I know my blog posts have slowed down as of late. On behalf of LMA, I’m in in the heart of a leadership training program, The SmithBucklin Leadership Institute, which is taking a lot of my blogging time (and it is well worth it).

I just returned from session four and very quickly want to share one of those “ah-ha” moments before I dig back into my work here at the firm:

Brainwriting v. brainstorming.

We all know what brainstorming is. Great fun. Lots of people shouting. A white board or giant pad of paper and different colored Sharpies to capture ideas and concepts.

As an extrovert I process externally. I think out loud and then sit back and reflect to find my answers. I LOVE to brainstorm.

Introverts are the exact opposite and brainstorming is very overwhelming for them. They need to collect their thoughts before they can process them, and they do that internally.

So here’s the tip: Next time you are in a meeting, rather than brainstorm an idea, have everyone write down their thoughts for 10-15 minutes. This will give the introverts time to process the information and form their ideas, and keep the extroverts from controlling the dialogue, which is the point to brainstorming: Get all the ideas into the pot so that the group can benefit from the richness of the diversity of thoughts.

Just make sure that when the writing time is over you call on the extroverts first. You’ll know who they are; they are the ones about to burst.