Rise of the quiet achievers
Tim Yeo shares tips and guidance for helping introverts have impact and influence without pretending to be extroverts.
It feels like a tireless trope to suggest that designers have a leaning towards introversion. Struggling with the challenges of thriving in a world seemingly dominated by extroverts.
Many of us* develop coping skills, split our personalities or rapidly code switch to adapt in the environments we find ourselves in. Just to be heard. To be seen. So our ideas and thinking can be considered.
Over the past year I’ve got to know Tim Yeo (timyeo) a bit better. Tim is a self-proclaimed introverted design leader based in Australia. He joins regular fortnightly calls with a collection of independent consultants, coaches and leaders from UK, Australia and US. Throwing in perspectives on the chat. Always valuable, always valued.
I first really noticed Tim when his Interaction 20 talk in Milan was blowing up. So many people talked about how it resonated with them. In our subsequent chats he shared with me some of his workarounds for those awkward intros in a meeting, or when networking at an event.
So much of what he said resonated with my experiences. I wish I’d learned these tips earlier on in my career.
*Yes. I class myself as an introvert. Maybe I’d have felt more comfortable with my real self instead of flipping from mumbles to bellowing. It’s probably taken it’s toll on me, if not my profile. After all, people seem genuinely surprised that I’m actually shy, pretty quiet, reflective, and suffer from social anxiety. There is power in a social object I feel confident in I guess to come out of my ‘shell’. Rather than awkward small talk that feels so common. Like many introverts I value the 1:1 over the group. The deep over the shallow.
I genuinely hope that if you find yourself more introverted than those around you, you can feel seen and heard through Tim’s work. Building on the great work from Susan Cain, he is driven to help ‘the quiet achievers’ thrive in a world dominated by extroverts.
Please take some time to read his posts here
- Article: Design Leadership for introverts (original 2019)
- Article: Design Leadership for introverts (iso/remote edition 2020)
Watch his talk at Interaction 20 here:
And check out his latest podcast with other introverted designers here.
He’s also started a community you can join. To learn from him and others like him, and maybe others like you.
I look forward to a world where the quiet achievers have more of their own ‘voice’, ‘presence’ and ‘input’ into the things we create. And I thank Tim for devoting so much of his energy to share his learnings with the world.
Here’s to the rise of the quiet achievers.
What a powerful prospect.
Read, listen and watch more from Tim.
