Introvert's Playbook: How Stepping Up & Speaking Out Drives Unseen Career Growth

“Going through high school and college, I was definitely an introvert. I didn't say yes to opportunities. I held myself back and I would experience fear and intimidation when it came to saying yes to things, even joining clubs, some sports activities. I would experience that social exhaustion and just— I don't even know how to describe it in some cases, you just felt like closed off and you didn't feel like you could be your true self in those aspects.”

This quote highlights Alana's initial struggle with introversion and the internal barriers she faced in her early career.

“I think my biggest thing that I had to teach myself was to speak up. I had to put my foot out there and just take the opportunity to say something, do something.”

This emphasizes the deliberate and challenging step Alana took to overcome her introverted tendencies and embrace new opportunities.

“The company I worked for at the time became the sponsor of the Christmas parade each year, the whole Christmas program that the community put on every year. We became the face and the name of that event every year, which in turn had my face and name out there as well, which led to additional opportunities for not only me to get involved in the community, but also the company to get involved in other ways, putting our name out there, providing opportunities to get involved as a company.”

This provides a concrete example of how community involvement tangibly benefited both her personal visibility and the company's employer brand.

“And so, seeing how my connection to the community, my one role in this organization, is making a significant impact and how I can bring alongside others, i.e., my therapy dog or any other individuals within the organization, to grow that passion and share it with others, having them join the boards alongside me has been a wonderful opportunity.”

This illustrates the powerful, unexpected, and personal impact that community connections can have, even extending to unique contributions like therapy animal work.

“Growth is always one step outside of our comfort zone. And like I said, it's making that one step, that one connection in order to say, I'm going to step out of this comfort zone and I'm going to reach out and speak up or say something or do this one activity that's going to get me involved.”

This is Alana's concluding advice, succinctly summarizing her core message about the continuous nature of growth through deliberate action outside of one's comfort zone.