Celebrating Introverts in the Workplace

[Music] so thank you for coming and this is me I'm Cecil and I'm an introvert I've been working in the mobile and gaming industry for the past 15 years or so at King at Gameloft and being based in different locations in Asia Europe Latin America and worked on dozens of games but the reason I'm here today because I didn't want to share my room last year King held its annual internal event King for market where the whole company mates and one occasion and exchanges in best practices and and network and have a great time it's a much-anticipated fan event and I love it and it's time I've attended I've loved it but in events such as these and in a

similar way events such as GDC as well I feel drained by the constant birthing of people and networking and socializing with everyone it uses up a lot of my energy and such events that is you often have to share rooms and without to privacy it's difficult to fully recharge your batteries how lovely you know your roommate is so I wanted there to be a speaker because that is how I would get to have a private room and what a better topic then the reason why I wanted to be a speaker in the first place and Here I am today I'm going to try and use this tank together to give some insights and examples of typical behavior of introverts and how to identify them embrace them and at the end some tips and how maybe we can create a best environment a better environment for

everyone I want to start by mentioning the TED talk and the book from Susan Cain quiet which I watched a year ago or so and which was truly inspiring and which blew my mind I recognize myself so much in her experience about being an introvert and it really resonated in me and it I had recently done MBTI test I mean personality test and I was only starting to understand what introvert meant what being an introvert meant and getting more information and watching that talk and reading quiet really helped me to get some more insights of how I truly worked and I also learned that one third to one half of the population identifies I as an introvert to some degrees because introverts they are you don't have to be like a food on introverts you

have all shapes and sizes but 1/3 1/2 is quite a big number and I was very surprised by that especially considering that though there was not a lot of awareness until recently about about what it was so what exactly is an introvert and the first thing I learned is that it's actually a biological difference it turns out that the brains from introverts and extroverts behave differently and one difference relates how the brain reacts to dopamine which is a chemical in the brain which controls the motivation to achieve goals or to earn rewards both introverts and extroverts have the same amount of dopamine in in their brains what the difference is in the reward at work and the brains of extra extroverts

is more focused on the dopamine reward Network and it explains why they are maybe more motivated for things like such as money in your social status and on the contrary the remote network that in brains of introverts relies more on acetylcholine which is focuses on more inward rewards such as attention learn and memory and they basically feel less excitement from surprise and risk and that's also the reason why introverts are more comfortable in a quieter environment while extroverts thrive in stimulating and social environments it also explains why introverts need to recharge the batteries by spending time on their own or with a very small group of people that they trust and that quieter environments are where they are at their best so one thing to clarify

also is that being an introvert doesn't mean that you're shy or that you're anti-social it's just how you get your energy and and where you get it from and also what happens after the stimulation and that being in a social environment we meant that you need to recover from it I don't know if you've ever heard the concept of an introvert hangover but which which means that after an event such as DC for example I'm going to need to spend some time on my own just to go back to myself and in similar situation introverts might be my tend to dislike small talk especially in social networking situation like what am I going to do with all those business cards you know and making lots of contacts might not mean a lot to them so but social networking is a reality of the professional life so maybe putting

yourself an objective of making one or two contact which which you can have true meaningful conversation can be enough and then they can take the pressure of themselves so that they've achieved their goal and another thing is that a lot of introverts like myself might actually feel guilty for not being able to engage as much in social activities as and as naturally as extroverts do or from wanting to be alone they might feel that they're not putting enough efforts to fit in and are failing in some way at social events because they just want to go home early and this is a bit highlighted by the fact that our Moreland institutions tend to highlight extroverts behavior as the good way of being you know being cool and comfortable in social situation and to teach us that this is how success is achieved that extraversion is a strength

and that introversion is a weakness that you need to overcome which I don't necessarily think is the best message to give to all of us as a child as a student as a young woman entering the work environment I've always thought that there was something wrong with me in some way and I never really managed to be quite the person that society want that I felt a society wanted me to be and preparing for this talk I went through my school records and to see what teachers were saying about me at the time and they all said that serious student she works well but they would flag that I had one big flow and I was that I wouldn't participate in off in class and I was too quiet and I always felt that it was a bit unfair because I would if I were asked I would answer

we'd have healthy relationship with my classmates that we behaved well I would do the work the only thing that I wouldn't do would be to raise my hand and draw attention to myself and as absolutely necessary and and this did me did this mean that I wasn't good enough I'm not sure it does I was just displaying an introvert behavior that is quite common among the population but school taught me that was a weakness another example I remember one summer I was about 40 and I was in language immersion holiday spending a few weeks in a family in Ireland to practice English and for me holidays meant books lots and lots of books I had to have a big suitcase so that we have enough to last me for the whole of the holidays and I'll just comment that

airplanes weight luggage policy are not meant for introverts and I've done quite a few holidays like this as a teenager being in a friend family is challenges you're eating with strangers you may or may not speak the language well and they just have a different culture it's so different and this family they had four kids and it was the noisiest house I had never been in my own home was a very quiet one but I loved it these people were warm welcoming and interesting so I actually had a good time but me being me at night you know when it was time to go to bed well I would go and read my book and in the morning you know before like getting myself ready for the day I would read a little bit and if there was a moment during the day when I didn't have

anything special to do I might probably take my book and read and then one day I get a call from my parents saying asking me if something is wrong no nothing's wrong why do you ask the family actually had phoned my parents to say that there was a problem that I wasn't socialising that I was rejecting them that I was avoiding them and and to them how I behaved meant that there was a problem and and I felt really really bad that they felt that way because that was the least of my intention and so I left my books for the rest of the holidays and I tried to spend as much time as I could with them like like I was on social duty you know and waiting for some signs we like is it okay for me to go to bed now and and when I think back about that experience I think it's a bit of

heartbreak heartbreaking because it's just that we didn't understand each other we didn't know that I was behaving normally and they were behaving normally and and what also drew my mind when I listened to that talk from Susan Cain is that she recalled an example from her own childhood which was actually very similar where she had to put our books to have fun with others and and and it's only when I listened to her that I realized that I hadn't done anything wrong during that holidays I had just been me and Susan Cain had done the same and she was fine and that meant I was fine too I think knowledge and awareness is really what makes a difference for us to have better relationships together upon my research for this talk I listened to lots of stories for people from people you know saying hi leads to be an interim whatever and there is one

particular anecdote that came coming back and that a lot would confess that at work when they really wanted to be alone and he did time from themselves they would go to the bathroom the only place where they could achieve true privacy and so now it's my turn to confess on stage you know like at work I go to the bathroom when I just want to be on my own I don't have a bladder problem you know nor any other kinds of problems I I just want to be in a place where I can turn myself my senses off you know and and and yeah and just recharge and one can argue that you know why the bathroom you know that's not the nicest of paces to do that and yeah I agree but in the work environment and especially in this era of open spaces this is the only place that you can be truly on your own you don't have a glass

wall you don't have someone's gonna come knocking on the door saying that you need the room hopefully and no one finally finding you you know to ask you that something that they've been meaning to ask forever and the noise and the lack of privacy of an open space can be overwhelming and it is important for introverts to find spaces where they can recharge their batteries in some companies they do cater for that need and you can have some private spaces or some small non bookable rooms that you can go into or you can just work from home remotely without it being a fuss at all and I think these are good solutions to to to make introverts feel more comfortable not only is it better for introverts you know for them to be better but it also means that they will be more productive and efficient because because they feel better and that they are in an environment in which they can be at their best and it appears that

it's oops that's not supposed to be that slide well it appears that the modern world has forgotten the value of a long time and that in several religions you have someone going on a journey in a world and deserted nature and then coming back with a ton of wisdom that they extend share with the world Buddha Jesus mom a you've got lots of examples like this and even Superman has his own Fortress of Solitude right and it's only after he goes there and spends a significant amount of time alone you know learning from his crystals and stuff that it truly becomes able to embrace his potential his power is who he is and that he's ready to save the world you know from all the threats that are coming so what does your own

Fortress of Solitude look like I and this is my message to two introverts like allow yourself to find it and to tune into to to to this to this space that is there for you and find that wisdom is there only for you and that you can only find if you spend time within yourself and then come back and share it and two leaders recognize the introverts in your team and let them have that time because if you want the best of them if you want them to be able to give you those unique creative solutions that only they can find you have to give them this environment in our work world group work is is very important we do a lot and collaboration is important and you know everyone whatever their personality

types need to be able to work in a group and introverts absolutely can be part of a team and will work in a group project but then again that's not necessarily when there will be at their best there might be not as comfortable expressing themselves in their large number of people and and how can we set an environment to get the best of both world and there are things to take into consideration there are a number of studies that show that people tend to follow the person who speaks the loudest in a meeting that is the most eloquent that is able to present their idea the best but that doesn't mean that their idea is indeed the best it just means that they presented it better and so how do you make sure in your team that you focus on the best idea rather than on the idea that is that is

presented best and an example the meetings in brainstorming you have you have ways that you can avoid that and at the end of the of the presentation I have some some some tools for that as I mentioned before introverts and extroverts have different brain brain chemistry and there's also some it has also an impact on what path the suits take inside the brains and the past for extroverts is shorter than the past for introverts and what it means that for introverts the thoughts come in and then it's analyzes coming this place of the brain this place of the brain and you think about all the musical scenarios that can happen or not happen discard them and there's a lot of going on and you need for all of that to be done before you can actually react so there are there

are good things about it and there are bad things about it the good thing is that it allows you to think very deeply on the topic the bad thing is that the reactivity is not is not as fast so how do you how do you ensure that you get the best of introverts you know in the situation so that you give them the time to process the information they actually come come back with with the answer I remember once having a discussion about a profile that we were hiring for for for a position and someone said that one of the requirements for the for the person to be hired was they needed to be all spoken because otherwise they would get eaten in meetings and that was a very puzzling comment to me because in

the meaning is not necessarily you know where everything everything happens you hear what's being said and then the loudest and most outspoken person is going to take a fair share amount of time and to get most people to see their point and then people go away to do whatever is their thing but what the introvert might do is then go back after like a couple of days later and say speak to this person or this other person and and then you get might get an email afterwards you know well we didn't take into account this and this thing and so we slightly changed the outcome the point my point with this is that introverts might not win the battle in a meeting that's for sure but that doesn't mean that they cannot win the war and and it's

important to focus when thinking about hiring about what is the result that you want to achieve rather than how you want it to be achieved introverts are statistically less likely to be chosen for leadership positions than extroverts and and it is a curious though because introverts can make leaders they tend to be more careful in their approach and to be less likely to take oversized risks and also there was a study that showed that in some situations a better outcome with introverts leaders was more likely because they they would let the tea they would be more likely to let the teams run with their own ID rather than be excited by what the team is doing and maybe not giving them the space to be able to do whatever they were doing and again the Rosa Parks are example of

introverts who become great leaders and they did not take the lead for the pleasure of being in a spotlight it might have been a bit reluctant it might have made them uncomfortable but did it because it felt right that is maseeh way around it and they did brilliantly and there lies the point too introverts tend to keep their souls to themselves they have great ideas and maybe they are thinking things through very deeply but they fail to share it and they have a lot to bring to the society but they don't express they don't necessarily express it and maybe because of that also people misunderstand them and and I have an example of my own life that made that very very clear to me I've been taking some action softening classes yeah I'm French you probably couldn't tell those classes were well worth my money and and in the

group that teacher gave us an assignment and we were to pick a celebrity speaking with an RP accent and impersonate them by copying a speech or interview that that they would do and I chose an interview form Emma Thompson when she's commenting about getting a star on Hollywood Boulevard and she's being witty and silly and it's extremely funny and we will spare you my impression of a madam son because that is not the point the point is that as each people in a class did their own impersonation of their own celebrity and with each give each other feedback and I went last obviously it was volunteer basis and and I did my bit and and I was very surprised by the feedback I got none of

it was about my accent probably because it was perfect but what they said was who is this person in front of me so much energy like you you were so vibrant you know like I didn't know you had that in you like I was like what I was acting thank you for the compliment but also I was surprised because I mean when I was participating to these classes like I was engaged you know like I was listening and like in my head you know lots of stuff what's what's happening but I it's only when I got this feedback that I realized that all of this was happening inside my head and that no one else was aware of it and and it really hit me that if I don't show what's inside well no one is ever going to see no one is ever gonna know me truly because it doesn't shock so that that is

my other message like let it show let it show and I had a great plan that I forgot but but it is important it is important and so there are three takeaways from from from this talk one is embrace your need to to be alone go on that journey find your Fortress of Solitude and get that inner wisdom and then share it the second one is adapt good work together for both types of personalities and the third one is let it show show your inner world to to everyone around you not all the time but when you feel comfortable once in a while and I also wanted to share and this is my last bit little idea is how to create

environments for all personality types the first one is create awareness with personality types so for those who went to the contact and really talked you know it's not necessarily perfect it's that necessarily a completely accurate there are different degrees but what I think is great is to create a conversation about what the tendencies of your team are and to discuss them and don't just do the personality test and then forget about it but like follow up continue the discussion the second point is to put everyone on the same level so that they can so that they can have the same chance to express together for example video conferences having a room full of people and one person alone on their screen I have been in that situation a lot of time it makes it so much more difficult to participate if everyone is on the same level it removes

some barriers to speaking out in brainstorming I think that's a very well-known one but I will tell it anyway start by giving some time like 1020 minutes at the beginning where people write their ideas on post-its in silence and only then once everyone's done then do you share them so that every ID gets a chance and you have time to reflect and the IDS are not influenced by others if you have a meaning where you really want to get back from people consider sharing the agenda and the material like a previous material ahead so that people who want to be prepared have a chance to do their research before the meeting and you can start the meeting by asking people what topics they want to be discussed so that you can make sure that it does get discussed say no to back-to-back meetings frenzy so my my my

own schedule has looked like that when I know that no one likes it you know introverts extroverts no one but what I think is that this tells you when you have to think about what you know there is no time for creativity there is no time for finding your energy or anything so just consciously say no to such a schedule but say yes to flexibility working remotely and none as a favor but just as something that you know is normal for people to do to be able to work at their best and and and in your open spaces create some private spots where people can can go and be on their own and the last point would be make time for pauses and silences so that people have time to digest what you're saying and come up with with with with

the answer that they that they have inside themselves and that's it thank you you