Drew Downard
Instructor’s Name
October 23, 2018
Why Introverts Make Great Leaders
Be a leader not a follower. This is something we’ve been told our entire lives. But, what is a
leader supposed to be? We see a leader as someone who is charismatic, sociable, and outspoken.
We live in a world where we revere those who are talkative and outgoing, also known as
extroverts. On the other hand, we put down those in leadership positions who are considered shy,
reserved, quiet, and what we incorrectly know as introverts. Our society has built up a belief
where if we are quiet and an introvert, we will always only be a follower.
In school, we are told that introversion is something we must over come and per say a
“weakness”, that is standing in front of our way in order to become a great leader. Approximately
50% of the worlds population are introverts. Are we telling 3.5 billion people in the world that if
the want to be a great leader, that they must change who they are? This is a belief that is widely
based on our misconceptions of what an introvert is. The dictionary defines an introvert as a shy,
reserved person. But in reality, a introvert is not always shy, and a shy person is not always an
introvert. Being an introvert just means you appreciate your time alone and lose energy when you
are around other for too long. It also means that you may be relatively quieter or more reserved.
This leads to the notion that introverts cannot be leaders, and that extroverts are the ideal leaders
of the world. Right now there is a cultural bias against introverts. If we choose to believe this
extrovert ideal, that extroverts are somehow better leader than introverts, then we are saying
WHY INTROVERTS MAKE GREAT LEADERS
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people such as Ghandi, leader of the movement from Indias independence from Great Britain
was not fit to be a leader. That Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg were not fit to
be leaders. Because every person stated previously, is an introvert. And yet, every single one of
them was able to lead others and achieve something that changed our world for the better. We
tend to think of these people as exceptions to the extrovert ideal, people that were able to
overcome the so called obstacle of introversion and achieve greatness. But what we should do, is
see them as pioneers of the community of introverts who are paving their way towards becoming
great leaders and breaking the misconception that extroverts make the best leaders. In fact, there
are many qualities of introverts that may make them even better leaders than extroverts.
Contrary to popular belief, introverts work very well in groups because they are great
listeners. In a study by Harvard Business Review they show that introverted leaders are better for
proactive groups. They studied managers and employees at 130 pizza franchises, and results
