Adam Grant’s new book Originals is fascinating. It busts myths about our assumptions around the way leaders and mavericks behave and think.
For instance, you might think that most successful entrepreneurs are extroverts because they don’t mind being out there, talking enthusiastically about their projects to everyone will listen. But this actually isn’t true. Adam Grant remarks, “whether we tend to be more extraverted or introverted has essentially no bearing on whether we’ll succeed as entrepreneurs. You can love an idea and be determined to succeed, but still communicate it in a reserved manner.”
And it’s not just entrepreneurs who can find success through communicating in a reserved manner. I have a section in my newsletter called “Red Carpet Introvert,” and this week’s introvert in the limelight was Jennifer Yuh Nelson, the director of Kung Foo Panda 2 & 3. She didn’t rise in the ranks of animation studios because she constantly tooted her own horn and told everyone who would or wouldn’t listen about how great she was. She became the director because other people thought she would excel in the job and asked her to do it. And, she got her first storyboard job because she was skilled at drawing, not because she talked her way into it.
“I didn’t talk my way into a job. Because I’m not that giddily social and extroverted of a person—I’m quite introverted. I’m actually quite quiet. And to look at me, you don’t think, ‘Wow, she’s into hardcore action movies, and likes to choreograph and draw action sequences.’ But what I did have is, I had my drawings. When the producers had scripts, I said, ‘Could I take one page and try it, just for me?’ I would draw it, I would show them what I could do. It didn’t require talking them into it. It’s just showing them, this is what I could do for you. And then, they would go, ‘Here’s the rest of the script.’ That’s how I got my first storyboarding job.” (You can read the interview here: http://caamedia.org/blog/2016/01/25/qa-with-jennifer-yuh-nelson-director-of-kung-fu-panda-3/)
We often see extroverts who are “successful” and assume that their way of being is what led them to success. But that’s simply not true. We just see these extroverts more, and they’re more willing to talk about their success more. Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself your own way.
