My wife had a wedding to attend. No dinner was planned and the clock was ticking. In a lot of households, that's a five-alarm fire.
In ours, my 13-year-old son solved it before I even started worrying. "I've got the grill, Dad."
I stepped back and gave him the tongs, supporting him as needed.
Read MoreLast week, our networking group ran ahead of schedule. Everyone had given their one-minute pitch, and instead of sitting in dead air, I picked up the mic and started riffing on networking, branding, and differentiation. Somewhere in there, I mentioned that I'm an introvert — and that I still show up with energy and actively seek out connection.
Afterward, someone pulled me aside. "If you're an introvert," he said, "you hide it very well."
He meant it as a compliment. But it stuck with me, because it revealed something most people get wrong: the idea that introversion and extroversion are costumes you either wear well or don't. They're not. They're wiring. And once you understand how that wiring actually works, you stop mistaking performance for personality — in yourself and in everyone you lead.
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