3 Tips for Introverts from Silicon Valley Leaders

To attract the attention of your boss, you just need to put in a little effort.

Many Silicon Valley leaders are introverts. In fact, they are more introverted than other industries. These introverts can teach us many lessons.

Rajeev Behera spent seven years in Silicon Valley working with various marketing teams at start-ups. Reflektive is a platform that allows employees to communicate and send information in real-time. Three key tips have he shared for introverts to make them stand out from extroverts.

Face-to-face meetings are a good idea with your manager

Face-to-face meetings are a key goal for introverted employees. Extroverts are easy to talk with and are comfortable sharing what they’re working on, their goals, and their progress. Because they love the gift of words, managers and colleagues often listen to their discussions about their progress. Extroverts are more expressive than introverts, which can make them less productive.

Behera suggests that introverts take advantage of their strengths by having deeper and more detailed conversations. Even if it’s only five minutes, the most discrete people should talk to their bosses daily to update them on their progress. Introverts are not known for their ability to communicate well so it is important to set aside the time to update their supervisors about their progress. This allows introverts to share their knowledge and helps them to build relationships. It is often easier for introverts to communicate face-to-face rather than in front of others. This tactic allows them to be visible to their managers.

Behera said it well: “This is probably most important thing, making it clear to them on what we’re doing, and making sure that you have that face-to–face relationship with your manager, away from group meetings and team meetings.”

Focus on quality, not quantity

Behera’s next topic is often discussed in conversations about networking and introverts. Many introverts find networking daunting and difficult. Introverts are more comfortable talking to less people than extroverts, which can lead to long and detailed conversations. These conversations can lead to deeper relationships and more lasting connections.

To foster stronger relationships among employees, the same strategy can be applied within a company. Once you reach a certain rank in a company you will have many colleagues. However, it is worth trying to keep relationships with people from other departments.

Introverts can build strong relationships with their colleagues, just as they would converse with fewer people at networking events but have deeper conversations. Introverts are more well-known to many people than extroverts. However, this is a significant advantage over extroverts who are only known to a few.

How to summarize

Last tip: Be the second set of ears to your boss. Behera states that introverts often attend company meetings and listen attentively to all the information. Then they inform their boss about the most important details, avoiding unnecessary details, which can lead to lost time.

Introverts are known for their ability to combine a variety of information. They listen attentively and inform their boss about the most important things. Introverts are highly valued employees because of this skill.

Introverts can be calm and stand out even though they are not as social as extroverts. Introverts can showcase their talents by having one-on-one conversations and building deeper relationships with managers.

The fact that introverts don’t speak much should not be a hindrance to their rightful voice.