Introverts Are Great Leaders

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There is a misconception about leadership that just won’t seem to go away. It’s the commonly held belief that the best leaders are charismatic and inspiring and hence, the best leaders are highly extroverted. Too many people still seem to believe that extroverts make better leaders than introverts. In a survey of senior corporate executives, 65% viewed introversion as a barrier to leadership. And in what I am sure is a total coincidence, that same percentage is also the number of extroverts in senior leadership roles.

But introverts are great leaders too. Introverted but well-regarded leaders include Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks and Mahatma Gandhi. And beyond the anecdotal examples, there’s solid research suggesting introverts are quiet, but powerful leaders. Research from Adam Grant, Francesca Gino, and David Hoffman found that introverted leaders performed significantly better than extroverted leaders, especially when leading teams of proactive, extroverted people.

In this episode, we’ll review four of the reasons introverts are great leaders.

0:00 Introduction
2:49 Introverted leaders are better listeners.
3:42 Introverted leaders are more accepting.
4:53 Introverted leaders put others first.
5:59 Introverted leaders build proactive teams.
7:10 Conclusion

In the end, who wouldn’t want to work for a more accepting, better listening leader who puts the team first? But while these tendencies show themselves more often in introverts, they’re not exclusive to them. Extroverts can develop these leadership skills as well, but they may have to work a little harder to suppress the natural instincts that may inhibit these skills. Regardless of your personality type, these are skills to continue to grow and develop. In the process, you’ll become a better leader and lead a team more likely to do their best work ever.

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One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are helping leaders and teams do their best work ever.

He is the best-selling author of four books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, the Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS This Morning. Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. He’s worked with leaders from organizations across all industries including Google, Stryker, Fidelity, Viacom, and even the US Naval Academy.

A former business school professor, Burkus holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University.

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