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Introverts: The Forgotten Fifty
Shy, timid, aloof, anti-social, not a team player, nor a good leader—what type of person does this describe? An introvert, right? No, not necessarily. Your boss and the most successful leaders in your organization might be introverts. Your favorite music artist who performs on stage in front of thousands might be an introvert. Many famous actors, athletes, authors, CEO’s, movie directors, teachers, presidents, vice-presidents, and human rights activists are known introverts. Despite a wealth of research on introverts versus extroverts, misconceptions regarding introverts still abound, and these misunderstandings might be damaging your church, organization, or company from furthering its mission and vision. The following is an excerpt from my book,…
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Five Book Recommendations for Leaders
This week, I decided to give myself a break from writing on controversial topics like racism and same-sex marriage, so I'm offering a different sort of fare: some book recommendations. Only one has been publshed in the past year. But these resources keep coming up in my conversations (FYI: only two are overtly Christian): Book #1: Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg I first learned of Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, when she did a riveting TEDTalk on Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders. It has now received more than two million hits. She gave some good career advice for women in business to “sit…
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In Defense of Introverts
Ever visit a different country and find yourself wishing the Americans you run into were less boisterous? Do you want them to tone it down when they guffaw in the subways or talk louder than everyone else in the room? Not everybody values “outgoing and friendly” as much as Americans. Sometimes the very extroversion we view as an asset in the West looks like arrogance or socially inept behavior in the East. So…it turns out it's not just the East that feels that way. A few years ago a book by introvert Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, hit the stands, and people have…
