The Quiet Leadership Institute: What Happens When The Quiet Revolution Hits the Workplace

When I set out to research Quiet, I never thought I was writing a “business book.” But as soon as it was published, I started to hear from hundreds, then thousands, of leaders and contributors in the business world. I’ve heard from CEOs “confessing” their introversion for the first time; from managers wanting to know how to be a better leader to the introverted half of their staff; and from introverts asking how to bring their authentic selves to work inside corporate cultures that are, for the most part, extroverted in orientation.

We created the Quiet Leadership Institute to answer those questions. Since our founding last year, we’ve served thousands of employees across a diverse array of industries, from NASA to GE, from the Dutch Air Force to Procter & Gamble, and many more. Some of our clients enter our programs believing—sometimes subconsciously—that introverts can’t be leaders. Others want to know how to structure meetings so that everyone, not just the most vocal in the group, contributes. Many others suspect that they’re not making the most of the hearts and minds of the introverted half of their workforces.

One client called us in to work with a group of 30 talented research analysts who were entering leadership positions for the first time in their careers. We found from our surveys that literally zero percent of this group believed that introverts could make good leaders—they all doubted their own capabilities. By the time we were finished, most of them saw themselves, for the first time in their lives, as leaders—and had the tools to make it happen.

Today is an exciting one at Quiet Revolution. It marks the next step in our quest to help businesses and teams unlock the power of their introverts.  All of our hard work culminates in today’s launch of our new Quiet Leadership Institute (QLI) corporate learning programs and website. We can’t wait to share them with you!

Based on feedback from you—our clients, colleagues, and community members—and with the guidance of our new Chief Learning Officer, Kate “ the Great” Earle (who daily earns her moniker), we have revamped our professional learning programs to meet the needs of diverse audiences. Our offerings now include:

•      The Power of Quiet Leadership. A seminar that immerses leaders in the foundational research of introversion and extroversion, challenging them to harness the power of their teams.

•      The Power of Mixed Teams. A seminar designed to improve communication and understanding between the introverts and extroverts on a team, to illuminate the peak performance conditions for introverts and extroverts, and to help teams maximize these conditions.

•      The Power of Quiet. Our original seminar that creates a safe haven for individual contributors to explore their styles as introverts.

•      Quiet Online.  A cost-effective way to introduce the benefits of QLI training to your organization. Members of your team can experience the course at their own pace and on their own schedule. For a preview of the course, I invite you to view our video below.

•     The Quiet Kit. A self-guided, virtual experience that enables small businesses to integrate the power of quiet in groups of up to 20 people.

Please visit our new website for more details, to hear what our clients have to say, or to connect with Kate. I know she would love to get to know you and to explore how QLI might benefit your business!

SUSAN CAIN is the co-founder of Quiet Revolution LLC, a company dedicated to unlocking the power of introverts for the benefit of us all. Susan is the author of the award-winning New York Times bestseller QUIET: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking, and her record-smashing TED talk has been viewed over 10 million times. Sign up here to receive updates about the Quiet Revolution. Follow Susan on Twitter @susancain, and on Facebook. 

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