There has been a long debate about whether an introvert could become a good leader and I would like to address my opinion in this blog.

According to both MBTI and Big Five Personality Model, I am an introvert. Being described as “shy”, “quite”, “not participating”, “timid” is something I have got used to. Does that mean I’m not going be to a good leader? No, for there reasons:

Firstly, everyone has their own leadership style. When I’m leading a group of people, I ask them to share a story of their own as ice-breaker. I believe trust is built when people start talking about their lives to other group members, which is a great starting point  for groups to move forward to next period. It worked pretty well in my past experiences so I’m still going to use it in the future.

Secondly, we use more time to think through. When we are not participating in a meeting or being alone,  we use the time to plan for future, think about solution for potential problems and think of how to help each member in the group based on their personality and personal values. “An introvert who sits back in a meeting, taking in the arguments, dreamily reflecting on the big picture, may be seen as not contributing—that is, until he works out the solution that all the contributors missed.” (Martinuzzi, B. 2013)

Thirdly, introverts are better listeners. According to a study conducted by Francesca Gino, associate professor at Harvard Business School,  that “quiet bosses with proactive teams can be highly successful, because introverted leaders carefully listen to what their followers have to say.”

Almost half of the general population is introvert, does that mean only the other half are good leaders? I don’t think so.

Reference:

Martinuzzi, B. (2013, November 06). 5 Reasons Introverts Make Better Leaders. Retrieved April 01, 2017, from https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/5-reasons-introverts-make-better-leaders/