12.07.2023 Today’s Insights from Fast Company: Three Reasons that Introverts Can Be Good Leaders
Dear Students,
Do you ever secretly doubt your ability to become a global leader, because you are quiet, shy or simply more inclined to listen and observe than to stand up and present passionately to others?
According to Diana Shi, writer and Editor of Native Finance Content for Dotdash Meredith (America’s largest digital and print publisher), introverts like you can actually be quite effective leaders, perhaps even more so than extroverts who appear to be more “dynamic.”
Why is this so? Interestingly, introverts like you tend to have strong power skills!
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Our society has a narrow idea of what a leader looks like. But some introverts can be especially effective and compassionate leaders.
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For example, introverted leaders tend to:
- Be effective listeners (hearing what’s not been said in addition to what has been), and reading between the lines to gauge what and how colleagues may actually be thinking
- Think before you speak, using empathy and analytical skills to consider how others, perhaps from very different cultures, are likely to respond cross-culturally to your comments
- Consider diversity and inclusion to be mandatory, rather than optional, when planning initiatives
- Arguably build stronger relationships than “in-your-face” extroverts, due to your sensitivity and agility in adapting written and verbal communications to varying personality styles
- Prefer writing to speaking, necessitating a level of introspection and self-reflection before metaphorically “putting pen to paper”
- Devise innovative ideas, once you’ve had a chance to think through an issue from multiple perspectives and to apply your problem-solving skills in new ways
- Effectively incorporate distinct views into business decisions, helping you to also navigate complex relationships with diverse stakeholders and to minimize conflict by allowing others to be heard and validated
- Naturally veer toward seeing the “bigger picture,” which requires applying a broad business and industry lens and drawing upon strong commercial awareness
What’s more, to piggyback off of yesterday’s piece about self-awareness, introverts’ mastery of this particular attribute allows candidates like you to modify your behavior, when needed, to accommodate the approach and language of more dominant team members.
All in all, being an introvert can be a strength, rather than a liability, for an ambitious international student like you who may dream of becoming a global business leader. We encourage those of you who aren’t yet convinced to recognize that this viewpoint can be true! Our coaches look forward to helping you do so, by fostering your self-confidence and self-efficacy within coaching sessions.