Research suggests that extraverts get more opportunities in the workplace because their performance is more visible. As such, introverted leaders need to raise their visibility and their voice, if they want to get ahead, and be influential and impactful.
Extraverts are more likely to self-promote and talk about their achievements and what they are working on. Whereas as introverts are generally more likely to get on and do what they need to do, without shouting about it.
Now, this is not to put people in boxes, and there will be exceptions either way. But my experience of coaching both introverted and extraverted leaders, aligns with what the research suggests and with my own research findings.
A challenge I often see for introverted leaders is to be seen, heard, and stand out, when they are the ‘only one in the room’.
When you have different intersecting identities of which individually and collectively those identities make you the only one in the room, it can be challenging to show up as yourself if you are low in self-belief and self-confidence. As a result, you may dim your light (and by light, I mean, representing the fullness of who you are and the value that you bring).
If you have experienced being in the minority to the dominant group, and have previously had unpleasant experiences as a result, this can shape what you think and believe about yourself. It could be a childhood experience, an experience from your early career, or even a personal experience where you have been put down, made to feel like you are not good enough, or even where you have been oppressed.
This may result in you putting on an extraverted persona or code-switching, trying to be someone that you are not. But this can be exhausting, and stressful, and chip away at your self-confidence and self-belief. Plus, if the environment that you work in is not psychologically safe or one where you feel like you don’t belong, it can add to the pressure and make you feel insecure.
If you find it challenging to be seen, have your voice heard, and stand out as a leader, here is a list of things that you can do:
- Change the perception you have about yourself and address self-limiting beliefs
- Be self-aware
- Develop your personal brand
- Connect with people on an emotional level, develop rapport, and nurture those relationships
- Recognise when it is the environment that is the issue rather than thinking that the issue is you
- Develop your influencing skills
- Avoid apologetic language (i.e. I’m sorry but…)
- Listen actively
- Speak up confidently
- Be assertive
- Be yourself
- Who needs to know about you? Identify who you need to be visible to and how you can do this
- Raise your visibility and profile
- Self-promote in ways that feel authentic
To achieve the above, you first need to master your mindset and address the self-limiting beliefs that hold you back. To help you with this, I am running my 5 Day Mind Cleanse Challenge as a free, live event from 15-19 April 2024.
My free 5 Day Mind Cleanse Challenge has been completed by over 400 people as a self-study challenge since November 2023. In April, I will be doing it as a live, daily interactive challenge with a 30-minute live call each day for 5 days at 1pm BST.
This will equip you to change the unhelpful, negative thoughts and beliefs you have about yourself so that you increase your self-belief and self-confidence.
I will be sharing tips and advice that will help you self-reflect, increase your self-awareness, learn, and identify how to confidently remove the limitations you put on yourself. Plus, I will be available to answer your questions on the live calls.
There will also be a private, popup LinkedIn group to ask questions that may come up for you in between the live calls. And don’t worry if you can’t make any of the live calls, because you can watch the recordings on replay.
This is what a previous participant of my 5 Day Mind Cleanse had to say about it:
Thank you for the mind cleanse... I don't think it's any coincidence that I've been forging ahead in a way I haven't seen myself do before. I've pushed excuses aside and put myself forward with really surprising (to me!) results. I don't consider myself an under-confident person, but self-belief is something I have struggled with... However, my confidence in my own ability has grown. Thank you for giving me the encouragement to move myself to a new plateau. Your challenges were well thought out and well timed, too. Overall, it has been an extraordinary experience.
Join me for the free, 5 Day Mind Cleanse challenge here.
First published on LinkedIn.
If you are an introverted woman and a senior leader and want to increase your confidence, influence and impact, take my free assessment and get a report identifying areas to develop. You can take the assessment here.