Full transcript
0:00Look at the leaders around you.
0:02What do you see?
0:03Calm, reasoned individuals,
0:06who listen, and make considered judgements?
0:09Or something very different?
0:16Great leaders are often seen as classic confident, extroverts
0:21who can speak without thinking,
0:23react rapidly and change tack pretty frequently.
0:27It’s what best-selling author Susan Cain calls
0:30“The Extrovert Ideal”.
0:32But is this really what we need right now?
0:35I’d argue that the crises of our time need a more considered approach.
0:39A quieter one.
0:41Let’s look at the status quo.
0:43Extroverts are over-represented in senior leadership positions.
0:47One study found an incredible 98% of top executives scoring “very high”
0:52or “above average” on the extrovert scale.
0:56But people aren’t on the whole satisfied with their leaders.
1:00Could there be a connection between the two?
1:02There are lots of examples through history
1:05of successful leaders who have taken that quieter approach.
1:08For example, Rosa Parks, Mahatma Gandhi, or Bill Gates.
1:12Research shows that introverts often bring a great deal to the table.
1:17They’re more likely to listen and process the ideas of their team,
1:21and consider those ideas deeply before acting on them.
1:25They may be humble
1:26and more likely to credit their team for ideas and performance.
1:30And because their motivation generally comes from within,
1:33they’re less likely to compromise themselves
1:36chasing rewards like money or power.
1:40I think we need to re-examine the way our society
1:42views effective leadership, and whether we really are allowing
1:46the space for all team members to thrive.
1:50Research suggests that between 40 and 60% of employees
1:55tend to the quieter, more introverted, side of things.
1:59They can often feel invisible in meetings,
2:01because their thoughtful approach means they have difficulty
2:04responding to those common on the spot questions.
2:08Many leadership courses can tend to focus on extroverted team activities,
2:14such as networking and presentations,
2:16leaving quieter people perhaps mistakenly believing
2:20they just don’t have the qualities of a “good” leader.
2:23An approach that fails to bring out the best in around half of us
2:26is not just bad for quieter people, it’s a disservice to us all.
2:31Leadership is complex, but in a world of soundbites,
2:35sledgehammer tactics and black-and-white thinking,
2:38perhaps standing back and listening
2:40can be empowering to leaders and their followers.
2:46As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu puts it,
2:49the best leaders are those that “talk little”
2:52and when their work is done and their aims fulfilled,
2:56their followers will say,
2:58“We did it ourselves.”