The Quiet Motivator: Inspiring Your Team as an Introverted Woman
As a woman in tech or in any industry, you probably feel pressure to adopt an extroverted leadership style. Lots of us succumb to this force to the detriment of our wellbeing, but we don’t need to. We introverts have our own powerful way of motivating teams.
The Challenges
You struggle to publicly showcase your vision or accomplishments. Your need for solitude can be misunderstood. Your conflicted because you don’t want to give the wrong impression but you must find that calm place of solitude if you’re going to continue to lead effectively. The weight of this burden exhausts you and you worry.
You worry about how your team perceive you. You worry about how your peers perceive you. You worry about how your perceived by your seniors.
How is there any space left to lead and motivate your people with all that worrying?
The key is to strive for balance between independent and collaborative work and proactively communicate your motivations using your natural strengths.
This is what I mean:
- Lead by listening - Create an environment where your team feels heard. Schedule regular 1-on-1s to understand what motivates each person and stay close to them.
- Spotlight accomplishments - Whether big or small, regular shout out’s on email or praise in a team meetings can make someone’s day, particularly if the way you do it is aligned to their personality type.
- Foster camaraderie through tech - Through virtual coffee chats, mentorship programs and group chats. There are so many ways to connect that suit our introverted tendencies.
- Offer support and empathy - We all need encouragement at times and if you know you’re people well you’ll know when they’re not quite being themselves, so reach out to struggling team members and be compassionate. Just a listening ear can make all the difference.
- Grant autonomy with clear expectations - Provide structure and goals while allowing independence in how they’re achieved. Let them know you trust their judgement and you’re there to support them if they need it.
Be Authentic
Making connections with my people has been critical for my leadership. Early on, I thought I needed to have all the answers and project certainty. But when I invested more time in understanding my team and showed some vulnerability, things changed. By opening up while still maintaining clear boundaries around my own needs, I built trust.
My team no longer felt I was pretentiously pulling them along. Instead, I drew them in by valuing their perspectives. My authentic interest in my people, balanced with self-care, enabled me to inspire rather than control. My evolution as a leader required recognising that I alone did not have all the solutions. Once I focused on genuinely connecting with my team, I transformed from someone who demanded compliance to someone who earned commitment.
Authenticity is a vital component in effective leadership. By being genuine and not pretending to have qualities you lack, you build trust with others. This trust is crucial for developing the connections that inspire and motivate people to follow you.
I work with female introverts in tech to help them been seen and heard so they can get promoted and have fulfilling careers.
If you’d like to talk to me about your career advancement you can book a call here.
Why not join my new Facebook group for the Introverted Executive. A space to unite with fellow introverts… separately of course.
