Does your workforce need an introverted leader?

As an expansion stage software company CEO, have you ever thought about how introverted or extroverted your employees are, and how their extroversion or introversion can influence the team dynamics, employee development and thought leadership within your company? Conversely, as the employees of start-up firms, do you consider yourself an extrovert or an introvert? If you think you are an introvert, do you worry about lacking the so called “extroverted leadership skills” to rise up the ladder?  
A recent Harvard Business School faculty research study found that extroverted leaders can be a liability for a company’s performance, especially if the followers of that leader are also extroverts. This means that way too many people are contributing ideas and very few are actually involved in executing them. This restricts creative, new ideas from turning into profitable projects, because the leader is too busy talking, rather than spending time to take action. Conversely, an introverted leader is more likely to listen to his/her team. If the rest of the team is extroverted and eager to take initiative, the team members will benefit from an introverted leader who’s there to listen and deal with their problems. However, for the same reasons, if the team consists of an introverted leader and introverted team-members, meetings will end up with too much contemplation and very little talk. As a result, not much will get accomplished in this scenario as well.  The HBS research was based on field data from a national pizza delivery chain. It surveyed 57 pizza store managers and 374 employees not only about their personalities, but also about their coworkers’ personalities. The survey included a 5-point scale, where the respondents rated themselves on adjectives like “reserved”, “introverted”, “talkative” and “bold”. Respondents also rated their team’s more general attitudes/behaviors on things like, “try to correct a faulty procedure or practice” and “communicate your opinion about work issues to others even if their opinions differ or others disagree”. The results of the survey were then compared and analyzed against the overall profitability of the pizzeria over a 7-week period. The survey results and profitability comparisons showed that pizzerias with introverted managers but proactive employees, and pizzerias with extroverted managers but passive employees (as in followers) had the highest profits. Alternatively, stores that had extroverted managers leading extroverted employees, and stores with introverted managers and passive employees experienced lower profits. The extrovert leader-introvert follower and introvert leader-extrovert follower model is true for most cases. However, there is still a problem. How do you get introverts who are less likely to promote themselves to climb up to the business leadership roles?Next week, I will share the second half of the findings from the study, which shows how companies like yours can help your introverted employees rise up the ranks to take on leadership positions. Stay tuned!