Introverts as Leaders

Today I learned that for many things, particularly in business, being an extrovert is expected and being an introvert can be a bit of a handicap. It brings me back to college interviews and how awkwardly shy I was, and gosh, no wonder I didn't get into Brown or Harvard!

However, just because introverts are quiet does not mean they are poor leaders. The book cites a few studies, though the area has not been thoroughly researched, showing that introverted leaders have better outcomes than extroverted leaders when their employees are extroverts, and vice versa.

Cain also went on at length about evangelical Christianity and the overwhelming expectation of extroversion. I think that's one reason I always felt supremely awkward at the few big box Christian churches I've been to. I just didn't fit in. She uses an example of an introverted pastor who questioned his faith because, if all the other people are so enthusiastic, maybe they really believe more than he does. Malarkey!

She also used an example of an exercise done at Harvard Business School where the incoming class is split up into groups and told that they are handicapped in a subarctic climate. They're supposed to individually rank the importance of 13 items they were able to salvage. They rank them first individually and then as a group. The group succeeds if the group ranking is more correct than any individual's, and likewise lose if any of the individuals had a higher score than the group. This exercise tends to reveal that the big extroverted take charge personalities overwhelm good ideas from quiet people. I know for myself that I've held my tongue and gone ahead with sub-par ideas in academic settings just to get it over with and to make people just STOP TALKING.

I also learned that I really ought to write my learning blog on the correct day, because I've been letting things pile up and then trying to remember what I learned and it's much more difficult to remember things even one day later.

Quiet

I just started reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain. So far it's pretty interesting. I don't remember a lot of the details, but around the 1920s there was a big shift from the culture of character to the culture of personality, where how you present your self and how exciting you are has become more important than your moral or ethical being. In the culture of personality, extroversion reigns king. Introversion is seen as something to fix in children and adult introverts are misunderstood and less likely to be accepted into schools or hired as employees. It disgusts me. Also, it is one of the reasons I'm considering homeschooling my children. I can't tell yet whether they're introverts or extroverts at heart but I don't want them to grow up feeling like being extroverted is the right way to be. I don't want them feeling guilty or ashamed if they'd rather read a book or are quiet. On the other hand, any introverted children I may have need to learn to live and thrive in an extroverted world.

I thought it was interested that Cain says that the United States is one of the more extroverted countries of the world. She says it stems from the fact that the country was founded by immigrants and extroverts are far more likely to emigrate than introverts are, and that they will then pass on those extroverted traits to their children. Makes sense to me.

I also like the distinction between shy (or anxious) and introversion. You can be an anxious or not anxious introvert, and likewise you can be an anxious or not anxious extrovert. I happened to be shy and introverted as a child, but as an adult I've overcome a lot of the shyness, but I'm still definitely an introvert.