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Our second guest for Season 3 of The Introvert Ally podcast is Michael Thompson. Michael is a Career Coach, Lecturer at EAE Business School, and the author of Shy by Design. In his book, he explores 12 timeless principles to help introverts stand out. He shares his personal journey of overcoming a severe stutter and a strict military upbringing to transform into a confident salesperson and career coach.
In this episode, Jennifer Kahnweiler sits down with Jess Pettit, a professional speaker, consultant, and author of Almost Doing Good. Jess shares her unique career journey from education to crisis management and diversity consulting. She offers deep insights on balancing humility and ego—what she calls "riding two horses"—and the power of listening, especially for extroverts engaging with introverts.
Jennifer talks about the discovery of her own introversion, how self-awareness can affect business results, and her journey to working as a senior leader. She is so glad she has learned to use introversion as a lens to understand the world and fuel her curiosity. Jennifer says,“As a leader, I let the creative juices happen organically. I don’t want to be the first or the last to speak.”
Ryan talks about the dynamic of introvert / extrovert relationships and how they affect the dynamics both in the office and at home. He also describes how he built on his personal journey and pain to become an ally for introverts in his company and beyond. Ryan says, “It is not as though I don’t want to speak. It is not as simple as putting words out there…I am processing, thinking and listening…”
Nancy talks about discovering her own introversion, her experience working on Wall Street, communicating in corporate environments, and promoting yourself as an introvert. She shares ideas like commenting on a question by saying, “My first thought is…” Nancy wrote the book, “Self-Promotion for Introverts®️." She says, "It became clear to me that what I wanted to do was enrich others.”
Michelle talks about studying personality types in professional environments, working in the tech industry, and her smart work model. She believes we need a new way of working and to understand what works best for people and adapt. Michelle says, "We were very reliant on our building to deliver culture messages and now we need to go beyond the building and move through screens.”
