An Introvert’s Influence and Their Inherent Leadership Qualities
Teni Shamirian
Writing 1020F
Professor B. McQuaid
November 5, 2014 Why is it a common belief that all leaders, whether they are entrepreneurs, presidents, or civil rights activists, are extroverts? According to Carl G. Jung, extroversion is defined as the “concentration of interest on the external object” (Helgoe, 2008, p. 5). Furthermore, Jung states that introversion is described as the “orientation in life through subjective psychic contents” (Helgoe, 2008, p. 5). Given these terms, it is expected that one would assume leaders to possess qualities of an extrovert rather than an introvert to sufficiently carry out their responsibilities and expand their power. However, introverts
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However, more than half of the world’s population consists of introverts (Helgoe, 2008). It is known that individuals who are introverted prefer a calm environment and regular solitude. An introvert’s preference to be alone reading a book on a Friday night rather than socializing with a group of friends for instance gives them an inner peace. In this case, introverts possess the quality of being calm and collected which is advantageous in a leadership role. There are various introverted leaders which benefited from these particular assets: Barack Obama, Mahatma Gandhi, and Charles Darwin (Cain, 2012). With a composed personality, leaders such as Obama and Gandhi can lead countries with a positive outlook and when conflicts arise, remain untroubled. Similarly, Darwin’s calm nature may have assisted him in appropriately responding to harsh criticisms of his work “On the Origin of Species”, as opposed to becoming distressed. As Cain (2012) claims, “introverted leaders possess an inherent caution that may be more valuable than we realize” (para. 12). President Barack Obama is a prime example of influential introverts in roles of leadership. Being a composed individual means exuding calm. During periods of crisis, introverts will present a comforting and calm confidence as opposed to the overbearing confidence of an extrovert. It is Obama’s responsibility to keep crowds under control when …show more content…
Since introverts favor meaningful conversations over small talk, they are likely to delve into issues and develop concepts methodically. A study conducted by Nussbaum (2002, p. 188) concluded that introverts argue with a coconstructive style while extroverts are more conflictual in their communication. Nussbaum’s (2002, p. 188) statistics showed that approximately 5.53% of extroverts and approximately 33.95% of introverts made design claims. Design claims are defined as outlines of how resolutions must be planned. These statistics are evidence that introverts do not only seek solutions to issues, but also go into depth and outline every detail in order to be fully prepared. For instance, when a business meeting is conducted, the leader of the group has a few responsibilities: he or she would have to be prepared prior to the meeting, be impartial for all employees and colleagues, and focus on detail. It is significant to include that unlike extroverted individuals, introverts will not comply with one side of an argument and aim for convincing people to take their side. Instead, introverts and particularly introverted leaders will concentrate on in-depth analysis and attempt to evaluate solutions (Nussbaum, 2002, p. 189). During a meeting, the introverted leader will ask detailed questions and expect detailed answers. With these answers, they contribute by developing distinct conclusions of their
personality trait is often shared with many other leaders who decided to take their own path and
In the article “Dealing with People”, Greg McGrew explains that different types of personality to solve the problems of people’s relationship in our society. He classifies people by four types that are dominants, expressives, analyticals, and amiables. Greg begins with dominants who are forceful, confident, sociable, outgoing, and confrontational tend to threat their mental. Secondly, he describes expressives who are also quite forceful and reluctant to reject a suggestion due to concern about relationship. Talking with them is good method of treating expressive people. Then, he points out that analytical people deliberate to get the right answer. Even though they are superior in making decision, they need time to think how to answer the question.
The business world today thrives on exceptional leadership and the power to uniquely distinguish oneself from the average norms of today’s society. Susan Cain successfully demonstrates in her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking how our society greatly underestimates the value of the introverted people in the world. Through her research and final works, it is transparent that we lose sight of how successful introverts can be and how they are beneficial to the business world. Susan establishes her ideas of these types of people, as well as others, through organizational behavior concepts. Organizations need a mixture of different types of people in order to expand their knowledge and resources for
As an introvert, I prefer to operate internally in order to solve problems. I must turn internally to recharge after engaging in the external world for long periods of time (Personality Page, 2016). This is most evident in my current job where my supervisor is an extrovert who solves problems through verbal discussion; I feel his problems become my problems (Facer, 2015). During these interactions I participate, but afterwards I wish to have silence to contemplate the topics discussed.
Where does our leadership style develop from? Many of us will readily agree with the idea that the presence of certain personality traits will positively influence a leader’s style or successfulness. Determining exactly which personality traits are conductive to successful leadership is more difficult. For example, although many support the idea that charisma is a key trait for leadership, Komives et al. argue that the presence of charisma in a leader can actually be a negative influence in leadership, citing Adolf Hitler as one such case (66). Therefore, the question becomes not only if personality determines who we are as leaders, but which personality traits determine who we are as leaders. In my opinion, leadership is determined by the
Have you ever wondered if being an introvert or an extrovert actually has an affect on how your life will turn out? Although the difference between being introverted and extroverted is somewhat ambiguous, most experts on human behavior agree that it is mainly determined through the source in which one obtains his or her energy. The scientists were eager to conduct more research related to this concept in order to find a possible correlation between personality traits and one’s biological fitness and quantifiable success.
Have you ever stopped and wondered why some people seem to have traits that make them come out ahead of others? These people have characteristics that complement each other, these people are neat introverts. The character traits of neat people are defined in the article “Neat People vs. Sloppy People,” by Suzanne Britt, and the characteristics of an introvert are explained in the article “Caring for Your Introvert,” by Jonathan Rauch. Neat introverts are advantageous at life because their characteristics support one another and bring out the best in them. It is similar to how a runner would condition and train before a big race, if it wasn’t for the training that person probably wouldn’t do as well in the race. The same can be said about their
The book Quiet by Susan Cain explains that extroverts are the type of people who are talkative and sociable, therefore, they could easily get others' attention during various conversations with the topics that they are discussing. Introverts, on the other hand, are the more quiet type. The ideas from introverts are usually drowned because they do not talk as much as the extroverts do. Introverts don’t expect themselves to handle leadership positions, but it doesn’t mean they cannot be successful leaders at their jobs. We often assume that talker as smarter than the quiet type and perceive talkers as leaders. However, introverts actually make the best leaders by carefully listen to what their followers have to say; not only because introverts gain knowledge by listening, but also their abilities to demonstrate modesty and they are extremely
There are two distinct personality types: introverts and extroverts. Introverts like to keep their thoughts to themselves and prefer to be alone; however, introverts are not always shy. On the other hand, extroverts are comfortable with sharing their ideas and opening up to others quickly. According to Anthony Hilling in “Extrovert and Introvert—what is the difference?, “It is wrong to think of introverts as being antisocial.” Furthermore, introverts and extroverts choose to socialize differently. Carl Jung defines “introversion as an attitude-type characterised by orientation in life through subjective psychic contents (focus on one's inner psychic activity).” Introverts are known for articulating their thoughts clearly in writing because they “tend to stop, reflect and absorb information before speaking, they reflect this kind of deliberate thought in their writing.” There is an apparent difference between the two personality types, explaining why many people believe that introverts and ex...
For example, when asked a question at work I often answer with “give me just one second”, or “ill get back to you”. Most introverts need time for internal reflection. A chance to process the question and think about my response. Introverts make great listeners, are studious, and are okay with solitary activities (The Personality Page, n.d.). However, most introverts have a hard time with external communication and are sometimes perceived as being non-social (The Personality Page,
German psychologist Hans Eysenck’s Model of Nervous System Temperament links temperament traits, specifically introversion and extraversion to the Central Nervous System. Introverted people are typically quiet, reserved, and timid whereas extraverts are active, sociable, and outgoing (151). According to Eysenck, introverts have high levels of brain arousal, which is controlled by the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS). Therefore, introverts do not need to seek external arousal leading them to be more reserved. Contrastingly, he argues that extraverts have lower levels of brain arousal and therefore are more sensation seeking in order to make up for it. In this paper, I will aim to synthesize and summarize some of the research regarding introversion and extraversion and their link to the central nervous system and states of arousal. I will synthesize this information to support the idea that while introversion and extraversion are on some level linked to states of arousal, Eysenck’s arousal hypothesis is not alone sufficient to explain the biological differences between introverted and extraverted individuals and their behaviors as such.
Introverts are just as capable as extroverts when it comes to becoming a great leader. It is believed that hard problems in the workforce or any leadership situation need to be given a lot of thought and consideration before making a drastic descision; this is a skill that introverts tend to possess (Murphy, 2013, p. 60). Unlike introverts, extroverts have more of a tendency to form solutions to problems without thinking much about the outcome, and they do not spend a lot of time getting other opinions on the matter (Murphy, 2013, p. 60). An introvert by nature asks more questions and listens closely to others which are great leadership skills (Murphy, 2013, p. 60). Unlike that of extroverts, introverts tend to be more capable at controlling negative emotions (Murphy, 2013, p. 60). By doing this, solutions are not determined by emotion, but by other’s input and serious
According to the London School of Economics, leaders are seldom ever born (Varghese). Instead, leaders are those people who rise to the occasion and willing opt to lead given particular conditions. Bernard Bass theorized that under certain circumstances any person can be a leader (Varghese). At the same time, it is often thought that leadership characteristics are inherited. The problem with this theory is evident when presented with the research that shows only a slight connection between IQ tests and personality profiles that doesn’t distinguish leaders from non-leaders in any way (Varghese). So if intelligence and personality have no influence over whether or not someone is a leader, how can people possibly think that leaders are born? Whether or not someone is a leader is dependent solely upon the circumstances and the choices they make in regards to those circumstances. Leaders arise from all walks o...
On the other hand, introverts are people who are concerned with and interested in their own mental life and often perceived as more reserved and less outspoken in groups. Unlike extroverts who are feeling energized when they are around a large group of people, introverts have energy drained from them through human interaction. Hence, it is essential for them to spend some alone time to “recharge”. Al...
Interaction with people helps us know about them and we can comprehend their behavior in different situation and circumstances without getting surprised by their action. The candid conversation is helpful in expressing one’s thought but it can be fatal sometime. I believe that there has be a balance between being too extrovert and being too introvert. It is a common belief that introvert people are shy, they cannot speak in the presence of other. But the truth is that introverts are not shy, they prefer to be alone by choice. They feel energized and more productive when they are alone rather than surrounded by people. We can say that energy is drained in the presence of other. While extroverts are the outgoing people and feel energized in the presence of other. They think best when they are speaking. I am a person who is neither too introvert and nor too extrovert. I think I am more productive, thoughtful and can take better decisions when I am alone. At the same time I like hanging out with people and talking to them, but there is a limit to it. I think it is a good quality for a manager that he is neither too introvert nor too extrovert. If a manger is introvert he cannot perform his job properly as his job involves speaking to his co-workers and delegating the responsibilities to individuals commensurate to the individual’s experience and capabilities. The manager can know about the strength and weakness of his team by speaking to them. He cannot just sit in the office and know about the individual by looking at the profile of the person. On the other hand if the manager is extrovert and spends too much time among the team members, then there is a possibility th...