Quiet Leadership Cafe Content and Elements

Susan Cain notes that society celebrates the extroverted ideal. Our schools and communities strive to bring out the extrovert in all of us. This extroverted bias is likely present within our corporate offices too. The content space of the Quiet Leadership Café is to develop introverts strengths, work on their weaknesses and promote introverts into leadership positions. Introverts tend to listen more than talk, and are likely to ask their team more probing questions. Their lower levels of assertiveness, may make them more likely to reflect on and implement employee ideas. This in-turn creates a positive feedback loop in which employees are more inspired to be proactive and offer up innovative solutions.

Building on Your Quiet Strength

Personality type indicators tests: Strengths Finder, DiSC, MBTI. To help individuals to determine their strengths and weaknesses so aspiring leaders know the areas to focus on. The goal is for those returning to the blog each week will find learning opportunities they can practice at work and in-turn write blog post about their success and key learning points.

Blog: Business leaders and inspiring leaders post stories of successes, learning and teachable moments about growing as a leader. This space is devoted for daily learning and will contain a “Hot Topic” of the week and daily postings regarding introversion and leadership.

United HealthGroup LearnSource Courses: United HealthGroup has an abundance of free and tuition reimbursement courses offered online and through UHG talent development office. Space on the OneConnect site is devoted to linking to these resources to offer subjects to develop strengths and work on weaknesses.

Ted Talks: Links to highly visible leaders who self-identify as introverts. These talk provide inspiration and knowledge on how to succeed as a leader in extroverted world. This space is devoted to inspire introverts to develop their authentic voice.

Polls, Topical Meetings, Links: Topical space to develop human flourishing. Informal Polls on topics, plus requesting each visitor to submit their own personality type and their bosses personality type. Links to Podcasts, webinars, articles, books from leading authors on the introverted leadership subject. Such as; "Quiet" and "Introvert Entrepreneur,: Open Leadership: How Social Technology can Transform the Way You Lead" , "Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture", The Introvert Advantage: How Quiet People Can Thrive in an Extrovert World."

Communication: Introverts and Extroverts leaders discuss their success and what they need from each personality type. Open forum to engage in discussions and to open topics not discussed in the main page blog. This space is moderated and is their to help introverts and extroverts to creatively exchange ideas on how to engage a more creative approach in working in open floor plans.

This space will also be used to demonstrate how introverts can leverage their talents in a visible way to leaders through internal social media sites (Such as OneConnect, SharePoint, Webinars, Bravo! Etc.) to improve relationships with colleagues.

Introverts get into positions of leadership when they care about a cause and others to start to trust them. People respond to those who have a true, authentic commitment to something, and a deep expertise.

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