Is Introversion Main Stream at Last?

The topic of introversion has now entered the mainstream. How can I tell? This topic, which I have championed for so many years (full disclosure: I am an introvert), has now appeared in one of my favorite comic strips, and I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry.

In the Dilbert strip of July 23, an introvert appears and utters all of the stereotypes about introverts being despairing, lonely, and avoidant of conversation. Introversion has become part of the workplace diversity conversation, and that's a good thing. Picking up on that trend, Dilbert, which satirizes workplace behavior, has now made this contribution, and I know it's satire; nevertheless, I seem to have lost my sense of humor.

You see, I also know that introverts, no matter how skilled or intelligent, tend to be the last-hired. I know, from studies such as that done by Ones and Dilchert (Industrial & Organizational Psych, 2009), that introverts constitute only 12% of supervisors, and that percentage decreases as you go up the managerial levels, dwindling to a scant 2% at the very top. At the same time, the presence of extreme extroverts rises to 60% at the top.

This is only natural, right? Well, no, actually introverts can make extremely fine leaders, especially for groups of people who have good ideas. The introvert leader will allow others speaking time, listen carefully, and be willing to integrate other people's ideas into the overall scheme. How do we know this? Besides assertions by people such as Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, a study of companies and the leaders who went from being merely good to great, research studies such as the one reported by Adam Grant et al. affirms this.

The problem? Well, the title of that research article for one thing. "Leadership Tip: Hire the Quiet Neurotic, Not the Impressive Extrovert" (Forbes Magazine, 2013). Neurotic? The opposite of extrovert is neurotic?

Bendersky & Shah (Acad. Mgmt. J. 2013) reassure us that introverts not only make good team members, but that eventually their excellent contributions are recognized over the chatter of more outspoken but sometimes less thoughtful people. I'm glad to hear this; my only objection is their title: "The Downfall of Extroverts and the Rise of Neurotics."

Corporations are just now beginning to recognize introversion, which is based on a neurological difference, as being an appropriate and even necessary topic for inclusion in their diversity programs.

So I wonder if you could replace introverts in that comic strip with another group that is marginalized in our society and just on the edge of being understood and valued. Would it work and still be funny? I don't know. I would welcome your reactions.

I just wish that our group, introverts, hadn't leaped from being marginalized as "peculiar" to the mainstream with no stops in between.

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Labels, Are You Tired of Them?

Through our lives we all have fallen victim to the habit of expressing our world through stereotypes, especially when it comes to other people. We label others and vise versa. It's a vicious circle. From Kindergarten to high school, from college to work, we continuously put people in categories or even stamp them out with a nickname that follows them (at least in our minds) for the rest of our lives.

But let's go back to our childhood... I bet that all of you had a classmate or a neighbor who was the fat or the skinny one, with the big glasses, the "Mr. Stammer" and the list goes on and on with stereotypes. Is it a coincidence that we all have mutual experiences when it comes to categorizing people among us?

No it's not.

Is it a bad thing?

For once more the answer is no! Actually is quite normal because of the fact that our brains are wired to perform this process automatically! That's the main reason people always categorize mostly by gender, age and race. The most common question that comes after this statement is "why?". Why human kind have been programmed to operate in that manner?

To find the answer we must go back to the roots of human evolution and to be more specific back to "the survival of the strongest". We have the deepest need to distinguish the capabilities of the people who surround us and to be aware of who is our friend and our foe. On the other side, going back to our century, we have evolved into a civilized community, we know who our friend is or who is not and even if we don't, it's not a vital need. Our lives don't depend on the habit we have developed hundreds of years ago. So, what is hidden underneath?

It's the stereotype bias, subconsciously growing inside us and leads to the tendency of stereotyped behaviors starting from childhood. According to Harvard's University Implicit Association Test related to racial bias, a big proportion of the applicants who participated in the research, have proved to be racists. Some of them became defensive, others certainly didn't want to think of themselves as racists. It was found that the racist beliefs were buried deep down in the subject's subconscious.

The truth lies in the awakening of our consciousness in a daily base. The act of categorizing others comes naturally, but it is not an excuse for abusive behaviors, such as bullying.

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