Other forms of enthusiasm
"Enthusiasm doesn’t always have to be boisterous. Not everyone shows their emotions on the outside, after all." (I read this here.)
I really resonated with this statement. It made me realize that, even as a true introvert, I had a bias toward seeing boisterousness as a sure sign of enthusiasm. When I see overt displays of emotion and loud extroversion, I labeled that as good and "doing it right." I'd notice that these behaviors would get immediate positive affirmation and results. I would berate myself for not being more like that, as if I had some enthusiasm deficiency. For sure, the problem was that I just wasn't enthusiastic enough!
So I wanted to fix this about me, and boisterous was the only example I had to follow for most of my life. I thought my level of physical energy or vocal volume was the only gauge for how much I cared about my work and others. I thought I needed to wear my emotions externally in order for them to be legitimate, felt, or acknowledged.
Alas, boisterous never felt right for me. Nor did it work.
I never considered how I may already be abundant with enthusiasm. I never stopped to think about how I could be showing it in other ways, such as:
Consistently doing excellent work
Always being reliable
Assuming responsibility to make difficult decisions
Being a good listener
I realized: You can't maintain a quiet consistency if you don't care. You can't give others space if you're not more enthusiastic about them than yourself. You can't do difficult things if it doesn't matter deeply to you.
Indeed, enthusiasm doesn't always have to be boisterous. I need to be reminded of this. If you're an introverted leader, I hope this helps you too.
As leaders, we also can do better to recognize and affirm all forms of enthusiasm - first noticing it in ourselves!
How do you show enthusiasm?
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