Quietly Visible

As an introverted leader (or aspiring leader), you may feel that you need to change your personality to fit in or progress in your career, in Western society's organisations which seem biased towards extroversion.  Brian Johnson, a naturally shy individual who is also an introvert with a stammer, spent many years working in the financial services, struggling and getting frustrated as he tried to change who he was as an introvert to fit in, in a world he felt didn't value who he truly was.  In this podcast Brian shares how he eventually came to realise and understand that you can find success as an introvert without changing who you are, and see your quietness as a strength.  

About Brian Paul Johnson

Brian, known as the Quiet Coach, is also a Speaker and Trainer.  He previously worked in the financial sector for 30 years and at midlife changed the direction of his career, overcoming barriers to become a successful coach.  He sincerely believes that being an introvert is a strength, often under appreciated but a real strength.  He is passionate about coaching introverted individuals to feel equipped to find the success they want in the workplace.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianpauljohnson/

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Even though I never met her, and I’m not particularly a raving fan of the Royal family, I felt a deep sense of loss on hearing the news about Queen Elizabeth. Perhaps this was because of my dad insisting that the whole family watch the Queens speech on Christmas day when I was a child growing up. Or perhaps it was because she was gracious and relentless in her commitment to her role. In this episode I discuss her passing, and touch on my experience of grief.

There are some common challenges regarding interviews that I come across when coaching and in this episode I talk about some of them, along with suggested solutions that you can apply if you've got a job or promotion interview coming up.  

In a survey that I did, 78% of employed women said that fear kept them from pursuing a career that they would love. I think that this figure is far too high and in this episode I share 5 common fears keeping women stuck in jobs they no longer enjoy, and what you can do about it.

Many introverted women think that visibility means constantly being in the limelight surrounded by lots of people, which makes them feel drained just thinking about it. But visibility is important as a leader, particularly if you want to increase your influence and impact, or get ahead in your career. 

When leaders are visible, not only do the people they lead benefit, the organisation, stakeholders and the leader benefit too, and in this episode I talk about the value of being visible for introverted women.

It doesn’t matter if you are introverted, extroverted, a high achiever, socio-economically advantaged, socio-economically disadvantaged, black, white, young, old…  imposter syndrome doesn't discriminate and all manner of people can experience it. And sometimes your working environment can bring it on. In this episode I talk about how your work environment could be bringing on imposter syndrome in you.

Women should not feel unsafe walking home alone at night and but recent attacks resulting tragically in the UK deaths of  Zara Aleena, Sarah Everard, Sabina Ness, and many others, may have heightened your sense of fear if you are walking home late at night, even if it is in an area that you are familiar with.

In this episode, I share with my guest speaker - Kristin Juarez, my recent concern when walking on my own from the underground station to my home after attending a network event one evening.  Kristin, living in the US, discusses how personal safety is paramount and after having repeated amber alerts on her phone regarding missing children often teen/tween girls, seeing so many pictures in the newspaper “have you seen me” with an “age-progressed” photo of what a young girl might look like as an adult. And after hearing about so much violence against women, wishes that more women and parents of younger girls would consider taking a self-defence class, or some type of martial arts class.  Self defence not only prepares you mentally for challenges within your life, but also equips you with skills that could help you defuse what could be a dangerous situation and escape from a perpetrator, when walking alone late at night.

About Kristin B. Juarez

Kristin lives in the US and was inspired to take up a kickboxing class for herself, after her son started Tae Kwon Do lessons.  Kristin who has osteoarthritis in her hands started without much by way of stamina, or ability, and has now been taking classes for 3-4 years, usually at least twice a week.  

Her wish is that more women consider taking a self-defence class or some type of martial arts class.  She feels that there is a lot of benefit to be gained in: confidence, mental health and physical health as well as equip you with skills that may help save your life.

Learning to switch off is essential if you are to avoid stress and head towards burning out. Most of us already know this but often we put it off, telling ourselves we’ll do something about it when things calm down a bit or when we get on top of things. But the reality is, unless we proactively do something about it, that day will never come and we will continue to press on, letting work consume us.

Many of us take work home with us, or work whilst on holiday, and as a result, don't totally switch off. In this episode I talk about the importance of taking a break and disconnecting from work on your summer break.

I frequently speak to introverted women who have seen less experienced and less qualified colleagues get ahead of them because their colleagues throw their toys out of the pram and they don't. Because they don't kick up a fuss and make noise if they are unhappy about things, they get overlooked. In this episode, I talk about this and the negative stereotypes that are often portrayed about introverted women.

Many introverted women underestimate the power of networking and how they can use it to catapult them in their careers, as leaders, and to increase their influence and impact. Because they don't like making small talk, or because it drains their energy, they avoid it.

Research highlights the benefits to be gained from networking, but in my work I come across many women who are not utilising it as part of their career and leadership progression. In this episode I talk about some of the benefits from networking, and how to make it a more enjoyable experience if you hate it.