You champion everyone but yourself. Not because you can't. Because no one ever taught you to translate your own impact into words that get heard.

I know because I lived it.

I walked into my first corporate role after 15 years in oncology.

I'd done this before.

Deep expertise in leading teams through impossible situations.
A track record of holding people together when it mattered most.
Genuine care that got results.

For years, I delivered.
Quietly. Consistently. The way I always had.

But the people work was invisible.

The trust that made results happen.
The care that kept people delivering.

None of it fit their "definition".
So none of it existed.

The environment made it clear: the problem was me.

That I needed to toughen up.
Perform.
Become someone else to be recognized.

And it finally broke me.

At that point I held on to what I knew.
My oncology roots.

I had already been taught not just to see, but deliver this work as impact.

Corporate had not trained it out of me.
It just had no mechanism to see it.

So I built one.

I've helped over 100 human-first leaders in traditional corporate do what I learned to do - build an executive-ready Impact Portfolio.

So you can advocate for scope, promotion, or compensation:

→ Translate - Name and own your impact in language that lands
→ Advocate - Know exactly what to ask for, with the words to get it
→ Decide - Have a plan: what, by when, and what you'll do if it doesn't happen

Without becoming someone you're not.

Oncology-trained. Corporate-tested.

DM me "CLARITY" to start.

Laurie Banfi

Championing others has a cost.

Never championing yourself.

This was my story:

I did everything they said I had to.
Still passed over.

Working harder didn't change it.

Waiting to be noticed didn't either.


Here's what changed everything:

I already knew how to advocate.

I did it constantly. For my team. My peers. My direct reports. 

Translated their impact into language that got heard and moved the needle forward.

The skill wasn't missing.
It was pointed in every direction but my own.

This isn't a deficit. It's a redirect.

Here are the 5 steps I take:

1. Name one win you'd champion if it were theirs
2. Write the case you'd make for them
3. Read it back as if it's yours
4. Notice your own resistance
5. Acknowledge it all.

Because if you can't see what you've done,
why should anyone else?


I learnt from experience:

Keep pointing it outward and nothing changes. 

Another year of being valued in words and invisible in decisions (including your own).


Redirect it at yourself and watch what shifts:

Your impact gets heard by who matters - yourself first.
You advocate from that acknowledgment
You choose what's next from clarity, not exhaustion.

Same skill. Finally pointed at you.


What win did you downplay this week?


♻️ Repost to help someone acknowledge their own impact

➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more on closing the recognition gap as a human-first leader.

Exhausted from effort that no one sees? DM me CLARITY - harder isn't the answer.

Valued in words but invisible in decisions? | Helping human-first leaders in traditional corporate | Oncology-trained. Corporate-tested | DM me “CLARITY”

Advocating for everyone but yourself
costs you the room you belong in.

She does it constantly.
Just not for herself.

For a colleague:
"Jack held three teams aligned."

→ Names the contribution in the meeting
→ Translates it for leadership
→ Makes sure it gets rewarded

For herself:
"I just helped out during the transition."

→ Assumes they already know
→ Calls it "doing my job"
→ Lets the outcome speak

Same skill.
Totally different direction.


Advocating with clarity isn't about volume.

I couldn't do it until I saw it as a process:

1/ Acknowledge the work to myself first
→ Before waiting for validation

2/ Find the words - factual, not inflated
→ Same accuracy I'd use for my team

3/ Decide to name it from belief
→ Recognition isn't ego. It's honesty.

In her next 1:1:

"Context on Q4: I kept three teams
aligned through the leadership change.
That's transformed into X for Q1."

No ask. No complaint.

Just the same accurate documentation she'd do for anyone on her team.


What's one thing you minimized this month?

♻️ Repost for the human-first leader who forgot themselves

➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more on closing the recognition gap

Every difficult thing you faced?
You got through it.

Every time you thought you'd fail?
You didn't.

And yet.

Here you are again.
Doubting.

Not because you lack capability.
Because you forgot your own evidence.

The pattern no one talks about:

High performers remember everyone's wins.
Except their own.

Here's what the track record shows:

1/ You've been here before
→ Different challenge. Same you.

2/ Your worst-case predictions were wrong
→ Every single time.

3/ Capability outlasts doubt
→ Doubt is loud. History is louder.

Your track record isn't ego.
It's proof.

When did you last give yourself credit for surviving?

♻️ Repost to remind someone: you are the evidence
➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more

Your next opportunity won’t find you.
Someone has to say your name.

Often in a 10-minute calibration you never hear about.

You can deliver results and lead with integrity.

But if nobody can summarize your value out loud, you’re easy to skip.


Here’s what I’ve learned about advocacy:

Public praise isn’t the same as private backing.

The person who claps for you isn’t always the person who defends your work when it’s questioned.

Advocates aren’t created by likability.

They’re created by proximity to the hard stuff.


Choosing people who’ll say your name is just one thing.

Which is why I started thinking in “borrowable sentences.”


Three small moments where advocacy is built:

1. When someone tries to summarize your value

Give them a sentence they can borrow.

Bridge (now):
“If it helps to summarize my role: I’ve been focused on ___, so we can ___.”

Step-forward (next):
“My contribution here is ___, and it enabled ___.”


2. When your best work is invisible by default

Name what your work protected: time, risk, client trust, rework avoided. Clearer. Not louder.

Bridge (now):
“So it doesn’t get missed: this protected ___ and prevented ___.”

Step-forward (next):
“This protected ___ and prevented ___.”


One of the fastest ways I found to build advocates is to model how impact gets described well.


3. When you’re watching someone else do something excellent. Use recognition that travels.

Bridge (now):
“I want to name something specific: ___ did ___, which protected ___.”

Step-forward (next):
“In summarizing this project, please include ___’s contribution: ___, which enabled ___.”


Your reputation isn’t what you say about yourself.

It’s what someone can confidently say when you leave the room.


Which one would you actually use this week - Bridge or Step-forward?


♻️ If this made you think of someone, send it to them - or repost to help others in your network too.
 
➕ If you want more human-first leadership frameworks, follow me, Laurie Banfi

Naming your value is a skill.

Not a gift. A practice.

I remember vividly how I froze.
Someone asked in a tone that hit me to my core. Hard:

"So tell me exactly, what do YOU bring?"

20 years of experience.
Dozens of projects led.
Delivery of results.
Teams built from human connection.

And I went blank.


Not because I hadn't done the work.
Because I'd never practiced saying it.

A situation I'd encounter time and again.
The continuous replay for days of I wish I said...

That's when I created my 5-minute exercise.


Here's my go-to:

1/ Set a timer for 5 minutes

2/ Answer these three prompts - fast, messy:
→ A problem I solved that saved time or money
→ Something that works now because I built it
→ A moment someone thanked me for how I helped

3/ Circle the one that made you feel something


That's your starting point. Repeat often.

The goal isn't perfection.
It's having words when someone asks.


Maybe you've been here too.

Confident in your work.
Blank when it's time to name it.

You're not missing achievements.
You're missing the habit of naming them.


This exercise builds the self-acknowledgement muscle.


What's one answer you'd write down right now?


💾 Save this exercise for practice that strengthens you 

Did this exercise and want help refining it? DM me CLARITY

➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more on closing the recognition gap as a human-first leader.

The Friday spiral has two versions.
One needs rest. One needs a plan.

You've been here before.

→ Is this burnout?
→ Am I being dramatic?
→ Should I push through like I always do?

Exhaustion and clarity feel identical at first.
Both show up as that heavy Friday feeling.
Both make you question everything.

But they lead to very different places.

Three questions I use to tell them apart:

1/ If I slept for a week, would this disappear?
→ Yes = exhaustion. Rest first, decide later.

2/ Can I point to when this started?
→ A meeting. A conversation. A decision.
→ Clarity has an origin. Exhaustion is gradual.

3/ When I imagine two more years here?
→ Tiredness says: I need a break.
→ Dread says: I need a plan.

The woman I spoke with last week?
She answered all three.

Sleep wouldn't fix it.
She knew exactly when it started.
She knew what kept triggering it.

That's when she saw it clearly:

That wasn't burnout.
That was her knowing.

The spiral wasn't confusion.
It was clarity trying to surface.

Maybe you've felt this too.

Sometimes the questions aren't the hard part.
The hard part is trusting what they tell you.


What's one question you ask yourself when Friday hits and your brain won't settle?


💾 Save this for the next heavy Friday
➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more on closing the human-first leadership gap

"We see you" isn't "We chose you."

The gap? Bigger than most people think.

Patience felt like strategy. 

Wait for the right moment. 
Build the case. 
Trust that good work gets noticed.

Until it didn't.

Patience without movement isn't strategy. 
It's absorption.

You absorb chaos so others don't have to.
You fill gaps they ask of you but don't acknowledge.
You stay steady - and somehow become easier to overlook.


Two things I couldn't see until I was through it:

Their uncertainty fades. 
Yours compounds.


And the issue was never my value. 

It was whether that value was converting into anything.

If you're in this place, these questions helped me get honest:

- Has the timeline moved - or just the language?
- Is the barrier fixable - or does it keep shifting?
- Are you in the room for decisions - or told after?
- Is your patience buying time for them or for you?
- If you left tomorrow, would they scramble or adjust?


Three "no"s and it's not patience anymore.

Patience builds your case - when a case is being built.

Knowing the difference is how you stop waiting and start deciding.


Which question is sitting with you?


♻ Repost to help someone who's been waiting too long. 

➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more on closing the recognition gap for Human-First Leaders.

Your review said "continue working on value add."

You held the team together through two reorgs.

If that feedback made you question your sanity - I get it and I know it does - it shouldn't.

And by that I mean:
What you did and what got documented? Different.
You're not imagining it.

But I learnt:

The first person who needs to see your contribution clearly isn't your manager.

It's you.

I couldn't translate my work for anyone else until I stopped minimising it to myself.

Here's where I started:

Open a note. 
Write down three things from last year that never made it into that review.

Not how you'd say it to your manager.
How you'd say it to a most trusted friend:
"What actually happened last year?"

The messy version. The real one.

→ "I absorbed the chaos so my team could deliver."
→ "I answered questions no one else had answers to."
→ "I held the ground when reporting lines changed."

That's not ego.
That's honesty about what actually happened.

Here's the distinction I hold onto:
Recognition states the work. Ego claims superiority.

You're stating what happened. That's allowed.

It's a shift in mindset about yourself that you already apply to others.

Once you see it clearly - without minimising - then you can translate and advocate it into language that lands.

But that comes later.

Today, just write it down. For you.


What's one thing your review completely missed?


♻️ Repost for the leader whose review erased what actually happened
🔔 Follow Laurie Banfi for more on closing the recognition gap

---

If your last review made you question your sanity - DM me CLARITY.

You're not imagining it.

Kind or direct. Pick one.

It's the lie that's breaking everything.

And when you refuse to pick?

"You're too emotional."
"You're too soft for this."
"This isn't personal, it's business."


Here's the response I wish I'd had sooner:

"My team delivers. On time and exceptional.
You're questioning what built that."

Or the simpler version I was always comfortable saying:

"The outcomes disagree."


A lesson that's stayed with me from corporate:

You don't owe anyone a defense of warmth.
Point to what the approach built instead.

- Problems that surfaced early.
- Hard conversations that resolved.
- Decisions that stuck.

The "and" was never soft.
It is 𝘵𝘩𝘦 skill.

What's your "and"?

If the words don't come easy yet, DM me CLARITY

♻️ Repost to support leaders who know the "and" beats the "or"

➕ Follow Laurie Banfi for more on closing the recognition gap as a human-first leader.

Connector of Talent and Success 💼 | Empowering Businesses to Thrive through People | Culture Growth Strategist | Coach | Writer | HR leader | #1 LinkedIn Belgium | Top #150 LinkedIn 🌍

Who I help: Ambitious introverts and people-first companies

Problems: Visibility without burnout, quiet leadership, culture that enables deep work

Outcomes: Promotions, role transitions, retention, high-trust cultures

STRATEGIC HR LEADER AND COACH WITH HANDS-ON APPROACH AIMING FOR THE BEST EMPLOYEE/BUSINESS EXPERIENCE - INTROVERT ADVOCATE

International HR Executive passionate about the link between employee experience and business dynamics. Combining a strong focus on strategic thinking and planning with a structured and factual hands-on approach. A positive well connected team coach with a natural sense of empowering team members in a spirit of challenge, learning and mutual recognition. Sound decision making capabilities based on critical reflections within companies focusing on innovation, change, digital transformation and learning.

A. Group HR Director Alter Pharma (200 FTE - BE/IRL/US) – private equity backed firm defining & implementing HR strategy (from strategy to operations) including definition of mission/vision/strategy & values.
B. Global HR Business Partner BU Kerley international/Tessenderlo Group (+/-300 employees - 11 countries) developing/transforming key HR processes (talent resource planning, talent acquisition, performance management, competency management, learning, reward,..) - HR project lead new factory Rouen, France. 
C. Global HR Executive SWIFT (+/- 3.000 employees in +25 countries) transforming/coaching business and HR into new ways of (digital) working/thinking to improve the employee and business experience 
D. Global Head of Reward Tessenderlo Group (+/- 5.000 employees in +25 countries) - strategic development/transformation reward strategy
E. Development new holistic performance management framework for Tessenderlo Group, including full implementation recognition stream.
F. HR Project Manager : move of the Chiquita EME Headquarters from Belgium to Switzerland (social plan negotiations, c&b setup, recruitment, mobility, new policy/process design,...)

Professional coaching certification Better Minds at Work               2018 - 2019
Centre for Creative Leadership - senior leadership program           Q1-2 2018
Management Development Programme Vlerick (17 days)		  2010 - 2011
Strategic Compensation & Benefits Management, Vlerick 		  2007      
Master degree in Law&Taxation, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven    1997 - 1998

Steven Claes

She had the highest retention in the company.
They passed her over twice.

The feedback? "Needs more presence in leadership meetings."

But when I dug deeper:
→ Her teams stayed longer than anyone else's
→ Her projects delivered early, consistently
→ Her cross-functional relationships were the strongest in the division

She wasn't lacking presence. The organization hadn't learned to recognize her kind of leadership yet.

I've watched this play out for 20 years as a CHRO.

The quiet leader gets labeled "not a team player." The thoughtful contributor gets told to "speak up more." The one who needs processing time gets dinged for lacking executive presence.

Meanwhile, they're the ones noticing what everyone else missed. Thinking three steps ahead while others are still talking through step one. Building relationships that actually matter instead of collecting business cards.

We're not shy. We're not stuck up.
We're listening. Observing. Taking it in before we speak.

And if an introvert opens up to you? Know that trust was carefully given.

Your way of showing up isn't wrong. It's just different, and often exactly what your team needs.

📩 Daily success as an introvert? These are the techniques I swear by: 
https://lnkd.in/eSdKpkMs

🔁 Know an underrated introvert? Repost this to remind them they’re not alone.

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CHRO | Introvert Advocate | Career Growth for Ambitious Introverts | HR Leadership Coach | Writer | Newsletter: The A+ Introvert (60% Open Rate)

Louise Corbin

They said I was too much.
Turns out they were too limited.

A brilliant CHRO told me recently: "Steven, I've spent 15 years toning down my opinions, holding back, pretending shallow conversations were enough when depth is all I've ever craved."

I understood immediately.

I've lived it too.

Softened my directness to seem "diplomatic."
Smoothed my edges to appear "approachable."
Pretended small talk satisfied me when I was hungry for real connection.

And I ended up feeling like an outsider.

Because I WAS an outsider in places where I'd shrunk myself just to belong.

The pond people have labeled me:

→ Too quiet (meaning: you're hard to read, and that unsettles me)
→ Too direct (meaning: you skip the performance, and I can't handle that)
→ Too intense (meaning: you make me think, and I'd rather not)
→ Too ambitious the "wrong way" (meaning: you chase impact, not just visibility)

But two decades as a CHRO taught me this: Every time you shrink yourself, you train people to expect less from you.

When you're constantly making yourself smaller:
→ You attract relationships that require you to stay small
→ You master the art of being less than you are
→ You construct a career that fits everyone but you

I once believed the introvert advantage meant networking like an extrovert. Speaking louder. Being more visible.

I was wrong.

The true advantage? Recognizing that your need for substance IS your value.

When I stopped apologizing for choosing depth over surface, everything shifted.

1️⃣ You stop dimming your light so others feel comfortable in their mediocrity.

2️⃣ You surround yourself with people who see your intensity as integrity.

3️⃣ You discover your tribe. The ones who view thoughtfulness as strength, not a flaw to fix.

The teams needing someone to navigate complexity? They relied on me.
The cultures hungry for authentic leadership? They found me.

But only because I showed up fully. Not the diluted version.

Not everyone can handle you at full strength.
That's not yours to fix.

The people meant for you? They'll swim out to meet you in deep water, even if it scares them.

The rest will stay on shore, insisting the ocean is "too much."

Let them.

If you're an ocean, stop shrinking yourself into a pond.

If you're built for depth, you don't have a career problem.
You have a boundary problem.

The moment you address that, everything transforms.

As 2026 starts: Which boundary will you finally protect in the year ahead?

💾 Save this & ♻️ share if you're an ocean refusing to become a pond

📩 Join Weekly depth in The A+Introvert Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e7xQPNtn

Quiet does not mean weak.
It means intentional. And that changes everything.

For 20 years, I heard the same advice:
"Speak up more."
"Be more visible."
"Get more executive presence."

I tried. Really tried.
But forcing myself to be louder never made me a better leader.
It just made me exhausted.

So I stopped fighting my wiring.

Today, I'm a CHRO.
Still introverted. Still leading.

And here's what I've learned from two decades in the C-suite:
Introvert isn't a limitation. It's a leadership advantage.

Every letter in INTROVERT reflects a strength I lead with and build teams around.
(See image)

My favorite? “T is for Trusted.”
Because trust doesn’t come from speaking the most.
It comes from meaning what you say.

The best teams I've built were never led by the loudest voice in the room.
They were led by the one people knew they could count on

So if you've spent years wondering why you don't fit the mold of a "typical leader"...
Maybe the mold was never made for you.

Stop fixing what was never broken.
Start building with the strengths already in you.

💾 Save it if you're done trying to lead like someone else.
🔁 Repost if you're quiet is your power.

📬 Want some of my go-to introvert tips I swear by:
→ https://lnkd.in/eSdKpkMs

Your workplace was not designed for you.

Not if you're an introvert.
And no one wants to talk about it.

You have no idea what storms people are walking through. But for introverts, the workplace often adds to the storm instead of offering shelter.

Every day you're fighting a quiet battle.
Meetings that drain you.
Open plans that scatter your focus.
The constant pressure to "be more visible."

You just want to do good work without exhausting yourself.

The truth is most introverts are walking through storms alone. And no one sees it.
➟ They deliver excellent work, then watch someone louder get the credit
➟ Back-to-back meetings leave zero time to recover
➟ They hear "speak up more" when their strength is thoughtful contribution

Ping pong tables and pizza Fridays?
Nice. But they do not fix what's actually draining you.

"Be more visible" and "network more"?
That advice ignores how introverts actually build influence.

What introverts need to do their best work:
✅ Leaders who value depth over volume
✅ Recognition for written work, not just who speaks loudest in meetings
✅ Meeting-free blocks for actual focus time
✅ Permission to recharge without feeling guilty about it
✅ Career paths that do not require constant performance
✅ Time for thoughtful processing before decisions
✅ Cultures where reflection counts as much as quick reaction

This is what makes introverts want to stay.
A workplace that honours different strengths.
That recognises quiet confidence.
Where people succeed without burning out by Tuesday.

What is ONE thing your workplace does (or does not do) that makes the biggest difference for you?

🔁 Repost this if you want to support introverts in your network.
📩 My weekly A+Introvert Newsletter → see profile 👆 or featured section

Matthew Smith

"Don't fall in love with success. Fall in love with the habits that bring success."

That would've saved me years.

Twenty years ago, I was the ambitious introvert.
Crushing tasks. Exceeding targets. Getting nowhere.

Then my mentor pulled me aside.
"You're winning battles. But you're losing the war."

I was working harder than anyone else in the room.
But I was still invisible.

Success is borrowed. Habits are owned.

The project you deliver? That's success.
The deep work that made it brilliant? That's a habit.

The recognition you earn? Success.
The daily rituals that keep you going? Habit.

Chase success without habits, and you're building a career on sand.
Build the right habits, and success has no choice but to follow.

Quiet leaders who last do not fall in love with the spotlight.
They fall in love with:

⏰ Morning routines that protect their energy
🚫 Calendar blocks that make space for focused work
🤔 Time for reflection that sharpens judgment
📚 Reading habits that widen perspective
🛡️Boundaries that preserve their sanity

Promotions can be delayed.
Bonuses can be cut.
Recognition can be missed.

But habits?
They compound.
They decide who you become.

The introvert's edge isn't volume.
It's systems that keep working when the noise fades.
__________
Repost if you're done proving yourself and ready to build yourself

I built some tools for Introverts around exactly this. https://lnkd.in/eSdKpkMs

Ngan Pham

Networking like an extrovert nearly cost me everything.

More events.
More coffee chats.
More small talk with people I'd never see again.

I thought more connections meant more opportunities.

I was wrong.

What I actually built was exhaustion.
And a contact list full of people I barely remembered.

When I finally dropped that belief, everything changed.

I stopped chasing quantity.
Started protecting my energy.
Invested in fewer people, went way deeper with each one.

The networking events I skipped?
Cost me nothing.

The shallow connections I let go?
Made room for the ones I actually need.

After 20 years as a CHRO, I've watched too many introverts burn out trying to play the extrovert game.

The ones who thrive?

They stop forcing what drains them.
They build their network around how they actually work best.

This weekend, try this:

→ Text one person who genuinely energises you. No agenda. Just checking in.
→ Say no to one thing you were going to push yourself through.
→ Spend 10 minutes in stillness. Introverts don't recharge in crowds. They recharge in quiet.

Letting go of the wrong approach is not giving up.
It's making space for the right one.

What's one thing you're letting go of this weekend?

💚 Happy Friday, friends.

♻️ Repost if you believe success should never require self-erasure.

💌 I write the A+ Introvert Newsletter. Weekly insights for introverts who lead quietly and build deeply. No fluff, ever.→https://lnkd.in/e2Yn259g

A cat that dreams of becoming a lion must first lose its appetite for rats.

This African proverb stopped me cold.

Because for years, I was that cat.

Chasing the safe wins. The invisible contributions. Work that kept me comfortable but never actually challenged me.

Rats felt manageable. Low risk. Low visibility. Low reward.

And for introverts? Rats feel even safer.

We tell ourselves that staying small is strategic. That avoiding the spotlight is wisdom. That if we just keep delivering quietly, someone will eventually notice.

But here's what two decades as a CHRO taught me:

The rats never run out.

There's always another inbox to clear. Another meeting where you stayed on mute even though you had the answer. Another task that feels productive but changes absolutely nothing.

Meanwhile, the lion work sits there waiting.

→ The difficult conversation you've been rehearsing in your head for months.
→ The one where you finally tell your manager what you actually want.
→ The role you're qualified for but haven't applied to because it feels too visible.
→ The idea you keep refining privately because sharing it would mean being seen.

The shift doesn't start with action.
It starts with appetite.

You have to:
→ Stop craving the comfort of smallness.
→ Stop finding safety in being overlooked.
→ Stop confusing busyness with progress.

I spent years perfecting rat-catching. Efficient, reliable, forgettable.

Until I realized something painfully obvious: nobody promotes the best rat-catcher.

They promote the person who stopped chasing rats long enough to hunt something that actually mattered.

The shift from cat to lion isn't about becoming louder.

It's about becoming hungrier. For work that moves you forward, not just work that keeps you busy.

So here's my question:

What's one "rat" you've been chasing that you know won't get you where you want to go?

Because I'm willing to bet you already know the answer.

♻️ Share if you're done playing small
📬 Want to build your lion appetite? These tools helped me:
→ https://lnkd.in/eSdKpkMs

"You're too quiet for executive leadership."

My boss said that to me at 32.
I replayed it for years.

Every meeting I stayed silent.
Every presentation I let others take over.
Every networking event I left early.

I believed him.

The lateral moves? I blamed myself for not being louder.
The passed-over promotions? Thought I didn't sell myself enough.
The struggling projects? Maybe I was too introverted to lead.

I carried those stories like stones in my pocket.
Getting heavier with each new challenge.

Then something shifted.

The promotions I didn't get kept me learning.
Now I lead with knowledge, not just ambition.

The struggling projects taught me to listen for what wasn't being said.
That skill transformed every team I touched.

What I've learned about how introverts process setbacks:

→ We don't bounce back. We build back.
→ We don't forget feedback. We mine it for truth.
→ We don't perform resilience. We develop it in silence.

What others saw as weaknesses were actually strengths forming:

Avoided office politics → Built trust through work instead
Skipped self-promotion → Let results speak louder
Stayed in roles too long → Mastered depth others rushed past
Took time to process → Made better decisions than those who reacted fast

Today I'm CHRO.
Still quiet.
Those "setbacks" were my education.

Every introvert I've hired has a similar story.
Told they were too quiet. Too thoughtful. Too slow.

Now they're running divisions.
Transforming cultures.
Leading without performing.

Your setbacks aren't failures.
They're data points.

Your quiet processing isn't weakness.
It's how you turn feedback into fuel.

That boss who said I was too quiet?
He was half right.
I was quiet.
But I was building.

♻️ Repost if you've ever been underestimated for being quiet

📩 Looking for some daily success techniques as introvert:
https://lnkd.in/eSdKpkMs

Introverts don't need fixing.
Your workplace culture does.

For 20 years, I watched companies try to "improve" their introverted employees.

They sent them to presentation skills workshops.
They placed them in open office layouts.
They nudged them toward noisy networking events.

But they missed what really needed changing.

Meeting norms that reward the loudest voice.
Brainstorms that drown out deep thinkers.
"Collaboration" that looks more like constant interruption.

When I was 32, a VP pulled me aside.
"You're too quiet. That'll hurt your career."

So I tried to become louder.
More visible.
More like everyone else.

Eventually I realized something important.

I wasn't the problem.
The environment was.

Today I'm a CHRO.
Still quiet.
Still thriving.

Not because I changed who I am,
but because I focused on changing the system.

If you're doing this:
❌ Telling introverts to speak up more
❌ Requiring constant collaboration
❌ Assuming quiet means disengaged
❌ Defining culture through happy hours
❌ Rewarding visibility over value

Try this instead:
✅ Send agendas in advance so they can prepare
✅ Start meetings with quiet time for written input
✅ Offer multiple ways to contribute, not just talking
✅ Create quiet zones for focused work
✅ Recognize the impact, not just who talks the most

The most innovative companies don't try to fix introverts.
They build environments where introverts can shine.

Quiet-friendly cultures boost productivity.
Written brainstorming surfaces better ideas.
And your next big idea might be sitting silently in the corner.

The companies losing top talent right now?
They're still trying to make introverts louder.

The ones winning?
They're creating spaces where every style can thrive.

If someone seems too quiet,
maybe the system is too noisy.

Stop trying to change them.
Start changing what's actually not working.

Because a culture that works for introverts
works better for everyone.

💬 What's one small change that could make your workplace more inclusive for quieter thinkers?

♻️ Share if you believe quiet leadership deserves more respect

📩 Join 100K+ ambitious introverts who get free weekly career tips: https://lnkd.in/e7xQPNtn

Burnout isn't about working too hard.
It's about pretending too much.

For introverts, the real crisis is not the workload.
It's performing extroversion 40 hours a week.

7 signs you're burning out from the performance:

1️⃣ Hiding in your car between meetings. 
→ This is not odd. It's survival mode.

2️⃣ "I'm fine!" when you're clearly not. 
→ The mask stays on. Always.

3️⃣ Your best work happens after everyone leaves. 
→ Because finally, you can stop performing.

4️⃣ Sunday night dread about people, not tasks. 
→ Your nervous system already knows what Monday brings.

5️⃣ Social battery dies by Tuesday. 
→ You're not weak. You're drained from acting all day.

6️⃣ Calls drain you more than the actual work. 
→ It's not the content. It's the constant "on" that kills you.

7️⃣ Recovery takes the whole weekend. 
→ Two days to recover from five is not a sustainable equation.

After 20 years in HR, I've watched this pattern destroy talented people.
Not because they weren't strong.
Because they were never given permission to stop pretending.

What helps (for you):
→ Block 10 minutes between meetings. Non-negotiable.
→ Replace one call with async. Protect your voice.
→ Batch high-contact tasks on specific days. Guard one deep-work block.
→ Stop apologizing for needing quiet to think.

What workplaces need to change:
→ Create meeting-free blocks for real work.
→ Default one weekly update to async instead of live.
→ Train managers to lead introverts: advance agendas, written input options.
→ Design offices with actual quiet spaces, not just open-plan buzz.

Your energy is real.
Your limits are legitimate.
Your need for space is not weakness.
It's wiring.

Which sign hit closest to home?

♻️ Repost to help introverts burning out in silence.

💌 Want to thrive without burning out: https://lnkd.in/eSdKpkMs

A shark in a fish tank stays small.
In the ocean, it grows to its full size.

The science may be shaky, but the principle holds:
Environment dictates growth.

Introverts work the same way.

But here's what nobody talks about: we don't just need bigger environments.

We need environments with depth.

For years, I tried to grow in loud rooms.

Networking events.
Open offices.
Brainstorm sessions where speed won over substance.

I wasn't shrinking because I lacked ambition.
I was shrinking because I was in the wrong water.

Kurt Lewin, one of the founders of social psychology, proposed that behaviour is a function of both the person and their environment.

You cannot outwork a bad fit.

The typical growth questions fall short for introverts

❓ Am I growing here?
❓ Am I being challenged?

Here's what we need to ask instead

❓ Does this environment reward reflection or just reaction?
❓ Can I contribute in writing, not just in real-time?
❓ Do the people here value depth, or only volume?
❓ Is there space for quiet processing, or just constant noise?
❓ Am I becoming more myself here, or less?

If the answers point to "less" and you can change your environment, change it.

But sometimes you cannot leave yet.

So you build your ocean where you are:

→ Curate inputs that expand your thinking.
Books, podcasts, communities that go in depth, not wide.

→ Find one or two people who match your wavelength.
Mentors or peers who value substance over small talk.

→ Create pockets for depth.
Block time for focused work, even if the culture does not protect it for you.

→ Set quiet challenges for yourself.
Write the memo that showcases your thinking. Lead the project that needs patience over speed.

Your environment shapes your growth.
Your choices shape your environment.

Introverts don't grow by swimming faster.
We grow when we find depth.

Stop trying to grow in a fish tank.
Find your ocean. Or start building one.

💾 Save this and ♻️ repost if you believe introverts deserve environments built for depth

📩 Want to build your ocean? These are the techniques I swear by:
https://lnkd.in/eSdKpkMs

Being "always available" destroyed my best work.

My sharpest thinking happened at 6am before anyone could reach me.
My worst decisions came from back-to-back calls with no space to process.

For years I wore it like a badge of honor.
Responding within minutes.
Never missing a meeting.
Always on.

As a CHRO, I thought that's what leadership looked like.

I was wrong.

7 truths about introvert productivity:

🔋 90 uninterrupted minutes beat all-day availability
Research shows it takes 23 minutes to regain focus after an interruption.
This is where real work happens.
Not in constant collaboration.

🔋 Transition time is not optional
15 minutes between meetings to reset is not luxury.
It's how your brain works.

🔋 Alone time is strategic
Your brain recharges in quiet, not chaos.
Biology, not antisocial behavior.

🔋 Saying no is a productivity strategy
Three meetings with real substance beat twelve status updates.

🔋 Email beats video calls for most things
Async communication protects time for work that actually matters.

🔋 Morning energy is sacred
Give your peak hours to hard thinking.
Not admin.

🔋 Your calendar should reflect your nervous system
Not everyone else's expectations.

Productivity is not about doing more.
It's about protecting your energy for what actually matters.

♻️ Repost for the introvert doing real work after everyone leaves
📩 Weekly introvert career insights → https://lnkd.in/e2Yn259g

You're still replaying it. The moment you said the wrong thing in the meeting.

The decision that caused extra work.
The email you hit send on too fast.

At 2am, you zoom in on every face.
Every silence.
The question underneath: do they still trust me?

What I've learned after 20 years in HR:
People care less about the mistake itself.
They care about what you do next.

✔️ Take responsibility
✔️ Communicate clearly
✔️ Follow through consistently

That advice works. But for introverts, there's a step before the step.

Our nervous system treats mistakes like threats.
So we go quiet. And quiet gets misread as indifference.
We withdraw. We overcompensate.
We rehearse conversations that already happened.

The problem?
Silence rarely repairs trust.

My Quiet Repair Plan:

1️⃣ Name the mistake in one sentence
"I missed a dependency. That created extra work."
No over-explaining. No spiraling. One clear sentence.

2️⃣ Own it 1:1, not on stage
Three sentences in private work better than a public performance:
"I've been thinking about what happened."
"Here's what I see now."
"Here's what I'll do differently."

3️⃣ Make the fix visible
Pick one new behaviour.
Use it consistently.
Let actions speak louder than apologies.

4️⃣ Ask for micro-feedback
Not: "Do you trust me again?"
But: "Was that clearer than last time?"

Small questions feel safer. For both sides.

A visible mistake, handled well, can build your credibility faster than playing it safe ever will.

That's what quiet confidence looks like.
Not perfection. Recovery.

♻️ Repost for the introvert still stuck in the replay loop at 2am.
📩 Weekly tools for quieter leaders → https://lnkd.in/e2Yn259g

The lighthouse doesn't chase ships.
It stands still. And they find their way.

I spent 10 years being the ship.

From 30 to 40, I was drowning in the chase.
Speaking louder in meetings where I had nothing to add.
Networking harder at events that drained my energy.
Projecting confidence I didn't feel in rooms that didn't need me.

Doing everything leaders were "supposed" to do.

Exhausting myself trying to be seen.

Then I watched the quietest engineer become CTO.

While I was running around like a ship without a compass, she stood still.
Like a lighthouse.
She never chased the promotion.
She attracted it.

While others networked, she built systems that worked.
While others pitched ideas, she solved real problems.
While others performed leadership, she delivered results.

The promotion found her.
Three companies tried to poach her within months.
She never applied for any of it.

That moment changed everything for me as an introvert CHRO:

Chasing drains you.
Attracting energizes you.

While others chase the spotlight, we become the steady light others steer toward.

Stop chasing what drains you.
Start building what attracts success:
→ Deep expertise over shallow networking
→ Quality relationships over quantity connections
→ Consistent delivery over constant visibility
→ Thoughtful strategy over reactive hustle

The lighthouse does not announce itself.
It stands steady.
Its light cuts through.
And every ship finds its way.

♻️ Repost if you believe quiet leadership deserves more visibility

📩 Want to be the lighthouse? These are some techniques I swear by: 
https://lnkd.in/eSdKpkMs

Stop forcing yourself to be "on" all day.

Your boss sees quiet.
Your close team sees hilarious.

Your network sees reserved.
Your best friend? Sees you acting like an extrovert.

And here's the thing.
Everyone holds a different version of you.
That is not broken. That is strategic.

➡️ When you are around people who give you energy, you show up fully. 
➡️ When you are around strangers or high-stakes rooms, your battery drains faster than you'd like.

This is not two people.
This is one person with limited energy making intentional choices about where to spend it.

Most introverts sabotage themselves trying to be the same everywhere.

So they either:
➡️ Exhaust themselves performing for everyone
➡️ Hide completely and wonder why nobody knows what they can do

Here is the breakthrough:

➡️ Stop trying to be consistent.
➡️ Start being intentional.

You are not broken because you go quiet at a conference.
➠ You are smart because you know the return on your energy investment.

You are not unfriendly because you skip happy hour.
➠ You are protecting your ability to show up fully in the meetings that actually matter.

You do not need to be the same version in every room.
You need to decide which rooms deserve your full energy.

What is one event or meeting you are going to skip this week, guilt-free?

♻️ Repost this for the introvert who needs permission to stop performing

I ignored the warning signs for 3 years.
Then my body made the decision for me.

Most leaders still think burnout is a discipline problem.
Better time management. More willpower. Stronger boundaries.

Yet the introverts I work with burn out even with perfect calendars.
Color‑coded.
Blocked.
Optimised.

Still exhausted.

The real issue? Their energy design has holes.

As a CHRO working with introverted leaders, I see the same pattern on repeat:

→ Saying yes to a "quick call" that hijacks your only thinking block
→ Attending the meeting you weren't needed in, just to be seen
→ Skipping the 10-minute buffer because "it's just one more"

One VP was ready to quit.
Exhausted by Tuesday.
Every. Single. Week.

We implemented the 3B Framework:

→ Boundaries: Clear office hours for interruptions
→ Buffers: 15-minute blocks between meetings
→ Being Selective: 3 strategic meetings, not everything

Result: 40% fewer burnout symptoms.
Same influence. Better decisions.

Your exhaustion is not a discipline problem.
It is a design problem.

Swipe through for the full 3B Framework.

💡 Save this before your next burnout warning sign.

👉 If your energy at work or in rooms full of people feels unfixable, this will change how you see it and how you show up:
https://lnkd.in/eEk9FQBx

You're Not Tired. You're Overspent. (And Now what?)

I stayed quiet in meetings for years.

Then one CEO told me:
"When you speak, I know it matters."

I'd spent years thinking my silence was a liability.
Turns out it was my edge.

Most communication advice for introverts?
"Just speak up more."

But more communication does not equal better communication.

⬇️ Swipe to learn how introverts turn quiet into influence.

💾 Save & repost this before your next meeting.
📩 Get my newsletter The A+ Introvert → link in carousel last page

Stop Apologizing For Not Speaking Up Immediately (Really)

Stop trying to be a louder leader.

In 20 years as CHRO, I've watched brilliant introverts burn out.
They tried being more visible.
More charismatic.
More loud.

When teams take initiative, introverted leaders drive 28% higher productivity.

Not despite being quiet.
Because of it.

Your quiet leadership is not the problem.
The cult of charisma is.

⬇️ Swipe through to see how quiet leaders actually lead.

💾 Save this before your next leadership moment.
📩 Join ambitious introverts in The A+ Introvert Newsletter → link in carousel or my profile

Stop Trying To Be A Louder Leader (Do This Instead)

I spent 10 years faking extroversion.
Turns out, my introversion made me CHRO.

3 quiet wins that outperformed loud:

→ 47 minutes of silence in a tense board meeting.
One sentence that shifted the entire conversation.

→ 24 hours to think instead of reacting fast.
Saved €2.3M.

→ 8 private conversations instead of one big pitch.
Unanimous approval. Zero politics.

⬇️ Swipe to see how each moment played out.

Ambitious introverts: stop performing. Start leading.

💾 Save this before your next leadership moment.
♻️ Repost to empower the quiet leaders in your network.

I Used To Believe My Introversion Was a Career Liability

We reward volume.
But value? It sits quietly in the corner, often overlooked.

And companies are paying the price.

Great talent walks out the door. Often the quiet ones who never felt seen.

📊 Here's what the research actually shows:

→ Teams led by introverts are 28% more productive, especially with proactive employees
→ Introverted CEOs deliver a 2% better return on assets
→ They retain talent, make better decisions, and build deeper trust

Yet extroverted leaders still earn more.
They receive higher salaries, more promotions, and greater visibility.

Extroverts bring energy and speed.
But that is not the only kind of value.

We often confuse visibility with effectiveness.
We keep promoting the loudest voice instead of the strongest one.

👉 Swipe to see the leadership traits we are undervaluing and what it is costing us. 

🔁 Know someone who needs to see this?
💾 Save it as a reminder to value the quiet strengths.

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