70 http://www.business-spotlight.de 2/2014he realized people thought he was be-
ing aloof and dismissiveof them.”
Lively and funny, known for his en-
tertaining talks, Dr. Brian Little has
been called “a crossbetween Robin
Williams and Einstein.” The influen-
tial Canadian psychology professor,
currently at Cambridge University in
England, has taught at Oxford as
well as a number of major North
American universities, including Har-
vard. Little’s talks on YouTube have
attracted thousands of followers. Yet,
he describes himself as an introvert,
and once said on national radio that
after giving a talk, he would escape to
the men’s roomand shut himself in-
side one of the cubicles. “After a talk,
I’m in cubicle nine,” he said.
Little told The Vancouver Sunthat
introverts can be good professors,
even though they find it stressful.
“The risk is that they can burn out
because, in a sense, you’re acting out
of character,” he said. “I do need re-
flection time and time to be on my
own. That surprises people.”Little says both introvertsand ex-
troverts require what he calls “restora-
tiveniches” — places where they can
recover from stress and return to their
true nature. “For an introvert, a
restorative niche may be a quiet walk
on a deserted beach. For an extrovert,
it may be the pulsingconvivialityof a
crowded nightclub.” Open-plan of-
fices are an introvert’s idea of hell. Yetmany companies have them, because
they are believed to increase creativi-
ty and are less expensive to build.
Some open-plan offices do provide
quiet spaces, such as libraries or tele-
phoning rooms. “If your office doesn’t
have private spaces, you need to
make your own version,” Cain writes
in Bloomberg Businessweek.“Go to the park ora nearby coffee
shop. And you have to take away the
feeling of guilt— you’re clearing your
head.” She suggests sending phone
calls to voice mailor turning off the
sound on e-mails. Some introvertsalso find using noise-cancelinghead-
phones effective, although this may
not be socially acceptable in all offices.
Brainstorming, group presentations,
and large meetings are often stressful
for introverts. One way to deal with
the stress is to be well prepared. Get
an agendabefore the meeting so you
have time to think about the subject.
If you are called upon in a meeting to
express an opinion and you are not
yet ready to do so, tell the group that
you are still thinking about it and that
you will provide an opinion later.
“As introverts, if we remain quiet,
people will assume we’re a) not in-
terested, b) too shy, or c) not passion-
ate,” said a panelistat Intuit.com, a
U.S. financial software firm. “The
impression that we give by not saying
anything is different than we intend.”
Good advice. I think I’ll try this at
our next brainstorming meeting.agenda [E(dZendE] Tagesordnung
burn out [)b§:n (aUt] sich kaputtmachen
clear one’s head seinen Kopf frei
[)klI&r wVnz (hed*] bekommen
conviviality Geselligkeit
[kEn)vIvi(ÄlEti]
cross [krO:s*] Mischung
cubicle [(kju:bIk&l] Kabine
dismissive: be ~ of sb. jmdm. gegenüber
[dIs(mIsIv] abweisend sein
feeling of guilt Schuldgefühl
[)fi:&lIN Ev (gIlt]
men’s room Herrentoilette
[(menz ru:m] US
niche [nItS*] Nische
noise-canceling mit aktiver Geräusch-
[(nOIz )kÄns&lIN] unterdrückung
out of character gegen das eigene
[)aUt Ev (kÄrEkt&r*] Naturell
panelist [(pÄn&lIst] Teilnehmer(in) einer
Podiumsdiskussion
passionate[(pÄS&nEt] leidenschaftlich
pulsing [(pVlsIN] pulsierend
restorative der Regenerierung
[ri(stO:rEtIv] dienend
talk [tO:k] Vortrag
voice mail [(vOIs meI&l] Mailboxnachricht(en)Feeling stressed: time to get out and clear your headCreate your own private space by
getting out of the office
Margaret Davisis the editor of the
Careers and Global Business sec-
tions of Business Spotlight. Contact:
[email protected]nBS
Getty ImagesFor more information
BOOK
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that
Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain (Penguin)
WEBSITES
Susan Cain’s TED talk,“The Power of Intro-
verts,” has been viewed by over four million
people: http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_
power_of_introverts.html
Dr. Marla Gottschalk,workplace psychologist:
https://marlagottschalk.wordpress.com
Dr. Brian Littletalks about introverts and ex-
troverts in this entertaining video:
http://www.speakers.ca/speakers/dr-brian-littleCAREERS INTROVERTS AT WORK* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.Keep up to date with career trends at
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