re like Peter Parker circa 2002 meets Laguna Beach Lauren Conrad. While sometimes we can feel the need to overcompensate for our shy and quiet demeanors, our personality truly is a secret weapon for our careers. We simply add a unique perspective to the mix of Andy Bernards and Michael Scotts. When we own that unique point of view we carry, we become an incredible asset for any company. From Google to Apple to URBN, any successful business has built a healthy balance of both introverts and extroverts. Our ability to work together only defines the height of our endless potential.