Leading introvert employees: 10 tips for extroverted bosses

Among bosses we find introverted and extroverted personalities. For the latter, special challenges can arise if they are introverted Employees have to lead. 10 tips for a change of perspective.

How bosses run calmer employees properly

Among bosses we find introverted and extroverted personalities. Both are neither good nor bad per se. Who better fits where, decides the job. Both have different challenges in their leadership work. For bosses with more extraverted personality parts, special challenges can arise when they have to lead introverted employees. Because here it requires understanding and a change of perspective.

"We live in a value system shaped by the 'extroversion ideal' [...], the ubiquitous belief that the ideal human being is gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the limelight." Author Susan H. Cains recognized early on that the Significance by introverts People is often underestimated. Already in her book “Still. The meaning of introverts in a noisy Welt” (2011) she pleads for the rediscovery of the introverted human type. Because his Power are often lost in an environment shaped by the ideal of extraversion.

Introverts - understanding and change of perspective

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The Ask, which Executives have to ask today are: How do I bind reluctant employees more strongly to the Team a? how do i get a good one Contact and exchange with them? How can I create a good framework so that quieter colleagues can contribute their specific strengths? In order to find the right answers, bosses have to be clear about how the introverted type of person ticks.

Typically the following: caution and deliberation in contact, enjoyment of quiet, alone work Tasks, open-mindedness for professional exchange, precise discussion of content and a calm, friendly politeness. When dealing with feelings, introverts prefer a moderate one Style. This applies both when disclosing your own emotions, but also for the emotional expressions of others. People who tend to be introverted show strong emotions late and often only when there is a lot of pressure from outside.

What characterizes the behavior of introverted people?

On bad days, the otherwise good skills increase in the negative. The environment then experiences the introverted person as cool and distant. She looks distrustful, more reserved and more indecisive than usual. She actively avoids contact and withdraws. This then has different effects in everyday working life.

It is often said that introverts are reluctant to change. That is not right. They may just examine the opportunities and chances that lie therein more critically and risks. Or they just act without many words about it verlieren. That's why others might not even notice.

Misunderstandings in daily life are easily possible

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Most introverts prefer to work in small teams or alone. They experience their own way of working as more productive and less exhausting. are they in Everyday life with many (extraverted) people in contact, personally or through a medium, they often experience this as exhausting. Even with many interfaces in day-to-day business, an introvert can fast everything seems too much. This often leads to misunderstandings within your own team. So it can happen that a colleague who likes to work productively in a team gets the impression that the more introverted counterpart is disinterested. The following example shows that this is not true:

A team discusses the annual Christmas dinner. The question is whether a kick-off event in January would not be more suitable instead. The extroverted employees dominate the discussion. In the end, the louder representatives prevail with the kick-off event. The quieter teammates were cautious Conversation involved, but no preference clear .

Dissatisfaction on both sides

The result: on the day of the kick-off event, only a few of the reluctant colleagues showed up. The reason: you felt at the decision rolled over. The absence, in turn, caused disappointment for the rest of the team who had campaigned for the postponement. Incomprehension spreads: "Why don't they stick to our agreement? They're just not interested in the team."

In order to avoid further irritation in the team, this situation should be clarified well and quickly. Here the manager is asked to ensure mutual understanding. It is important to fairly explain both perspectives and their importance for the team. It is important to reflect on your own preferences in order to Behavior of introverted and extraverted colleagues to be able to discuss in a value-free manner.

Well meant, little effect

The same applies to the performance assessment. It is not uncommon for quieter people to be underestimated because they speak less, present their achievements and successes less, act more calmly and are therefore not as dynamic act. Managers who are spontaneous, sociable and solution-oriented repeatedly describe their own impatience in dealing with these employees. Sometimes they catch themselves "working around" them. They delegate fewer tasks to these colleagues because it seems to be quicker and less complicated for them to do it themselves. Sometimes there is also the fear of overloading the employee - but under certain circumstances the manager does not even know how resilient the colleague really is.

What is well-intentioned by the manager often does not unfold as desired by all employees Effect. Too often bosses draw too much conclusions from themselves about the other person. Example: Topics are deliberately discussed in the team and the whole thing is designed as a brainstorming session. Everyone should have the same opportunity to participate. However, introverts rarely manage to engage in these settings. Either they are too reserved, shy away from speaking up, or they are Opinionsthat has already been said enough by others. In this way they have no influence on the result, although they could. However, the reason for this is not shyness, but a clear consideration that further requests to speak do not mean any added value.

Ten tips to pick up introverts properly

So how do you best meet introverted team members? Here are ten tips to create a good environment for these employees even as an extravert manager.

1. Make room in group situations so that introverted employees are heard. That means: waiting, not becoming impatient, but also demanding an opinion. Do not accept the argument "everything said". Make sure that extraverts do not cut you short and cut down frequent speakers.
2. In addition to team-based methods such as discussion rounds, you can also work in groups of two and do individual work. Collect suggestions by written way. This ensures that even introverts get involved.
3. After team situations, offer the chance to retreat in order to fully restore the performance of your employee: “We'll continue talking later. In an hour in my office? ”
4. Promotion and Development: Transfer demanding tasks in terms of content. Provide technically good work equipment. Offer opportunities for professional development. Support the understanding of other personality types.
5. If you feel your restrained team member is having stress with teamwork, ask for his assessment. Discuss why you consider sharing / working in a team useful and useful. Ask for alternative approaches to working on the upcoming topic. Speak openly about advantages and disadvantages. Check openly which suggestions of the introverted employee are good and can be used.
6. If you can not offer a job in a single, twin or four-person office, a place at the edge of a group, for example in the open-plan office, is a good alternative.
7. Remember that introverts are reluctant to focus. Give feedback in private - both positive and negative. Provide feedback in the correct language and with additional background information. Encourage employees to formulate their own assessment.
8. When there is a change, introverts will not discuss their opinions and attitudes out loud. Talk to them actively, ask questions and then enter into a constructive exchange of content with the employee. Communicate in two steps: Provide information about the project in the first conversation. Then discuss measures or decisions in a follow-up meeting.
9. If you want to make better use of the strengths of the extraverts and the introverts in the team, you will enable mutual mutual acquaintance, for example in a workshop in which differences, similarities and wishes for cooperation are worked out. This promotes mutual understanding and acceptance.
10. Do not be surprised if your introverts talk less about their successes. Self-marketing is often superfluous. Make the benefits clear to them and convey your interest in the superior role. Finally, they need this information for the performance assessment and to place the success elsewhere.

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