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I think we would all agree that American society embraces an Extrovert Ideal; in other words, extroversion has become the cultural ideal (interestly, not all cultures embrace the Extrovert Ideal). How we act in public counts more than how we behave in private. Around the beginning of the 20th century we switched from a Culture of Character (how we behave in private) to a Culture of Personality (how we behave in public). We used to celebrate and admire those who were honorable, disciplined and had integrity. However, think about when we started to idolize movie stars and then athletes...we became "captivated by people who were bold and entertaining." We migrated from the seeking the solitude of Walden Pond to attending raucous self-help seminars offered by the Tony Robbins' of the world to "find ourselves."
Through the chapters of this thought provoking book, author Susan Cain explains the various definitions of the terms introvert and extrovert--apparently no one agrees on exact definitions. She also explores the evidence pointing to a biological component to our personalities (nature versus nurture) which is related to the idea of temperament versus personality. She talks about the spectrum of leadership styles and addresses creativity and exceptional achievement. I especially enjoyed the chapters that provide ideas for enhancing our inter-personal relationships. What do we do when coupled with someone on the other end of the introvert-extrovert spectrum from ourselves?
The New Groupthink (why many of us hate group projects or open offices), Self Monitoring (I have had enough--it is time to go home), Free Trait Theory (I can pick and choose what is important to me and how extroverted I want to be in certain situations), Deliberate Practice (solitude and the key to exceptional achievement), Level S Leadership (humility and intense personal will) and the Big Five school of personality (introversion-extroversion; agreeableness; openness to experience; conscientiousness; and emotional stability) are all ideas I would like to take more time to study. Because of the stories she shared, I would also like to read biographies or autobiographies of Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Rosa Parks. I would highly recommend this very readable book to anyone interested in learning more about their own personality and temperament or how to get along with or lead others.
Visit her website http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/ to take a Quiet quiz and to learn more about the book.