36. Part 2 of 2 - A Discussion: Susan Cain's Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Andrea Boerries, Consultant, Member of Society International Development, DGVN (United Nations Association Germany) and DGAP (German Council of Foreign Relations), terrific thought partner, joins Yo to discuss Susan Cain’s book, Quiet. Andrea brings a global perspective to help us see being an introvert as a human phenomenon we can be proud to be.

Because of the depth of our conversation and richness of the content, we decided to make this into two parts. Here’s how the discussion went:

· How has the book uncovered our own tendencies toward being an introvert?

· How can companies help acknowledge introverts in their training efforts?

· Are there characteristics of Gen Zers that could be more introverted than other generations?

· How did reading this book change our thinking about being an introvert?

· How can teachers and other leaders help introverts learn to be comfortable leading?

During the episode, Andrea mentioned a few additional sources that might be helpful:

1. German Book, English translation
Jennifer B. Kahnweiler (2018)
The Introverted Leader: Building on your Quiet Strength 2nd ed,
Berrett-Koehler Publishers; Germany.

2. Aguas, J. (2019) Millenial and Generation Z's Perspectives on Leadership Effectiveness in Emerging Leadership Journeys Vol. 13, Issue 1, @Regent University School of Business and Leadership

3. Prof. Dr. Amarendra Bushan Dhiraj, (03/24/2022), Quote on Satya Nadella, CEO and Chairman, Microsoft, Redmond, WA. in CEO World Magazine, @ceoworld.biz.

More about Andrea:

Andrea grew up in Central Germany’s beautiful Taunus area, close to Frankfurt. She spent her Senior year at Carlisle High School, PA. After graduation in 1981 and finishing her German diploma, she spent 2 years traveling the world as an air hostess with Lufthansa, went to Paris, France and received a language diploma, worked in a consultancy and got hired as an event manager in an advertising agency in Hamburg. She went on to work in the advertising business as a client consultant while pursuing a degree in Marketing and Communication.

She started her family in 1994, moved to Silicon Valley and stayed for 10 years.

In 2007, her daughter got very sick and she changed her life style completely to become healthier and strong to best support her family during this time. She became a yoga teacher but had a severe accident which led to numerous surgeries and couldn’t continue teaching yoga. She always enjoyed following politics, and after participating in a few online classes (Women’s Health and HR, Stanford, Sustainability, Columbia, Intro to Intl. Development, Cambridge), she settled for studying International Development at University of Cambridge, England.

While in Cambridge, she volunteered as an intern for NGOs in Kenia, Myanmar and India. She also worked as a volunteer in the Hamburg refugee program for a year in school administration and founded and built a refugee camp library. She received an invite to further her education in Sustainability in a summer program at the UN Systems Staff College in Bonn.

She graduated from Cambridge and went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Political science at University of Hamburg, while working as an intern and later student employee for a Federal German development project in Youth employment, SIFA (Skills Initiative for Africa) in Johannesburg in cooperation with eight African countries.

She has three grown children 20, 25 and 28 yrs. old.

Ways to reach Andrea:

Email:
aboerries904@gmail.com

Ways to reach Yo:

Email:
yo@yocanny.com