Introverts

Introverts!!!

The biggest learning lesson of my teaching career involved these reserved, sometimes quiet, highly insightful, intelligent people. In my first year of teaching full-time as a hairdressing instructor I ended up having a class with three really quiet, shy, introverted students. Immediately after meeting them I thought to myself... "hair stylists can't be quiet and shy, how am I going to make these people into stylists". These thoughts and words that would later bring me shame and in turn became the biggest lesson in my professional life.

It is a commonly held idea in the hair industry that stylist must be social, outgoing, and extroverted. I suppose my twenty plus year career in the beauty industry has driven this ideal character attributes into my head as well. These beliefs were my first mistake, rather then looking at the introverts in my class from my hairdresser perspective I should have been viewing them as an educator. When this epiphany occurred the changes within me began to occur.

Around that same time I was invited to a teachers workshop at the college during this lecture I sat in the room and listened to a strong, experienced instructor speak though I was intimidated by him another part of me was intrigued. To my excitement he began to speak about introverts. He asked for people to speak about the discipline they teach and how they thought introverts would fare in the program. I proudly raised my hand to give my point of view on the question at hand then instructor called on me to respond. I began to explain from my point of view why introverts were not suitable for the hair industry. I stated all the cliché reasons about why stylists need to be extroverted. Naturally he listened to my point of view and gently struck me down. He played the following video and asked the entire class to take it in and reflect upon it afterwards.   

Please take the time to watch this 19 minute video!
 
http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts

After watching this video in the teaching workshop that day my view of introverts was changed forever. It was the biggest "AHA" moment of my early teaching career. Introverts are so valuable to the world, in fact I think I relate to them more then my fellow extroverts. After watching the video half a dozen times I approached the introverts in my classes very differently. Rather then fear them I've helped them be some of the top students in the class and rising starts in the hair industry. Susan Cain is now one of my favorite people, she is a brilliant speaker, a author, a former lawyer and negotiations consultant, and most of all a self-proclaimed introvert. I hope you enjoyed this and spend some time looking at Susan Cain's other contributions.

http://www.ted.com/speakers/susan_cain