The Introvert Leader

So I will start off this article with a little pop quiz for you:

Elon Musk, Michael Jordan, Marissa Mayer, Eleanor Roosevelt, Richard Branson, Barrack Obama, Bill Gates, Ghandi and Rosa Parks. What do all these people have in common?

The first distinguishing characteristic is that they are all great leaders in their fields. As for the second common denominator … I will leave that for now and return to it later.

If you have read any of my content before, you will know that I am absolutely passionate about leadership. Yet while I love this subject, sometimes the topic also makes me want to bang my head against a wall. For someone who bases a large part of their career in this field, it is not always the easiest thing to define or quantify (great career choice Ryan). Sarcasm aside, there are so many different approaches to leadership. Some are effective, others not so much. Nonetheless, whenever I talk to people about leadership, there seems to be certain themes that emerge.

If I was to ask you what makes a good leader, perhaps you may respond with something like the following:

• Charisma

• Boldness

• Assertive

• Dynamic

• Visionary

• Persuasive

• People person

• High performer

Now don’t get me wrong these are all great qualities and can really help someone excel in leadership. However, I find it interesting what happens when I slightly change the question. There is an exercise I often do with teams where I ask them to talk about their favorite manager/supervisor and what made that person ideal to them. In other words, name a leader who greatly impacted them and why. And what I find humorous is that no matter how many groups I ask this question, almost everyone answers the same way. These are the kinds of answers I see every time:

• Good listener

• Thoughtful

• Available

• Empowering

• Trusting

• Makes me feel valued

I could keep going, but you get the point. This discrepancy shows me something. That we all have a conditioned response of what we think a leader is supposed to be. Often this is very much based on personality and performance. Yet when I change the criteria from your expectations, to a personal connection, we see a very different pattern. Rarely when I do this exercise do I hear anything about the leader’s competency or what they accomplished. Even though it’s very important, that is not what leaves an imprint on people. No the pattern we see, is much more anchored in a leader’s character, integrity and how they make you feel. The problem is that there is a huge deficit of leaders like this in the workplace.

So why is that the case? Primarily I believe it’s that we reward the wrong things in organizations. However, among the many reasons for this issue, I think there is another important one to point out:

The lack of introverted people/skills in leadership positions.

Now it’s important at this point that we define introversion. Author Susan Cain described it this way in a TED Talk (this talk also has some more info on our cultural bias towards extroversion in the workplace):

“It’s different from being shy. Shyness is about social judgement. Introversion is more about, how do you respond to stimulation, including social stimulation. So extroverts really crave large amounts of social stimulation, whereas introverts feel at their most alive, and their most switched-on, and their most capable when they’re in quieter, more low-key environments.”

Simon Sinek also used a great illustration to explain the concept:

“An introvert wakes up in the morning with 5 coins. Every social interaction they spend a coin, and at the end they are depleted. An extrovert wakes up with no coins, every social interaction they get a coin, and at the end they feel rich.”

It’s not about how social, or people-oriented you are, but simply how you respond to stimulation in your environment. It’s for this reason that an introvert can be very social but might channel that energy in different ways than an extrovert. They also may prefer quiet and more moderate paced environments.

When these people or skills are present, we will see things like being a good listener, making time for mentorship and development, patience and restraint in decision making, digging to the root cause of issues, giving people autonomy, high creativity, and seeing long projects through to completion. My experience is that typically these characteristics are seen as too soft, intangible, or slow, and not as valuable to an organization as being enterprising or charismatic. In fact, research has shown that many teachers characterize their “ideal student” as extroverted. Studies also show that introverts get routinely passed over for leadership positions (you can refer back to Susan Cain’s TED Talk I mentioned earlier to learn more about this).

Yet introverted traits are crucial to managing and empowering people which is the primary function of any leadership role. Not to mention that anywhere from 30-50% of the population are introverts. Remember when I said I would return to my little pop quiz? The other common denominator of all those people is that they are all introverts. You can scroll up to the top of the article and review the list if you need a refresher. Perhaps some people on that list surprised you. All proved to be exceptional leaders in their own right.

So if you are an introverted leader, or have introverted leaders/coworkers at your organization, how can you better understand, appreciate, and harness those strengths? I have a few quick tips to get you started. As someone who has coached many introverted leaders, and is an introvert myself, I have seen that these can be very effective:

1. Harness your Inner World: Creativity & Problem Solving

Numerous studies have shown that introverts are highly creative and innovative problem solvers. That’s not to say that extroverts can’t do these things well, but there are distinct advantages that introverted people have in these areas. Most people tend to conform to the ideas and opinions of their social groups, and this can stifle independent thinking. Introverts are able to make better use of alone time to channel unique ideas. The other advantage is that introverts will more often ponder and reflect on the deeper meaning behind a concept rather than immediately acting on it. This can lead to helping identify patterns and root causes of problems, and find different ways to connect existing concepts together. The result is a deep and rich inner world that can be harnessed for incredible impact in an organizational context.

2. A Game of 1-on-1: Autonomy & Development

Remember when I mentioned that the key differentiating factor between introversion and extroversion is stimulus. Extroverted people tend to prefer more stimulus in their environment, while introverts less so. This draws extroverts to things like large social gatherings, and fast pace environments. On the other hand, introverts are much more akin to a 1-on-1 dynamic. This is great for helping give your team time for proper development and autonomy. Development is one of the most neglected functions of leadership, which is where introverts can shine. They are more comfortable and patient with being available for mentorship and giving time for thorough and careful instruction. Furthermore, their preference for personal space will cause them to more easily give their team autonomy which can be a huge benefit for building trust and empowerment. This will also further benefit creativity in an organization because now your team has more room to nurture and incubate their ideas without them being interrupted in the early stages of development.

3. The Power of Listening: Building Trust & Collaboration

Further to the previous point, great 1-on-1 skills also means introverts are good listeners. They take more time to carefully ponder and consider what others are saying. Not only is this helpful for problem solving and creativity, but it simply helps people feel more valued and heard. Above all other things, teams must have trust. In order for that to happen, team members need to feel like they have room to voice their opinions, and that their ideas are thoughtfully considered. Sometimes listening too much can stagnate progress, but the flip side is that it can create an environment that is more likely to motivate and engage people. This means the leader doesn’t have to carry as much on their shoulders because they are better leveraging the abilities and skillsets of everyone involved. A team that feels cared for will be a highly productive team.

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So there you have it. Some encouragement for you introverts out there, and some tips to be your best self and empower the introverted members on your team. My passion is that we would find a more holistic approach to leadership in our organizations. One that more accurately reflects the strengths of a wide range of people. There is all kinds of hidden gold in yourself and those on your team if you know how to look for it!

If you are experiencing issues at your organization like toxic conflict, miscommunication, or a lack of leadership and alignment, I would love to have a conversation with you about how workshops and 1-on-1 coaching can make a difference in your organization. Feel free to DM me, or email: ryan@unearth-coaching.ca to start a conversation.

 Ryan Smith - ryan@unearth-coaching.ca

Founder & Coach

Unearth Coaching Inc.