How not to motivate introverts?

Introverts: We’re 51% of the population, and still people don’t get who we are and how we function best. We are in your workplace as employees, colleagues, managers, bosses. We can be a family member, child, lover, or friend. We are definitely well represented among your clients and customers. Not understanding us is your loss. You may be crying out for creative, innovative thought without realizing that you have it within your circle – housed in quiet people who too often feel shut out of group processes. Many of us are highly motivated: we often collect information in detail and use it to perform at a high level of skill. Those seemingly random bits of information that many of us store in our heads can be put together in some amazingly creative ways. If you want to tap into introvert talent, here are some “don’ts”: DON’T *Pressure us to perform: Don’t use pressure as a motivator. Introverts are easily overstimulated, and although quiet on the surface, we often feel like pressure cookers about to explode with ideas, information, and feelings. We need time and space in which to think, and a receptive ear to listen to our ideas. *Force us to compete: We prefer, and perform best, when we are given support and feel we are collaborating with others. *Demand an immediate decision: When you do so, ask yourself if there will be quick, negative consequences if a decision is not made and acted upon immediately. That would be an emergency. Urgency – the emotional need for quick action – may be as dependent on inner impatience as it is on outside circumstances. Learn to distinguish between the two. *Finish sentences or thoughts for an introvert because you think he or she needs prompting. All this does is turn off a deep and potentially productive thought process. *Think that a stimulating environment will raise introvert energy levels. People who run meetings and conferences usually defer to extroverts, who respond well to that loud, jazzy music which is often used to open the meeting, often urging participants to get up and dance. For introverts, this is a little like being attacked by Harry Potter’s “Dementors”: it sucks the life right out of us. We introverts need to retreat occasionally from too much stimulation to process information thoroughly – and to come up with those creative, innovative ideas for which you may be desperately searching.