The Importance of Quiet Leadership
Recently, someone told me to: “brag more”.
Meaning, to get successful, you should be loud about your achievements. That success is measured not in actions but by words, ensuring many people hear them. It also suggests that for your work to be appreciated, you should put yourself out there and take up a lot of space.
As an introvert, I just cannot understand this. I needed to reflect a lot on why I just couldn’t envision this for myself.
In advertising but also in society, we tend to admire loud managers.
Managers that are always “on”: fun to watch but also very impressive.
I’m not sure I want to be that leader who always has something to say about any proposition and whose words are always golden. Someone who is never afraid to show their discontent.
If I have to climb the ladders, I don’t want to mimic traits that could lead to:
- Top-down management - You are the boss, others your subordinate, and you lead with an iron hand.
- Not listening to the others - Well, you’ll miss out on good ideas because yours had to come first. This way of leading will also increase the gap between extroverts and introverts.
- Lacking of empathy - If you’re always right, how can you understand others? Suppressing others' emotions also is problematic (maybe another post?).
- Losing people’s time - By being obsessed with having a say on everything, you sometimes forget that you are not bringing a valuable insight to the table. And no, we don’t need another 10-minute speech.
As I’m evolving in my career and learning how to become a leader, I believe there is another way through quiet leading:
- Horizontal management - I trust my team and will make decisions with them. I have an idea of the direction I want the team to take, but I want them to feel part of the journey and have their say.
- Letting the others do the talking - Everyone has something to bring to the table and I want to listen to everyone. I know others are experts on some topics, and I, on others. It also gives me time to digest, and think on what I need to say.
- Letting others shine - My team ‘s successes are my successes, and it is even more important that people tend to be driven by recognition.
- Talking when needed - I don’t have to know all the answers right away, or comment everything, especially not interrupt someone presenting. Sometimes, the work is just good, and people need short meetings.
So, to all my fellow introvert leaders, own your shyness. Make it valuable. Because your few words have more worth than a thousand loud words.
And because introverts need some representation over here, I will keep on sharing my experience, quietly.
Follow Margaux on Instagram here for more of her illustration work, like that seen above.
