Every time I’ve taken a Meyers-Briggs test, I score high on the introversion scale. As an introvert, I enjoy being by myself. I sometimes feel drained if I have to be in front of large groups of people I don’t know. After I’ve been in a social situation — including a long day at work — I need quiet time to be alone with my thoughts and recharge. But as a CEO of a company with more than 18,000 employees, I’ve found myself particularly challenged because so much of my work requires me to be “out there” in front of others.

So how do I manage this? And what advice would I have for other introverted managers — and for the people who have to work with us? Here are a few personal observations that might prove helpful:

Introverts need thinking time. I tend to do my best thinking when I can carve out some “alone time” to reflect on important decisions that need to be made. So if I’m facing a big decision, I will create a process in which I can fully vet issues with others, and reflect on the choices before me. Of course, most decisions need to be made on the spur of the moment when I have incomplete information. However, I have found that I make my best decisions when I approach them in a way that feels comfortable to me as an introvert.

Introverts aren’t as aloof as they appear. In meetings, introverts can often be perceived as aloof, disinterested, shy or retiring. In my case, I often times prefer to listen to people than to speak and I find it very difficult to pretend that I’m naturally out-going when I’m not. When viewed from the outside, it may seem that I’m not openly contributing as much as I could or should, but that’s just because I’m busy listening and thinking.

One of the best ways I’ve found to help people overcome their discomfort around my behavior is to simply declare myself. I tell them, “If you see me looking aloof, please understand that I’m shy, and I need you to call me out.” By declaring myself in this way, I’ve found other people quickly, and compassionately, adapt to my style.

I’ve also found that doing this helps people become much more comfortable about declaring themselves to me. When you establish a personal connection, great things can happen. After I declared myself to one new hire, he confided to me that he was a recently divorced father with two boys, and that he needed to have extra flexibility at work. I completely understood, and I told him to make whatever arrangements he needed to meet the demands of his job and his family. Over the ensuing years, he went the extra mile for our company because we had declared ourselves to each other early on.

Introverts benefit from familiar touchstones. For me, a feeling of familiarity with a situation helps me engage in the situation in an effective manner. So I always try to be familiar with the material I’m covering in every meeting. If I’m attending a conference or a venue where I’m surrounded by strangers, I like to visit the venue ahead of time and, where appropriate, bring a buddy along with me. My buddy is someone who is knowledgeable about the situation we are dealing with and who has the potential to enhance the discussion.

In the end, we introverts never really change our stripes, though we too often put ourselves through painful contortions in attempting to adapt to other people’s styles. Ultimately, what helps us and others most is to accept who we are, ask people we meet to understand our quirks, and to develop a set successful adaptive behaviors.

If you are an introvert — or work for one — what are the most successful strategies you have discovered?

Douglas R. Conant is President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company headquartered in Camden, New Jersey. He is the co-author, with Mette Norgaard, of the upcoming Touchpoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments(Jossey-Bass, May 2011).