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Introverts-The Best Leaders For Proactive Employees
Introverts-The Best Leaders For Proactive Employees
"We showed that there are ways to help them go about the task," Gino says.
influence the likelihood that leaders will act "By creating a work Sure enough, the students' leadership style
introverted or extraverted," Gino says. during the T-shirt folding exercise corresponded
For the second study in their paper, the environment where people with the statement they had been asked to
researchers devised a scenario in which 163 feel free to speak up and be consider. Those who had read about the virtues
college students participated in a T-shirt folding of introverts were far more likely to signal that
contest. The students were divided into fifty-six proactive, then the they were receptive to the novel Japanese
groups, all tasked with folding as many T-shirts folding method. And as with the pizzeria study,
as possible in ten minutes. (They were
organization is creating the when the followers were proactive, the groups
encouraged to try their hardest-the most right place for introverted with introverted leaders were more productive
productive groups would win iPods.) Each than those with extraverted leaders.
group consisted of one assigned leader and leaders to be successful." "It worked," Gino says. (The research team
three followers, plus two research believes that the results may have been more
assistants—"confederates"—who pretended to "Scientific research now shows that dramatic had the groups been given more time
be followers. Some of the confederates were behaving in an extraverted manner is the key to to fold; the sessions were only ten minutes long,
told to approach their team leader, after a success as a leader. Like John F. Kennedy, and the whiz-bang Japanese folding method
minute and a half into the folding session, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jack Welch, great took some practice.)
say, "I have a friend from Japan who has a leaders are extraverted: their behavior is bold, Gino says her future research plans may
faster way. It might take a minute or two to talkative, energetic, active, assertive, and involve the topic of authenticity, the degree to
teach it, but do we want to try it?" (The adventurous. This enables them to communicate which introverts can genuinely adopt
Japanese method is featured on YouTube.) The a strong, dominant vision that inspires extraverted behavior before landing a leadership
goal was to see how introverted and extraverted followers to deliver results." role. Ideally, though, she hopes to see more
leaders would react to the proactive suggestion. The other half received this antithetical corporations adopt policies that reward good
In an effort to control whether the student statement, also followed by a list of academic listeners as much as they reward good talkers.
leaders would manage their teams in an studies that supported it: "By fostering a work environment where
introverted or extraverted manner, the "Scientific research now shows that people feel free to speak up and be proactive,
researchers asked them to read a brief statement behaving in an introverted manner is the key to the organization is creating for a climate in
before the T-shirt folding commenced. Half of success as a leader. Like Mahatma Gandhi, which introverted leaders can be successful."
the leaders received this statement, along with a Abraham Lincoln, and Socrates, great leaders
list of supporting academic studies: are introverted: their behavior is quiet, shy,
reserved, and unadventurous. This enables them
to empower their people to deliver results." About the author
"We had them think about their role as a Carmen Nobel is the senior editor of HBS
leader and consider how the certain style would Working Knowledge.