By Whitney Welsh Gibbs
Ambassador and Student at American Military University
Society today looks to a very generalized spectrum of personality traits that often decide if a person is desirable or qualified in many different aspects of society. From social status to intellectual prosperity and even career advancement, the way people present themselves is one of the most scrutinized aspects of their character and the determination of such quality tends to follow them throughout the rest of their lives.
The United States is known for its boldness, its perceived strength, and its booming voice in asserting its ideals around the world. As such, there is an apparent preference to extroversion as the ideal personality trait, stating that the best leaders among society speak their minds with ease, laugh loudly, take risks, and rule with an iron fist. Yet, as numerous studies such as that found in The Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator: A Critical Review and Practical Guide and the 1996 and 2003 brochures published by the Center for Application of Psychological Type have suggested, one-third to one-half of the population are introverts. How can this be if society favors extroversion over introversion?
Does Society Favor Extroversion?
The idea of extroversion as an ideal personality trait came at a time when the United States was becoming industrialized and society began to shift from rural living to urbanization during the Industrial Revolution. Products needed to be sold after they were mass produced and many bright-eyed hopefuls flocked from across the nation to cities with dreams of a shining new future. This meant that lifelong neighbors had to seek comfort outside of their normal routine and contacts. Rather, cities were filled with strangers from every walk of life whom did not know each other’s names. As the sales industry began to form, it was crucial for individuals to possess effective, comfortable public speaking skills and charismatic charm in order to hold their own in such a competitive market. Thus, it became desirable to possess an extroverted personality as many saw this to be the only way to become successful in the urban job market.
Does this mean that there is no hope for introverts to gain worthwhile careers in the job market today? Can introverts still be successful leaders even though they do not possess the boisterous personalities of their more extroverted peers?
Introverts in Society
It may come as a surprise, but many of the world’s most successful authors, scientists, and business men and women are introverts. In Susan Cain’s New York Time bestseller entitled Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, it is stated that Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, George Orwell, JK Rowling, Bill Gates, and Charles Schwab are just a few of the many successful introverts around the world. Introverts are characterized by their abilities to think and listen much more closely than their action-based counterparts. Without them society would have missed out on so many amazing contributions to understanding and growth such as the theories of relativity and gravity, literary landmarks like Animal Farm and Harry Potter, and even Microsoft. What then are the qualities that introverts possess that can lead them to success as a leader?
Cain cites a study entitled “Reversing the Extraverted Leadership Advantage: the Role of Employee Productivity” found in the Academy of Management Journal 54, no. 3, conducted by Professor Adam Grant that hoped to challenge the assertion that leaders must possess an extroverted personality. After finding that the correlation between extroversion and leadership was limited, Grant decided to conduct a two part study that could determine which situations allowed for success of either extroverted or introverted leaders.
The Factors of Success
The first part of the study examined the weekly profits of five of the largest pizza chains in the United States and found that there was a direct correlation between extrovert leadership success and passive workers who generally did not take individual initiative. The study also found that introvert leaders had a far greater success rate than extrovert leaders when the workers were self-starters.
The second portion of the study was conducted as Professor Grant and his team divided 163 college students into teams that were to compete to see who was able to fold the most shirts in 10 minutes. In each team, actors were hidden and either played the role of a passive shirt folder or an active participant who suggested a more efficient way to fold the shirts that would have to be learned by the team, yet should yield much greater results. Grant’s study found that introverted leaders were 20 percent more likely to accept suggestions within their teams and yielded 24 percent better results than the teams with extroverted leadership. If the actors participated passively, however, and simply followed leadership instructions the extroverted leaders then outperformed the introverted leaders by 22 percent.
Though these are only two studies conducted on the very complex subject of introvert leadership abilities, it can be contended that there are many qualities that introverts possess that would allow them to be successful leaders. Introverts have a far greater tendency of shying away from dominating social situations, they possess a keener interest in listening to suggestions and leading through collaborative thinking and group involvement. Having a mutual and beneficial collaboration with their workers, they are able to motivate them to be proactive within their tasks, rather than simply following a leader than does not validate their input in the process of productivity. Both Cain’s and Grant’s work on the subject of introversion and leadership highlight that introverts, when they possess a clear understanding of their personality strengths, can move forward as successful leaders in a society dominated by the extrovert ideal.
About the Author
Whitney Welsh Gibbs is a senior at the American Military University where she is currently working to complete her Bachelor of Arts in Military History. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she hopes to continue her educational journey with AMU as she pursues her Master of Arts in Intelligence Studies. Whitney is also a proud University Ambassador through which she promotes the mission and integrity of the school to prospective students to create a better understanding of what AMU has to offer.
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