The Power of Introverts

After watching Susan Cain's TED talk, I actually had to take a few minutes to decide exactly where I thought I fell on the introvert-extrovert spectrum. I've always considered myself an extrovert but after hearing what Susan had to say about individuals and their identities on the spectrum, I found myself doubting if I truly was. Being a student in the business school, we tend to be tested quite often on our abilities to collaborate on projects. If I have learned anything from my experiences working in groups, it's that whether you believe it or not, no group of people are ever going to be successful if they all fall on the same side of the spectrum. A group of introverts may have great ideas and brilliant direction, but if no one steps up and takes a leadership role, they may all be satisfied with keeping to themselves. On the other side of the spectrum, a group of purely extroverts may never get anything done because they all want to take the leadership role. I think due to this, there are situations where an introvert has no choice but to express the behaviors of an extrovert. I think having that balance in a group is of the utmost importance.

When looking at Tuckman's Developmental Stages Model, not having an equal balance would also be problematic. If a group of people is every going to hope to see all facets of development (forming, storming, norming, performing), its important they don't get hung up on any single stage, which is where being encouraging and not suppressing anyone in a group is key. Each member in a group brings something different and useful to the table. Unless they are given the opportunity for self-expression, these attributes may get lost before they are ever discovered. If you look at any of the great introverts of our history, you could probably point to a specific moment where their lack of conformity was tested and they had to make a decision: either stick to their guns or sacrifice on integrity and personal belief. Whether someone is an introvert or extrovert doesn't necessarily matter. It comes down to their ability to find the weakness in their group (whether big or small) and fill that void.

O Captain My Captain

Dead Poets Society is one of those movies that I will never get sick of watching. I think the first time I watched it was in high school as part of an assignment for an English class and I immediately fell in love with it. I know that inspiration comes from different mediums for everyone. Some people listen to music, some people read speeches, and others are born with the confidence to succeed. For me, I think of the scene where Mr. Keating approached his students with a question: "what will your verse be?" This resonates a lot with me because in the grand scheme of things, its easy to get caught up in just how small your footprint will be. It's easy to skate by and leave it up to others to truly change the world. Whether or not you want it to, life continues onward and its up to us as individuals to decide where we will leave our mark. I am a firm believer in the idea that if you are every put in a position of power, its imperative that you leave your role in a  better position than when you received it. The whole idea of "creating your own verse" strikes a personal cord with me based on my background and my decision to found a fraternity at Ohio State. Chi Phi to me is its own "book" and I have to decide what my "verse" will be. When it's all said and done, I want to look back on my 4 years at this university and my 3 years in Chi Phi and truly be proud of the "verses" I have left here in Columbus. It will always be something I think about and I'd much rather be satisfied with what I've done as compared to dwelling on the past and thinking of ways I could've changed it. Dead Poets Society opened my eyes up to just how short life is and the sad realization that your window of opportunity is very narrow. In the words of one Ferris Bueller:"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."