????邁爾斯-布里格斯測試（Myers-Briggs）不會說謊。道格?康納特很肯定，自己生性內向，特別是做了六七次測試之后。對于一個寧愿躲在幕后的人來說，經營一家擁有近2萬名雇員的企業并非易事。康納特說，他需要誠實、紀律和必要的獨處時間來做好領導。如今，作為雅芳（Avon）的董事，在他不忙于保衛雅芳免于被收購之時，他有一份或許最不“內向”的工作：他常常要站在一屋子人面前，告訴他們，你們也可以成為領導。他的建議是：

不要改變你自己

????所有我們這些內向的人都渴望更加外向一些，但這不是我們的天性。當我快50歲時，我發現，最好的做法就是告訴和我工作的每個人，我只是有些靦腆。不是所有人都能讀懂別人——你需要告訴他們。慢慢地，我形成了自己的方式如何告訴別人我是誰，或者我想做什么。我會一開始就把這些告訴新員工。這樣的話我身邊的每個人都會知道：我是誰，我來自哪里，我希望每個人做些什么來取得成功。我這么做已經有20年了，這的確有助于建立強烈的信任感，超越了所有的那些表面文章。

說出你心中所想

????在我職業生涯中的某個時候，納貝斯克（Nabisco）首席執行官邀請我出任其銷售業務總裁。“別拿我開涮了，”我說，“首先，我是個內向的人。其次，我不會打高爾夫。”但是，我還是被放到了那個位置上。從情感上講，這是我迄今做過的最具挑戰性的工作，但我必須把它做好。我遇到過很多管理者，他們都發現把你心中所想告訴同事會讓事情變得更容易。有時，事情并不像我們想的那么嚴重。

了解和你工作的人

????大多數人認為管理者應該性格外向、引人注目并魅力非凡，我認為這種想法非常狹隘。如今，經理人遇到的關鍵挑戰是不要將目光局限于同事層面。你或許看到公司里有些內向者也是天生的領導者。外向者或許能早一點坐上領導崗位，但內向者大可按自己的節奏前行，終有一天做到最好。

找出獨處時間

????我在金寶湯（Campbell Soup）工作時上下班單程就需要兩小時，很多時候是一位司機開車送我上下班。我可以坐下來思考。當我在納貝斯克工作時，上班只需10分鐘車程，因此，我每天很早起床，在家中花園里喝上一杯咖啡。內向者通過靜靜呆上一段時間獲得更多能量，而外向者通過與他人在一起獲得能量。

????譯者：老榆木

????The Myers-Briggs test doesn't lie. Doug Conant is sure he's a born introvert, especially after taking the personality test half a dozen times. Running an organization of nearly 20,000 employees wasn't easy for someone who would rather stay behind the scenes. Conant says it takes honesty, discipline, and necessary alone time for him to lead. Now, when he's not busy fending off takeover bids on Avon's (AVP) board of directors, Conant has perhaps the least-introverted job out there: He often stands in front of a roomful of people and tells them how they, too, can be leaders. His advice:

Don't change who you are

????All of us introverts aspire to be more outgoing, but it's not in our nature. When I was nearly 50, I discovered that the best thing to do was to tell everyone I worked with that I'm just shy. People are not mind readers -- you need to let them know. Eventually, I developed this little talk that became an orientation to who I was and what I was trying to do. I'd tell it to new employees right off the bat. I do this so that everyone around me knows who I am, where I come from, and what I expect everyone to do in order to succeed. I have been doing it now for 20 years, and it really does build a strong sense of trust and get beyond all of the little superficial dances people do.

Say what's on your mind

????At one point in my career, the CEO of Nabisco wanted me to be president of the sales organization. "You have got to be kidding me," I said: "(a) I'm an introvert, and (b) I can't play golf." Still, I was put in that position. Emotionally, it was by far the most challenging job I've ever had, but I had to get it done. I've met so many leaders who realize that telling your colleagues something that is on your mind is so much easier than keeping it in. Sometimes the things we make up in our heads are not nearly as big a deal as we think.

Know who you work with

????Most people think of leaders as being these outgoing, very visible, and charismatic people, which I find to be a very narrow perception. The key challenge for managers today is to get beyond the surface of your colleagues. You might just find that you have introverts embedded within your organization who are natural-born leaders. Extroverts may get places faster, but for introverts it's all about working at the pace you need and, at the end of the day, performing at your best.

Find alone time

????For the better part of my career at Campbell Soup (CPB), I had a driver for my two-hour commute each way to work. I could sit and think. When I worked at Nabisco, I had a 10-minute commute, so I got up very early in the morning and had a cup of coffee at home in my garden. Introverts get more energy by having quiet time, compared with extroverts, who find energy by being around people.