The CEO of a major multinational came to our McGill MBA CEO Insights class and told us that, as an introverted leader, he had to put on his “game face" whenever he left his floor. That is, if you want to be a CEO of a big company, you need to act like an extrovert, at times. After studying introverts in the C-Suite, I have come to the conclusion that extroverts, like myself, must put on our “game face" and act like an introvert at times, in order to be effective leaders.
For over a year, I have been doing a research study looking at introverts in the C-Suite. C-Suite executives are ones who report to the CEO and have C in their title: CFO, COO, CMO, etc.. They are the senior leaders who run an organization. Our traditional models of leadership, at least in the almost 20 years I have been studying CEOs, see senior leaders as extroverts.
Thankfully, those models are becoming passé, as we more fully recognize the tremendous value that introverts bring to building an effective, innovative team. Of course, diversity is not just about personality type, it is also about gender, race, national origin, functional area, etc.. However, in this post, I want to focus on my research on introverts and extroverts in the C-Suite.
In a recent session with +80 managers at Canadian global giant Bombardier, I talked about my research on more introverted leaders/managers and the participants spent time in groups of three discussing how introverts would like to be more effectively managed. Based on the some of the conversations I heard in the classroom, on the spur of the moment, I decided to give them a new assignment, one I had not done before. Namely, how should introverts more effectively manage extroverts? It lead to a lively conversations and intriguing conclusive thoughts.
The literature on the topic has almost exclusively focused on how extroverts manage introverts - an admittedly important topic, but one that assumes that leaders are extroverts. However, excellent academic research and my own research confirms these earlier findings: somewhere between 25% and 30% of C-Suite executives are more on the introverted side. In our research, we are looking at big firms with a minimum of 10,000 employees. Given that a considerable percentage of executives are introverts, it makes sense to turn the question of 'how should extroverts better manage introverts' to 'how should introverts better manage extroverts'? This lead to the simple idea that if an introverted CEO must 'become' an extrovert to be an effective leader, than might the opposite be true? That an extroverted leader must “channel” their inner introvert in order to be an effective leader?
Some of the strengths of introverts appears to be that they are typically better listeners; they wait for others to express their ideas before they jump in with theirs (unlike extroverts); they don’t need to be the center of every conversation and when they present ideas, they tend come out more fully formed and well thought out.
My introverted friend, the CEO of a big multinational in Montreal who spoke about how he puts on his game face when he leaves his floor, essentially acts like an extrovert because it is part of the territory of being a CEO. But how about us extroverts? Recently, it has struck me that as an extrovert, I too must put on my game face when I leave my office (I don't have a floor). Let me tell you why...
The models of leadership I grew up with were extroverted, middle aged men - ironically, what I am now. I like them, they are my people. However, in the last ten years, I believe we have learned the most about leadership from three groups: Millennials, introverts and women. Thankfully, our views on leadership have changed. In my current research project on leadership, I interview CEOs of bigger firms about introverts in their C-Suite and ask them about the considerable strengths introverts bring to the table. I follow up by interviewing the introverted executives about their career paths, how they got to the top harnessing their introverted strengths and how they best contribute to the senior team. This research has lead me to think: how do I apply this personally?
One of the key things I am constantly trying to do on a personal level is become a better leader. Which, in my case, includes learning to copy some of the key strengths of introverts and apply them to my leadership roles.
To do this I am trying to tap into my inner introvert and, in an authentic way, act like an introverted leader. Two ways that I have tried to be more like an introverted leader is by listening better and backing off more often, allowing people that work for me to be the center of things. Introverts tend to lean back in conversation, waiting and fully processing what is being said before throwing in their two cents, instead of jumping in with their thoughts right away, as extroverts tend to. As a leader, you want to fully hear out those you are leading, giving them all an opportunity to vocalize their thoughts and opinions. In this way, extroverts can learn from introverts to be slower to speak and quick to listen.
Alongside this idea of leaning back in conversation comes leaning back in projects and tasks you give your people. Allow them to be the driving force behind a specific project. While over-seeing and guiding, of course, leaders can also loosen then reigns and allow others to be the center. By taking a step back and allowing others to be the spokesperson of a certain task, extroverted leaders are not only channeling their inner introvert, but are also empowering their employees - a greater feeling of responsibility and importance will be attributed to your employees and the work they're are doing.
