Extraverted Leaders: Gifts and Cautions
October 16th, 2009 | 
Author: Carl Jung`s work, as interpreted by Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers describes a personality preference pair of Extraversion and Introversion. An extravert prefers to orient attention on the outside world ?€“ people and activity. An introvert prefers an orientation of the inner world ?€“ reflection and thoughts. In both cases, this is where people with that preference get energy. For instance, an extravert may feel energized after a party; an introvert may feel drained.
The majority of Americans are extraverted ?€“ 60%. I would hazard a guess that this holds true for leaders as well. In my own experience of working with extraverted leaders, I`ve observed some strong behavioral gifts they bring to the world and some things that they need to be careful of.
Gifts of the extraverted leader:
- Quick in decisions and movement to action
- Comfortable in interactions with people
- Easily expresses thoughts, feelings
- Enjoys initiating and participating
You might notice that the characteristics described can be great strengths for an extraverted leader. Eager participation, quick action, and comfort in interactions are a natural for an extraverted leader. I`ve always thought that many organizations are extraverted by nature, making an easy fit for leaders with this preference.
However, I`ve noticed some traits in extraverted leaders that bear caution. If the characteristics of an extraverted leader ring true for you, you might want to take notice (and ask for feedback) on whether you are exhibiting some of the following behaviors. Ways to mitigate these behaviors are included below.
Extraverted leaders:
May not consider all sides of an issue before taking action on it. The solution may be to stop, reflect, and ask others what they think. Involve others in your decisions and consider all sides. People love to be included, and your decisions will often be better with diverse input.
May not listen well. Listening better has great advantages. Your employees will think you are brilliant, and you will learn a lot. So simply: just shut up and listen. It`s a huge boost to your relationships.
Might think out loud. Sometimes people don`t understand that you are not making a decision or directing something to be done when your thoughts come directly out of your mouth. Yet an extravert often thinks through things by talking about them. Find a way to “think out loud” with a mentor, coach or peer whom you trust. Alternatively, remember to let people know when you are simply thinking by talking.
May overwhelm, dominate, and sometimes intimidate others. Others may feel overwhelmed by an extraverted leader`s pace and large presence. Slow down when you can, listen to others and allow them the time they need for doing their best thinking; it will pay off for you and your organization.
Best wishes, extraverted leader, in using your gifts; they are plentiful. Become aware of the things that might get in your way of fully using them; and best wishes in developing new behaviors that will make you an even more “gifted” leader.
Posted in Uncategorized
7 Responses to “Extraverted Leaders: Gifts and Cautions”
Leave a Reply
Fascinating to read how Extravert Leaders need to improve, as generally, Extraverted Leadership is considered superior. Extroverted leaders are able to outshine others, and are generally seen to have greater impact, leading them to believe they are infallible!
Introvert leadership is often considered to be rare. It would also be interesting if the next post is on how these leaders should improve!!
Aman,
You’ve discovered the secret that one preference is not necessarily “better” than another, despite what we might believe. They both have potential to be great leaders. Stay tuned for a post sometime next week on introverted leaders.
I was going to ask you to comment on the other side of the coin – the introverts but I see you are already three giant steps ahead of me – looking forward to it
Great Post! The strengths and weaknesses of extroverted leaders were captured very well. I read some of these gifts that extroverted leaders tend to possess and try to improve on my own ability to communication and be quick to act. Being an introverted personality these traits are the ones that are most difficult for me to express, but hopefully overtime, I can work to improve on my behavior.
Tony, I would like to suggest that you are just perfect as you are! Introverts bring some wonderful gifts to the leadership realm, and I hope that you will stay tuned to find out what yours are. We’ll also explore some “cautions” for introverted leaders, and I’d love to hear your thougths on that upcoming post.
I recently took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test and found that I am ENTJ (extraverted, intuitive, thinking and judging). The test is very revealing ?€“ it points out traits we all have, but that we`re not always aware of. It`s also very educational for the test taker. As the test taker, you get to see how different personality traits effect personal and work interactions. It helped me identify traits that I could use to my advantage and traits that I needed to be careful of. Your post does a great job of identifying some of the cautions extraverts may have, especially the 4th. Extraverts need to be very cautious of taking over projects and taking charge. This is a major downfall I see of extraverts who are not aware of their trait. On the other hand, if you are aware of the trait, it can be a great skill for motivating and initiating projects.
Hi Ashley,
Thanks for your comments. I’d like to make a bit of a distinction here, if I may. The fourth caution really has to do with the energy an extravert projects, not necessarily a tendency to take over projects or even necessarily to take charge. Fine distinction, but I’ve known lots of extraverts who project that “external world”, fast paced energy who have no desire to take over (I am one of those; my tendency as an ENFJ is more collaborative), and others who do.
It is more likely that the interplay between extraversion and some of the other preferences may point more toward the tendency of “taking charge” or “taking over” than just the extraversion alone.
Or, to further confuse things, it may just be something else in someone’s personality at play.