Why Introverts are Good for Business?

Introversion is generally perceived as negative. However, behind the big ideas and success of many companies you will find introverted employees and leaders.

What percentage of the population are introverts

Depending on which research you look at, somewhere between 50 to 60% of the population are introverts. In fact, according to psychologist and the author of the book Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life is Your Hidden Strength, Laurie Helgoe, 57% percent of the world are introverts. Despite that workplaces are shaped for extroverts which causes employees to have a misconception about introverts.

Common misconceptions about introverts

Introverted people lack social skills. They prefer to be alone because they do not like their co-workers, and they are not able to socialize making them unable to work as part of a team. Likewise, their shyness, insecurity, and fear of speaking in public don't allow them to be great leaders or to be respected by their peers.

The reality - What makes introverts special at work?

They are great team players. Introverted leaders are aware of their weaknesses and seek to surround themselves with a superb team, which allows them to achieve the competitive edge needed to meet their goals. They do not feel threatened by other high-performing colleagues; their priority is to fulfill their objectives, not the spotlight. In teams led by extroverts, leaders might perceive other team members as a threat to their leadership. As noted by Les Mckeown the extrovert leader’s need for acclamation can become destructive, specifically by forcing out other high-performers who threaten the extrovert leader’s preeminence, and demotivating their senior team, who rarely get to share the spotlight.

They build long-term relationships with people. They are awesome listeners, which allows them to understand what their customers, subordinates, colleagues, and superiors need. Therefore, it is easier for them to create long-lasting relations. As a result of the constant feedback they get about the company's products and services, they can identify improvement and growth opportunities for the company.

They are flexible and creative. Their great intellectual curiosity allows them to be better prepared to anticipate change and leverage advantages and innovation from it. Introverts are deep thinkers and spend a lot of time working within their minds and developing new ideas rather than talking. This fuels their imagination and develops their out-of-the-box thinking. Lisa Pitrelli observes that Introverts can help envision new possibilities and see opportunities of which others may be unaware.

They are Independent. Compared with extroverts introverts have a greater ease of taking decisions by themselves. They are capable of performing complex analyses in order to weigh the pros and cons of a situation by considering potential options and ramifications about it.

They are continually improving themselves. Introverts are self-reflective, which allows them to know themselves, their strengths, and their weaknesses. They are self-critical, and they are constantly analyzing the result of their work in order to identify opportunities for improvement.

They got the power of focus. Introverts prefer to get achieving serial success rather than attempting multiple parallel successes. Their strong ability to concentrate while alone, allows them to work on a specific target without being distracted by new projects. On the other hand, extroverts usually jump from one project to another without achieving their goal in none of them.

They really know their stuff.  Maya Townsend, the founder of Partnering Resources, says that people often think that quiet workers are incapable of being credible sources of knowledge or serving as experts for an organization. However, the research found that within a company Introverts are respected for their knowledge and deeply trusted and relied upon by their peers. They are normally there to solve problems when co-workers need them.

They are not necessarily shy. Introverts prefer to work by themselves. Because they know they think better, work more efficiently, and get energized that way. In other words, they focus on doing their best, just like any other person. Plus you should be aware that just as a person can be quiet at work, not necessarily so in other contexts. Introverts like to talk about ideas, and what is great for business, but they prefer to remain in silence than small talk

They rather prefer to do the right thing than to be right. Extrovert leaders are passionate about their ideas and strategies, and they usually stick to them for a while before admitting they were wrong. For introverted leaders, if something does not work, they change it.