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LeadersHip strateGies For

introVerts

A sk most anyone what qualities make a suc-cessful leader, and chances are the resulting list will include such traits as charismatic, in-

spiring, and motivating—characteristics common to outgoing, extroverted people. but what about those leaders who aren’t outgoing—who find themselves overshadowed, perhaps even intimidated, by their more extroverted colleagues?

according to an article in USA Today, approxi-mately 50 percent of people in general over the age of 40—and 4 out of 10 top executives—are natu-rally introverts, including such business luminaries as Warren buffet and bill Gates. interestingly, 59 percent of the members of Generation X (those born from 1965–81) are extroverted, along with 62 per-cent of millennials (those born after 1981). While introverts can and do find success as leaders, they may feel excluded, overlooked, or misunderstood by those they work with.

more than 80 percent of introverts indicate they struggle with networking—a key skill in building re-lationships with employees, colleagues, vendors, and customers—and four out of five introverts believe that extroverts are more likely to get ahead where they work. While many introverted leaders are comfortable with the way they are wired, more than 40 percent report that they would like to become more extroverted, but don’t know where or how to begin.

For introverted leaders, the trick is turning the weak-nesses of introversion into strengths—and to adopt the behaviors of extroverts when it is in their interest to do so. according to Jennifer Kahnweiler, author of The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength (2009), “introverts have a temperament that is more inner-focused, and they must adapt to an extroverted world, one that is primarily driven by interpersonal

interactions.” in her book, Kahnweiler offers a variety of strategies for introverted leaders:

Have a game plan. •

prepare for high-stakes meetings and conversations by anticipating questions and rehearsing their responses.

Communicate early and often. •

take the initiative by communicating information—whether positive or negative—early and often with higher-ups, team members, and project stakeholders.

Match the medium to the message. •

don’t fall victim to hiding behind e-mail messages when conducting critical conversations. in many cases, telephone or in-person, face-to-face conversations are called for.

Assert yourself. •

being assertive means being open, honest, and direct—asking for what you need and want—not being ag-gressive. being assertive opens up opportunities for leaders—and for their people.

Get your voice in the room. •

meetings are not a time to blend into the wallpaper. make your first comment—a question or remark—no more than five minutes into the session.

Stand up to “talkers.” •

it seems there is always someone who dominates a con-versation or meeting. When it’s hard to get a word in edgewise, simply hold up your hand, give a time-out signal, and simply declare, “i’d like to say something.”

While extroverted leaders may get much of the atten-tion, they aren’t necessarily adding anything more to

Turn the weaknesses of

introversion into strengths.

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the bottom line than their less outgoing counterparts. in a study of 770 top managers at 128 different large companies, brad agle of the University of pittsburgh found that although charismatic Ceos make more money than those who aren’t, there is no difference in their bottom-line performance. in what may be good news for dyed-in-the-wool introverted leaders, agle says, “you don’t have to be this big, magnanimous, ex-troverted, charismatic Ceo. i think my study is good news for introverts.”

stayinG motiVated in

diFFiCULt times

a prolonged economic downturn can be demoral-izing—even for those who have jobs. people worry about the health of their company and the security of their jobs, question management’s ability to deal with the situation, and wonder about reduced pros-pects for the future. staying motivated in the face of such concerns is often difficult. Companies know that motivating employees is a key factor in an economic recovery, yet many are actually following practices that can damage motivation further, according to suzanne bates, author of Motivate Like a CEO: Com-municate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act, and president and Ceo of bates Communica-tions. the problem stems from some pervasive myths about motivation. bates singles out the top five myths about motivating employees.

“if employers don’t reexamine their human resource practices and beliefs about motivation,” bates says, “they risk damaging morale, losing top talent, and lengthening their recovery time.” myths about moti-vating employees are at work even during an economic boom. However, in a serious recession, everything changes, and employers’ misperceptions can be dam-aging. “employers must reexamine their beliefs about employee engagement if they hope to accelerate their

business recovery and retain their top talent,” adds bates.

douglas Klein, president of sirota survey intelligence, concurs: “during a recession, the actions taken by companies can start a process that unintentionally de-values employees (by seeing them as costs to be con-trolled, rather than assets to be valued). For example, many companies will centralize decision making, con-trol information, reduce entrepreneurial risk taking, and reduce (or eliminate) discretionary rewards.” all this damages morale and the retention rates of high potentials.

these are the top five myths about motivating employ-ees, as bates describes them in Motivate Like a CEO:

Money is the number one way to motivate employees. money is only one of many factors in motivation, bates reminds us. “salaries and bonuses have been the staple of motivation. most companies relied primarily, even completely, on monetary rewards. yet companies have become lazy about motivating people instead of giv-ing them what they really crave, which is recognition, praise, and the opportunity to learn.”

If you want to motivate people, don’t let them in on the bad news. “this is a particularly damaging myth. bad news always gets out to employees. they hate it when you hide bad news; they consider themselves partners in the company, and they long for a chance

Wise leaders know that long-

term success requires them

not to lose sight of the people

who produce the results.