This is a classic: the TED Talk of American writer and lecturer Susan Cain about „The power of introverts“ in a world that can`t stop talking. She highlights the social bias against introverts that is so deeply engrained in our society today. Introversion is not about being shy but about how you respond to stimulation. To maximize your talent, says Susan Cain, you need to put yourself in a zone of stimulation that is right for you.

In fact, you often find this bias against introverts in top management as well: I vividly remember a client of ours, a CEO of a DAX30 company, an „easy to identify“ extrovert who always recruited extroverts for top positions – thus staying right in his comfort zone. His Top Talent Developer complained to him that he was only chosing the loud ones, being a copy of him, instead of silent ones, different from him. And she was right. The CEO was trapped in what we call „hyper inclusion in top management“: the repetition of one`s own social pattern of behaviour instead of consciously and courageously deciding for and managing for diversity.

If you want to learn more about Susan Cains approach, we recommend to read her book: „Quiet. The power of introverts in a world that can`t stop talking“. A German translation is available too.