Strategies for Introverts: Navigating Workplace Visibility

As an introvert in this extrovert world, I found these two Harvard Business Review articles, “Are You an Introvert? Boost Your Visibility” and “An Introvert’s Guide to Visibility in the Workplace,”very interesting. There is a statement in one of the articles about introverts being able to make themselves seen and heard—without pretending to be someone else—that is right on the money. Here is a quick summary of some of the strategies presented.

Strategies for Workplace Visibility:

Speak up Early in Meetings: Meetings present a golden opportunity to showcase our understanding of the business, critical thinking skills, and readiness to lead. By challenging ourselves to contribute early in meetings, we can overcome the initial barrier of participation and make our voices heard when attention is high.

Take the Pressure Off: Visibility doesn’t always require groundbreaking ideas; active participation and thoughtful engagement can elevate our stature. By asking questions, building on colleagues’ points, and suggesting resources, we can shape the conversation without seeking the spotlight.

Ditch Self-Deprecation: Introverts often downplay their ideas and achievements, unintentionally diminishing their authority and influence. Instead of using qualifiers that undermine our contributions, we should frame our ideas positively and confidently to garner respect and acknowledgment.

Leverage Asynchronous Communication: Asynchronous communication allows introverts to articulate their insights without the pressure of immediate responses. Crafting newsletters or circling back after meetings demonstrates our thoughtfulness and commitment to the work.

Show Gratitude: Expressing gratitude gracefully bridges the gap between humility and visibility. By framing our accomplishments within the context of appreciation, we can stay true to ourselves while ensuring our achievements are recognized.

During my professional career, I used a few of these strategies very successfully. Visibility is important when you are leading an organization in order to align resources and secure the necessary budget to execute your mission and projects.

Here are three strategies that I employed to gain visibility as a senior officer during my 24+ years in the U.S. Army, which could be easily adapted to suit your specific needs or the type of organization you belong to.

Meetings: I read the briefing slides and data before each meeting and prepared 3-5 questions. During the meeting, I assessed the environment and the mood, planning when to ask my one or more questions. Like the article stated, I looked for an opportunity to speak early, usually after 3-4 people have spoken in the meeting. By then, I knew if it was prudent to ask questions or if it was one of those days when the boss is in a bad mood and it’s better to stay quiet.

Email Communication with the Boss: Once a week, I would send an activity report to my boss highlighting my division’s accomplishments during the week. My email included the status of my people and their accomplishments, status of our projects, a snapshot of our current budget, and a look at what we were planning in the next 30-90 days. I always started my emails with a line that stated if I needed my boss’ support in anything and what I needed from him or her. They never asked me for the email but they were appreciative of the emails. Most of the time, I received an email back with highlighted portions congratulating my team about a project or asking questions about a particular item. Since we do not have a lot of time during the meetings to brief or inform our boss about what was going on in our areas, this email was essential for my engagement with the leadership. I also carbon copy (cc:) key personnel across the organization on my email to keep them inform and enhance collaboration.  

Desk Side Brief with My Boss’s Boss: In the Army and most organizations, an employee has at least two bosses (the immediate supervisor and his or her supervisor) both of them have influence in your annual appraisal and career. I had a lot of interaction with my immediate supervisor but less so with my other boss. Knowing that, I purposely requested a desk side brief on a quarterly basis to give him or her an update on what we were doing for the organization. In my case, they were General Officers (3 or 4 Star Generals or the equivalent of CEOs in the civilian world) and their time was limited. I always went with one PowerPoint slide (paper copy) and 3-4 key points to discuss my update because usually the meetings lasted about 10-15 minutes. Those key points were the most important ones impacting the organization and I wanted him or her to know. The one-on-one was excellent. I provided my update and received direct guidance that I then used to continue the work. My immediate supervisor was not present during the meeting so afterward I would send an email to him or her highlighting what we discussed and any tasks that I received during the meeting.

This can be very difficult for introverts. Our tendency is to keep a low profile. We like to stay in our heads all day and save our energy for the things that really interest us. But we live in an extroverted world, and sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zone to get noticed and acquire the resources necessary to accomplish organizational goals. We always have nights and weekends to recharge our batteries before reentering the extroverted world again.

38 thoughts on “Strategies for Introverts: Navigating Workplace Visibility”

  1. As an introvert who has lead meetings and given presentations, I really like the points you’ve made. The prepared questions keep your focus sharp and make you look good like a concerned employee. The consistent contact with your boss and boss’s boss is great communication and great self promotion showing your competence. Thanks for sharing your secrets.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. You’re welcome, Rebecca. I really appreciate your feedback. Communication with the boss and the boss’s boss is also good to promote good work from employees that would otherwise go unnoticed.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. I appreciate your writing Ed. You write on point regarding what plagues us as individuals. I believe my period of introversion was due to a lack of knowledge. I wanted to share my thoughts on different matters when I had an opinion. I realized I was not an introvert when I recognized my passion for something.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you very much for reading and commenting. You made a good point about the lack of knowledge and how that could impact our ability to be assertive, which I think is different from being an introvert.

      Like

      Reply

  4. Great email and important points Edward.

    As an ambivert, I relate to this and also having had achieved financial success before my piers to make for even playing ground. I still think I fall into it out of habit but it’s a good one to break the cycle on. It’s never a good idea diminishes your value internally.
    💓
    “Introverts often downplay their ideas and achievements, unintentionally diminishing their authority and influence. Instead of using qualifiers that undermine our contributions, we should frame our ideas positively and confidently to garner respect and acknowledgment.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Cindy. Ambivert is probably a good place to be, a nice balance between the two. Thank you for highlighting the self-deprecation part. That is a constant struggle for us since we like to keep a low profile. 🫶🏼

      Like

      Reply

  8. Edward, Excellent tips for introverts in the workplace. I too am an introvert, although a lot of folks don’t think of me as one. But I do tend to listen more than speak in meetings. My manager, who I’ve been with for the past 10 years and through three company changes) is great at managing both extroverts and introverts, although he says he’s an introvert too. One thing that helped me was joining Toast Masters. Speaking in public is scary. But practice in a safe environment helps.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Joni. There was a time when I was thinking about joining the Toastmasters, but then I was assigned to a job where I needed to brief twice a day, and I did that for three years, so I got a lot of practice there.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. This is so good, Edward. Especially the speaking early in a meeting and regular cadence with your bosses. I love your approach to do a one-slide deck. I’m going to use that one right away. Thank you!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. You’re welcome, and please let me know at some point, if/when you have time, how the one-slide approach goes. Many people prefer multiple slides with small fonts to cram as much information as they can. But, I’ve found that senior management loses interest after the first slide, so unless they specifically ask for detailed information that can’t be presented on one slide, I always opt for one slide. I think is important to maintain a nice balance between providing information and allowing enough time for the boss to speak or provide guidance.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I agree about the balance – and also the temptation to put in too much. It’s also such a great exercise to edit down to just the essentials. I think it helps with prioritizing the talking points too.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. You are absolutely correct. It gives you the opportunity to think and highlight what is really important. Plus you can control the discussion and be the subject matter expert on those talking points.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  10. Great tips, Edward. Some of these I have leveraged myself. Asynchronous communication in particular was my strong suit and I utilized it to the max. Early in my management career, I was much more confident in written as opposed to verbal, communication.
    Everyone from peers all the way up to vice presidents commended my emails, presentations, etc. They were clear and succinct, with just the right amount of detail. I was always very proud of that.

    Eventually, I started thinking, why can’t I just talk the way I write? In doing that, I was gradually able to improve my verbal communication skills and was just as comfortable talking in front of 200 people as I was in front of 1 or 2.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Excellent, Kevin. It’s good to have options and different techniques when working with the boss and peers. In a meeting, there is so much that you can cover during your turn in just a couple of minutes. Email is a lot better to ensure that you address all your points effectively. Of course, face-to-face is still one of the best methods, and it helps in reading the boss’ mood or emotions on a particular topic.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Agreed, Edward. Being able to present face-to-face in a clear, concise fashion is invaluable. I was fortunate that I could build off the foundation that my written communication had established. Knowing that my written word was respected gave me more confidence in the verbal realm.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

    1. Absolutely, Mary. I’m the same way, and one of the reasons why I started to send updates via emails. I’m able to express myself without interruptions. In a meeting setting, there is always an extrovert that wants to steal the show. 😄

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. Not sure if I’ve ever said this before to you, but thank you for your service. Your perspective on introverts being able to navigate through this world is most helpful 😊

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Laura. It was a real pleasure serving my country. Yes, we introverts need help navigating life sometimes, so every time I read something useful I like to share it with the community. Thank you for reading.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

Leave a comment