Can you be an introvert and healthily work in comms?

By Mary Paslawski, Managing Director, Innovate Comms & State of Us co-founder

“You can’t really be an introvert; you couldn’t do your job if you were.”

I was honestly shocked when those words were said to me, nearly a decade into my career in marcomms. I was shocked for two reasons: 1) did my long-term colleagues really not know who I fundamentally was; and 2) was it really a requirement to be an extrovert to be successful in our industry?

These were some of the questions we discussed during a recent State of Us webinar, alongside what being an introvert actually means and how we can all be a little more cognisant of how people self-identify and how we can support better and lean into peoples’ strengths, whether you’re an introvert or extrovert.

Recent research indicates that introverts may lean towards with independent work, deep focus, and opportunities for creative problem-solving. The research indicates that a science role may be best suited. I don’t know about you, but I think there’s a lot of those elements in a marcomms role.

However, coupled with that comes the need to engage stakeholders and influence people to see things the way you want them to, which for an introvert can be draining.

This leads to a prevailing sense that you have to be an extrovert to be in comms. But is that really true?

In our recent webinar, we hosted a panel, made up of myself and other State of Us committee members alongside career coach Emma Ewing, to share our experiences and offered some (we hope) constructive advice.

The finding was that despite one of my colleagues telling me that I couldn’t be an introvert, there are many introverts in PR, comms and marketing roles.

Indeed, Emma was keen to point out that the majority of effective leaders display more introverted behaviours and preferences.

Extroverts can be shy and suffer from anxiety and depression, as Hannah so eloquently explained.

And it’s perfectly possible to have introverted and extroverted traits. You can get energy from the people around you AND need some of your own space.

Does it really matter? Do we need labels?

Perhaps not.

But the panel agreed we do need to talk. Personally, I’ve never been asked if I’m an introvert or extrovert. It’s important that leaders do enable a dialogue with every member of their teams about how they work best, how they communicate, whether they like bouncing ideas around in a group or need time to reflect before contributing.

Self-awareness is also vital. You don’t have to pick a label but Emma suggested it is beneficial to develop a thorough understanding of your strengths, what you need to perform at your best and what will make you feel stressed or anxious.

It can also be helpful to articulate your own red lines. For me, that means not jumping onto emails when I get home after a long day at an event full of people. For Jo, it’s about connecting her physical health to her mental health and taking time out when she needs it. For Hannah, it’s about preparing in advance for scenarios that she knows will make her feel anxious.

Thank you to everyone on our panel and to our guests for their contributions. We don’t record these sessions to protect our speakers so, if you don’t want to miss the next one, please follow the State of Us page and sign up for our newsletter.