The Quiet Power of Introverts

I read an article yesterday: Introverts Run The World – Quietly. Aware of my many extrovert-related, bull-in-a-china-shop, talk-before-I-think indiscretions, I was not surprised at all by the title.

Ms. Cain is not being facetious when she alludes to the collective power of introverts in the world, and us extroverts would do well to slow down enough to appreciate the quiet, steady production of our introverts in our schools, our families, and our cultural practices.

Her broader point, however, provides hope for us all.  She argues that it’s the introvert’s natural proclivity to take time to reflect that has put them at the top of the creativity, production, and leadership heaps.  We can all do more of that–even if it’s not our natural inclination.  And summer is the perfect time to do that too: at the pool, on the road trip, sitting on the porch when it’s too hot too move.

Society’s crazy pace, the demands on our time, and, if we’re extroverted, possibly our own addiction to activity are working against us, but articles like this remind us that we don’t have to be Einstein–or an introvert–to pause and see what revelations swell up in the quiet.

-Kara Douglass
Head of School
The Fulton School at St. Albans