In the movie Coach Carter, the Richmond Oilers are getting destroyed in the basketball state championships. Coach Carter calls timeout and tears into his team:
“All season long, we played OUR game. Right now, you’re playing theirs!
“When we step on the floor…we run the ball, we pressure the ball.. and most importantly, WE control the tempo of the game!!”
“WE make THEM play Richmond Oiler ball!”
The takeaway?
You rarely win by playing other people’s games. You win by playing your own.
And this is exactly the problem introverts face at work. Everyone tells you to play the extrovert game - "Speak up!" "Work the room!" "Network aggressively!"
But I think that’s bad advice. Instead, you’d be much more successful (and more content) by learning to play your own “introvert game.”
(Because as author Susan Cain points out, there’s a reason why a huge number of CEOs are introverts.)
So how do you play the introvert game?
Here's my 2 cents:
You don't need to be loud to have impact
The biggest lie introverts are told: if you're not speaking up constantly in meetings, you're not contributing.
Not true.
In meetings, everyone's busy talking. What's rare? Someone actually thinking through what's being said, seeing what's missing, and asking the question that changes the conversation.
I remember a famous cricket coach (maybe Kevin Pieterson’s?) who did this.
Unlike most coaches, he didn’t feel the need to constantly provide input. Instead, he kept his mouth shut, studied the player, and only opened his mouth when he’d identified exactly what that player needed to do to improve. His words carried weight.
Btw, I write some of my best career strategy on LinkedIn…stuff that doesn’t make it into these emails. If you want to join 30k others getting ahead in their careers, follow me here. I’m pretty active on there so leave a comment or question, and I’ll engage with you too.
And here's a concrete way to use this:
Own the post-meeting follow-up
This is gold if you’re an introvert. After a meeting, send a summary email to everyone.
Early in your career, this looks like meeting notes - and yes, it might seem like a mundane task for junior employees. But it’s not about the task itself; it's about the influence it can garner. When you're the one documenting discussions, you have a unique position of visibility.
More senior? Do the same thing but position it differently. Instead of "meeting notes," frame it as "key decisions and next steps" or call it a "post-meeting synthesis." It’s not note-taking - you're driving clarity.
And here's my hack: include a section titled "Possible talking points we didn't get to" or “Open questions to consider.”This is where you insert your own ideas, ones you might not have voiced or that weren't addressed in the meeting.
It’s a mega effective way to drop your own ideas to senior leadership, and make your ideas part of the conversation. Plus, your email will likely be constantly referenced back to or forwarded around (more visibility for you!).
Build your presence online
You don't need to brag about your work in person. Build authority online instead.
Share what you've learned on LinkedIn. Write a newsletter. Do this consistently and opportunities start finding you instead of you chasing them.
Writing (which introverts often excel at) scales better than any networking event. One post can reach hundreds of people. One article can establish credibility.
Speaking of LinkedIn - optimizing your profile is the first step. That's usually what people see first when they look you up. Use this free tool and it’ll show you exactly what to fix.
(It’s Resume Worded’s tool — but it’s by far the best thing out there for optimizing LinkedIn profiles).
Also become an authority on internal channels like Slack. And volunteer to write internal documentation for your company, or start a company blog. It makes everyone's life easier and gets your name everywhere.
Something's shifted…
For the longest time, getting things done at work meant needing other people constantly.
Want to draft a proposal? You need input from three teammates. Want to analyze some data? Ask the analytics person. Need to research something? Schedule time with someone who knows.
Everything required coordination. Meetings. Explaining what you need. Following up.
That's exhausting if you're introverted.
What's changed: You can now do a lot of that yourself with AI. Draft the proposal. Run the analysis. Do the research. Then share it and get feedback.
You're still collaborating - but you're spending less energy on the coordination parts and more on actually doing the work.
The skills that matter: thinking clearly, writing well, knowing what good looks like. All things introverts tend to be decent at.
If you identify as being an introvert, I’d lean more into AI. In a year or two, it’ll likely multiply your output substantially.
By the way, about playing the introvert game:
Knowing you're an introvert is step one. Understanding HOW you specifically operate as one is different.
Some introverts recharge by being completely alone. Others just need low-key environments. Some drain fast in meetings, others can handle them with enough prep time. Your version matters.
We built a 20-minute assessment with PhDs and career coaches that reveals your actual patterns - what drains you, what energizes you, how you make decisions, the beliefs shaping how you work.
It's not generic personality test bullsh*t where every result could apply to anyone. This tells you how YOU specifically operate.
If you haven’t tried it yet, you really should. Right now it's free, but not for much longer. We've been eating the costs while it's in beta. Tests like this normally run $100+.
Takes less time than your commute (unless you work from home). Try the Coached Impact Assessment now - if the link doesn’t open, go to coached.com/quiz.
