Feeling out of place as an introvert in an extroverted work environment? Janice Chaka, CEO and Founder of The Career Introvert has your back. She understands the negative reputation and misinformation people have towards introverts and actively works against it to promote inclusive environments and leadership growth.
Before starting her business, Janice spent years working in HR. She noticed how organizations mishandled recruiting and working with introverted professionals, both remotely and in person. As an introvert herself, it was frustrating. “I spent years giving workshops to introverts about how to survive working in extroverted company cultures,” she said. “Then I gave a speech about how companies should not expect introverts to take part in the virtual water cooler when they never participate in the in-person water cooler. People assumed I coached introverts, and my whole business started from there.”
Her business offers a personalized career coaching roadmap and several coaching packages for introverts. Some examples are her New-Manager Package, Foundations of Leadership Package, and the Executive Leadership package. Janice also hosts the podcast The Traveling Introvert, and authored two books, Events for Introverts: The How-to Guide to Networking and Introvert Insight, Women’s Perspectives, Volume 1: Inspirational Stories Celebrating Female Introverts On International Women’s Day.
Janice is also a speaker and board member at DisruptDHDenver, a global franchise organization hosting yearly speaking events in various cities. Each speaker is allotted five minutes and twenty slides that are auto-rotated. Through coaching a friend to speak at one of the events, she ended up applying to be a speaker and eventually became a board member. Janice speaks on various topics, from introverted employee engagement to imposter syndrome and burnout. You can hear her speak at DisruptDHDenver here.
From her years of working with introverts, some advice Janice has for them is to embrace their personality. “Introversion is a feature, NOT a bug. Stop comparing yourself to others. We are all unique and have skills to offer. No one’s path will be the same as yours,” said Janice. Her favorite part about working with introverted professionals is when she sees them take their next step. “I love seeing my clients get their ah-ha moments, or when they take the plunge and leave toxic work environments, or message me excited about something they have accomplished.”
The future of The Career Introvert is to build a community of introverted leaders as Janice finds introverted leaders learn and grow better with a community of like-minded individuals. “I nurture people as a whole to find balance with a range of tools from energy management to impostor syndrome to avoiding burnout,” said Janice. She also wishes to change the Cambridge Dictionary definition of the word introvert. “Introversion is about what drains you and where you get your energy from, NOT about being shy,” explained Janice.
As she continues up and onward to expand her community and business, Janice also found her global community of support from like-minded professional women at the International Association of Women. She is interested in connecting with and conversing with members through IAW’s community platform and is excited to engage with multiple Local Chapters as she travels across the US and Internationally.
Connect with Janice:
LinkedIn
Want to find a community like Janice’s? IAW is open and waiting for women from all around the globe to join our community of professional women who want to expand their horizons just like you. Register for one of our weekly events, or find a local chapter near you to get started.
