The Introvert/Extrovert Debate – Let’s Have the Intro!
The Introvert/Extrovert Debate – Let’s Have the Intro!
The intro/extro debate goes on! What are the relative merits of extroverts and introverts as managers – always with a subtext of ‘can introverts really be good managers?’ But the fact that it’s still being discussed so frequently reveals a big truth: the value of introverts as managers is grossly underestimated. In many workplace situations they perform more effectively than extroverts. Here below is the reality from my experience in the English public services – not a scientific survey but conclusions based on many years’ wide professional experience.
Whilst many features of performance are not unique to either personality type there are some aspects that are more strongly associated with one rather than the other. Of course personalities can change with age and staff may behave differently in different workplace situations. But some major differences do occur, so to consider them let’s think about those individuals whose characteristics lie in the top thirty per cent at either end of the introversion-extroversion scale.
Introverts are likely to possess these advantages:
- a more consistent focus on the task in hand, and a willingness to persist in the face of difficulties
- more interest in the design and development of processes and workflows, something that extroverts may find a little tedious
- a disposition more likely to inspirit trust in others
- better judgement of the character and abilities of others, a particular weakness of some extroverts
- a deeper analytical approach to general workplace issues
- a lesser tendency to allow ‘Dark Triad’ characteristics of narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellism to impact on others. Such impacts are more likely to result from the behaviour of extroverts.
Extroverts are likely to posses these advantages:
- better performance in representative roles when dealing with peer organisations, clients and outside bodies
- a wider breadth of perspective on organisational issues with likely fewer blind spots than introverts
- more effectiveness in dealing with short-term projects, recovery situations and emergencies
- a greater propensity to belong to formal and informal networks within the organisation potentially assisting business coordination and benefitting their own careers. There may be a marked opposite tendency for introverts
- a greater tendency to make necessary trade-offs between pressing exigencies and over-formal compliances.
Of course these characteristics have been selected as those for which the most marked differences are apparent. Many others will be common to both introverts and extroverts. But there is a very clear key message: introverts can provide many important contributions that extroverts cannot. In particular – and contrary to much generality of opinion – they can be excellent managers of people. They can provide strengths in strategy development, business process and efficiency programmes, and organisational cultural improvement. Any organisation that consciously or unconsciously is suppressing the involvement of introverts in management is likely to be depriving the organisation of skill sets that can directly impact on top-line performance. So it’s time for the debate to end. Extroverts and introverts – they are both needed in management. But in the face of some apparent attitudes at the present time it’s necessary to emphasise – Let’s have the intro!