The Introverted Leader
Are you a pro at Irish exiting? Do you get your headphones out as soon as you’re on the plane? Or don’t find staying at home as painful as others do? What an introvert! I’m exactly the same way and have been so comfortable being one for the longest time—boy do I love an Irish exit!
Thinking about some leaders who I admire, like Marissa Mayer or Barack Obama, they initially seem to be extremely extroverted. I never quite did the research (rookie error!) but I assumed many world and business leaders are extroverted and it would be more difficult (but certainly not impossible) for introverts to get into those positions.
However, I had an eye opening moment in a reputation management class at the Stanford GSB. When Prof. Kluger sent out a poll for all students to select whether they are introverts, extroverts or ambiverts, only 20% of the class identified as extroverts! Now, MBA students are usually type A hyper-achievers, so for there to only be 20 extroverts for every 100 students at the GSB is shocking. Like any normal person, I turned to the internet for answers and I found so much data that disproved my (clearly uninformed) hypothesis. According to a 10-year study, the CEO Genome Project, not only do introverts make up a large percentage of C-suite positions, more than half of the CEOs who did better than expected in the minds of investors and directors were introverts. But what is it that made me think these introverted leaders were extroverts in the first place?
Everyone can (and should) learn to be a little more extroverted, if they are introverts, and a little more introverted if they are extroverts and be more of an ambivert. According to Prof. Karl Moore, an award-winning teacher and researcher in the study of introverts, extroverts and ambiverts, the more leadership roles we take on, the more important it becomes for us to exhibit traits from both groups. If you’re the fearless startup founder & CEO, you’ll often need to channel your inner extrovert to deliver that galvanizing speech. And if you’re a political leader, many times you will need to listen—a strong introvert trait—more than you speak to pick out brilliant ideas from your team.
As a leader, you should also know how to deal with the different personalities on your team. Knowing which of your teammates are introverts and extroverts gives you an opportunity to help them shine and be strong contributors. Introverts are generally quieter and might take longer to contribute to a discussion. But because they’ve been listening to so many inputs, they may have brilliant insights to share. Working with them to understand how best they want to be brought into those discussions will help them get their ideas across and help the team succeed. For extroverts, giving them the platform to continuously engage with you and/or other people (while not being disruptive and stifling others) will allow them to feed off that energy and make significant contributions.
However, while learning to be an extrovert or introvert can be valuable, you also need to be true to who you are and know when you need to recharge. Sometimes you just need to leave that networking reception, take a walk outside (or a timeout in the bathroom, whatever works for you) and recharge your introverted self. Or, sometimes, if you’ve acted like an introvert and are feeling drained, seek out people. Walk to the cafe and find your fellow extroverts who could likely be there for the very same reason you are.
Happy ambiverting!
