Unlock Your Best Personality To be A Successful Leader — 7 Wonders

Last week I was reading a book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” by Susan Cain. Being an introvert myself, I find it an interesting read and gave me a fresh perspective on how introverts look at situations and how they respond to it.

We all deal with many different types of people every day. Some people we like and some people we just want to miss. On a rare occasion, we just connect with a complete stranger and they make a long lasting impact on you even if you know them just for a few minutes.

It can happen at your workplace too where some people can make that kind of impression in just a few minutes and are admired by everyone around them.

We all want to become that “one” person in the room where people notice you, want to come and talk to you.

There are few studies and research that introverted people can’t be a good manager or leaders as they lack public speaking skills, people management and take time to speak up or plan their thoughts.

But the thing is introverts actually process all the information, they think thru before responding. Sometimes they give new insights on similar things. Unlike extroverts who react to almost everything immediately.

I am an introvert myself and still have hard time initiating conversation with unknown people. I would always stick out in a crowd, so I started to own it, love it, and become fearless in entering any room and stand in confidence of who I am.

When you become a leader or want to pursue a career in marketing, sales or something where you have to deal with different people all the time, it automatically becomes kind of a chore to be more forthcoming towards your action and leading the conversation in meetings and board meetings.

So how I improved my skills and reached this level where I feel comfortable around people, be open and expressive in my approach.

These are few things I applied in my career and nonetheless I am pleased with the results. If you’re also an introvert, don’t know what to say, when to say and looking to be successful in your role or aspire to be a leader, you’re at the right place :-).

1- Be More Self Aware — It’s pretty evident that work life becomes a bit difficult if you’re an introvert like me and take some to talk to other people or just fit in in large gatherings even if you’re an expert in your field. The best thing you can do is to be more self aware of your surroundings, yourself and people around you to catch a moment for yourself.

Initially If I need to deliver a big presentation in front of many talented people, I like to visit the meeting room or board room prior to my meeting just to make myself more aware of the room and pick a place for me to set up my laptop and things. It’s applicable when you go to a client location or in a different work place where you are new.

If you’re already crossed the first check, second is try to know your audience. You can pick one or two people and know them thru small talk and discuss what they are expecting from your presentation. Yes, this can give you confidence and make you a bit comfortable. Also it can help you to have a back in audience.

2- Communication Skills — If you are in a role where you need to write many emails or interact with team members on a daily basis. You can improve your writing and presentation skills. I have seen some people who can write amazing emails and can represent themselves far better in writing.

If you’re in marketing or in a sales role, this one might not work, but having good email writing skills can help you to get noticed. Decide on one skills ( email writing or phone conversation or physical conversation skill) and start working on the improvements you can do to get noticed.

Work on your grammar, punctuation and advance your vocabulary. You can take help of online tutorials, read more books and practice.

If you are mostly doing audio or video conversation, watch out your non verbal sign. Your upper body posture, facial expression (even if you’re in audio calls). It can make a huge difference in your daily conversation with team and people you talk at work.

3- Networking — When I think about networking, I think about approaching a complete stranger and initiating conversation. Sometimes it becomes tedious if you’re not social like me and have a hard time connecting with people. I used to think I am the weird one out (Joke!).

Actually it’s the other way around. When you’re in a social gathering or in an event where you have to talk to people to get to know them, exchange ideas and future contact details. What to do in this situation.

You can start screening your audience or people around you if you don’t know anyone and look for the most familiar people in terms of mannerism and action. You will find many people are in a similar dilemma as you and not sure what to do. It becomes a bit easy for you to just go and talk. This way you can build up your own little gang and add more people as you start knowing each other.

It can be true in virtual gathering as well. You can take note of other people’s email Id or chat Id and start conversing with them. It will help you out to be more open and understanding.

4-Learn to say No — We usually tend to say Yes to everything and start over burning ourselves. There is nothing bad in saying No to certain things that you don’t want to do or don’t have time to do.

If someone regularly asks you to extend your working time, at some point, start saying no. There is nothing bad if you need to take care of your family or want to have some “me” time.

Introverts usually need alone time to rejuvenate themselves. You can actively listen to what they say and if it doesn’t interest you, say No without over explaining. Be firm in your responses and people also start respecting your boundaries.

5- Create, Plan and Execute Your A Game — Everyone has best and bad traits in their personality. It’s part of who we are and no one is perfect.

If you’re not sure how to react to unusual situations or if you are meeting a new team and not sure what to say.

Have a universal plan and practice to make it more real and human like. Example: Your greetings. How are you greeting people or your team?

If you are delivering a presentation, keep the agenda, your cue card ready to refer back anytime. If you’re in a social gathering, have some of your hobbies or passions in your mind to talk about. Practice with your friends. Once you start taking initiatives it automatically will become your natural way to react to unfamiliar situations and you start connecting with people better.

6- Push your boundaries- Be open in your thoughts and approach. You will never know what is gonna inspire you next. It’s good to have a routine, a pattern to make yourself comfortable and secure but prepare yourself to do something new, extra or challenging that you usually don’t do.

Pushing a boundary means moving it further. It’s finding the line that you’re afraid to cross, and pushing it out further. It’s expanding your horizons, your way of thinking. It’s not like you need to jump from a rooftop to prove yourself, but a bit of extra in your routine.

Reach out to people or friends once in a while to initiate conversation. Join clubs or groups to meet new people. There is no limit to your potential and you can unlock your best version. Sometimes you can discover your true passion, may be meet your new best friend.

7- Be Yourself — Having said all that, be yourself and be authentic to your true self. You don’t need to change for everyone and keep other people’s expectations unless you want to. There is nothing wrong in taking criticism or constructive feedback with a pinch of salt.

Your self worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are. At the end of the day, be authentic to yourself and become a better version for yourself and for loved one around. And there is nothing wrong in making a few tweaks in your overall personality to become more self aware and improve your overall persona.

When you want to become a leader and successful in your career, you need to work and collaborate with cross functional teams externally and internally. Learn what you can improve slowly and have patience in your progress and I am sure you’ll reach there.

For me I am still learning to be more expressive in my approach when talking to different people so that I don’t come across as anti-social or stubborn.

What is the first thing you are going to improve, do let me know.

Stay Safe!

Be Bold

Be Courageous

Be Your Best