What Will Be Better For Your Business: Extrovert Leaders Or Introvert Managers?

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As an expansion stage software business CEO, have you ever considered how introverted or extroverted your employees are, and how their extroversion or introversion can affect the team dynamics, employee development and thought leadership within your firm? On the other hand, as the employees of start-up companies, do you consider yourself an extrovert or an introvert? If you believe you are an introvert, do you worry about not having the so called “extroverted leadership skills” to ascend the ladder?

A recent Harvard Business School faculty investigative study found that extroverted managers can be a burden to a company’s performance, particularly if the employees under that leader are likewise extroverts. This points to the fact that way too many people are sharing suggestions and only a small percentage of them are really concerned about making them happen. This keeps innovative, new ideas from being translated into profitable projects, since the leader may be spending too much time talking, as opposed to converting ideas into action. On the other hand, an introverted leader tends to to listen to his/her team. If the rest of the team is extroverted and keen to take initiative, the team members will benefit from an introverted leader who’s there to listen and deal with their issues at work. Nevertheless, for the exact same reasons, if the team consists of an introverted leader and introverted team-members, meetings will end up with too much instrospection and a shortage of talk. As a result, not much will be achieved in these circumstances as well.

The HBS research was based on field data taken from a national pizza delivery chain. It surveyed 57 pizza store managers and 374 employees not only about their personalities, but also on their colleagues’ personalities. The survey included a 5-point scale, where the respondents ranked themselves on adjectives like “reserved”, “introverted”, “talkative” and “bold”. Respondents also ranked their group’s more common attitudes/behaviors on things like, “try to correct a faulty procedure or practice” and “communicate your opinion about work issues to others even if their opinions differ or others disagree”. The results of the survey were then measured up and analyzed against the general profitability of the pizzeria over a 7-week period. The survey outcomes and profitability comparisons exhibited that pizzerias with introverted managers but proactive workers, and pizzerias with extroverted managers but passive employees (as in followers) had the maximum profits. Alternatively, stores that had extroverted managers leading extroverted employees, and stores with introverted managers and passive employees suffered lower profits. The extrovert leader-introvert follower and introvert leader-extrovert follower model is true for a majority of cases. However, there is still a dilemma. How is it possible to inspire introverts who are unlikely to promote themselves to rise to the business leadership roles?

Faria is a Market Research Analyst, responsible for carrying out marketing research assignments for OpenView Labs.

Related articles

• Reading People by the Words They Speak (psychologytoday.com)
• Tips for Introverted Parents Raising Extroverted Kids (wired.com)
• Are You Raising An Introvert? (wired.com)

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