Transitions at Work

30th May 2007

How introverts can become effective leaders

By D. Quinn Mills

Leadership ordinarily requires us to interact to some substantial degree with others. We may have to speak to large gatherings; meet with people we haven’t previously known and yet persuade them to a course of action; and huddle frequently with people who work for us. Leadership involves others—it is in most instances an interpersonal matter.

Some people are extroverts who find the interpersonal aspect of leadership engaging and exciting; they enjoy the give and take; they like the public limelight. Others of us are introverts, who find the public aspects of leadership more daunting. It would be very unfortunate if many of us were to let the lack of having extroverted personalities serve as a major barrier to our becoming leaders. Were that to occur, it would limit our career options and deprive our communities and companies of much that we have to offer.

But can introverts become effective leaders?

The answer is yes. Introverts often have adaptable qualities for leadership: strong listening skills, an ability to think through issues carefully, and keen powers of observation. All of these qualities can help a leader in drawing out the best from his or her organization.

Adapting to the public duties of a leader can be hard for an introvert, but it can be done. In fact, many effective and successful business leaders are not “natural leaders” at all, but instead have learned to lead as if they are playing an important role in life. Like other important roles in life, leadership can be chosen or rejected, just some of us choose to become spouses and parents, and others choose not to do so. Each of us can decide to adopt the leadership role, and achieve success as a leader if we make the necessary effort.

Leadership as a role

When we think of public leadership as a role, we must be careful not to see this role-playing as somehow false or manipulative. It is not. At the same time you are adopting this role, you should never lose sight of the importance of honesty, character, and personal commitment. Introverts who have a strong connection with their inner world can draw on this and see it reflected in their public persona. Without an inner authenticity, however, a leader will not inspire others to follow because they are very likely to see through the act.

The evidence suggests that for many successful leaders, leadership is a role that is learned; that for many effective leaders, key aspects of leadership never become “natural” or even comfortable. Leadership is not limited to extroverts. For example, Gustav Havel, the first President of the Czech Republic after it emerged in the early 1990s from Communist domination, was a quiet man, a writer who never imagined that he would become a political figure. But when his ideas and his character stimulated his nation, he found in himself the strength to become a public figure—the introvert became, at least to outward appearances, the extroverted leader.

Many people who are introverts are able to learn skills, such as public speaking or “meeting and greeting” in a large crowd, that are significant elements of leadership. Even though such people may become good at public speaking or “pressing the flesh,” it rarely becomes easy or enjoyable for them. But they make the effort and have the discipline to learn handle their public duties effectively.

In fact, many effective speakers are much more introverted than is generally known. One of the most famous business leaders of recent years was so fearful of public speaking that while he spoke and gestured with his right hand, his left arm would be held rigidly at his side, his left hand knotted into a tight fist, reflecting the tension caused by the absolutely firm control he was exerting on his whole body so that he could force himself not only to remain in front of his audience, but even to appear to be relaxed as he spoke.

Difficult though it is for an introvert to assume the role of a public leader, it can be done, and often is. It is a matter of a desire to be effective in the role of leader, and the self-discipline to accomplish it. Most people who hear and see such a person speak cannot tell the difference between the extravert who is a natural leader, and the introvert who struggles to be perceived as a natural leader.

D. Quinn Mills is the Alfred J. Weatherhead Jr. Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He consults with major corporations and teaches at Harvard on subjects of leadership, strategy, and financial investments. For more of his views on overcoming barriers to leadership, please click here.

For information on MindEdge’s online self-paced “Introduction to Leadership” course, please click here.

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