book tip
networking
Introverts can also have a career – just in a different way than extroverts
Introverts usually find it difficult to talk to new people in an informal way
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Networking is a horror for many introverts. Entrepreneur Matthew Pollard gives tips on how valuable contacts can still be made in professional life.
A room full of people who are talking animatedly to each other – only you don’t know any of them and stand uncertainly on the edge. A setting in which it is expected to approach other people proactively, to show oneself from one’s best side and to convince the other person of oneself and one’s advantages within a few minutes. This is the stuff of introvert nightmares. And yet such scenes play out again and again in the professional world. Anyone who works as a freelancer, is looking for customers as a self-employed person or wants to advance in a company must be able to network.
But that is precisely what horrifies introverts. Many of them prefer to stay in the background, make little fuss about their (good) work and, above all, surround themselves with people they have known and trusted for a long time. They often find it difficult to approach strangers. This can be a serious disadvantage on the career ladder, which is designed primarily for extroverts who can present themselves well. So introverts can’t have a career? Yes, says Matthew Pollard, author of The Introvert’s Path to Networking. And what’s more: introverts don’t have to pretend to do this, on the contrary: they could use the abilities that they possess because of their own personality for themselves.
Introverts have different recipes for success than extroverts
“The path to success isn’t the same for introverts as it is for extroverts. We’re different and we have to take advantage of that,” he says. Pollard speaks from personal experience: He describes himself as an introvert but has built several multi-million dollar companies. He has long been a networking professional himself and has specialized in supporting introverted entrepreneurs and employees on their way with books and lectures. After all, in most industries, you can only really get ahead with the help of contacts. But those who, like many introverts, tend to stick to the familiar and often shy away from making contact with new people, stagnate.
According to Pollard, it is not essential to mutate into a perfect Power Point presentation of oneself or to talk continuously. In fact, these traits often come across as annoying and superficial to others. Introverts can act out the traits they were born with: diligent work, reliability, listening and asking questions, focusing on the crucial aspects of an issue, meticulous preparation. But it doesn’t work without selling. After all, it’s not just about possessing all of these qualities, but also displaying them from time to time in a way that customers or bosses recognize their value. The good news: Most of the time, these advantages catch the eye of those around them without having to be explicitly emphasized – introverts also tend to have too little confidence in themselves.
Planning, preparation and practice
According to Pollard, three things are key for introverts to be successful in networking: planning, preparation and practice. All three ideas correspond to the introverted prototype, who does not like to enter into situations that he does not know or cannot assess. And they offer introverts the security they need to feel safer at a network meeting, for example, and to cut a good figure there without pretending. Because many introverts prefer writing to talking (especially not in groups), networks like LinkedIn are great for them — even if they don’t replace face-to-face contact. Pollard shows when it pays to go on the offensive immediately, which contacts tend to pay off in the long term and how not to be cheated in the business game of give and take. For example, if you have promised a potential business partner that you would put him in two contact positions, you only reveal one at first – until the other person has also kept his or her promise.
Sometimes it gets challenging, with some of Pollard’s suggestions it should even shake many introverts. As with the entrepreneur who asked Pollard to ask his customers what exactly they appreciate about his service. An introvert wouldn’t think of that in his sleep. However, Pollard provides the script for the next phone call or the next LinkedIn message. Probably sounds weird to extroverts. It should be of great help to introverts.
“The path of introverts to networking – authentic and systematic to business success” by Matthew Pollard, translated by Ricarda Colditz, 240 pages, 28 euros.