What follows is a conversation overhead that even days after I am still mulling over it’s validity – in short, the role of introversion and extroversion in leadership.

-Officer 1: You need to tell (Soldier X) to step up and stop being content sitting in the corner.

-Officer 2: Sir, I think he struggles because he’s an introvert … (interrupted)

– Senior NCO: Sir, it doesn’t matter if he’s an introvert. You have to put that aside as a leader. That may be part of his personal calculus, but is not part of his professional calculus.

As an introvert myself, I was surprised at this conversation.  I’ve encountered some minor personal obstacles, but I would not say that I had to “overcome” or “conquer” it, more of I learned how to use my introversion as a strength in those situations.  As an example, public speaking: I am much more comfortable talking one-on-one with people, but I can find a crowd challenging.  So I look at specific individuals when I talk to a crowd and engage them specifically as part of my talk.   I choose to view/act from that mental state.   FWIW, I find a fair amount of success with this method.

What are other’s thoughts on the so-called necessity of introversion and extroversion in the toolkit of a leader? What do you find you have to do to balance one way or another to be the best version of yourself?

For added consideration, a TED talk on Introversion: https://youtu.be/c0KYU2j0TM4