Being An Introverted Boss

26 Nov Being An Introverted Boss

Being An Introverted Boss

Working with an introverted boss is one way my therapy work overlaps with my business psychology. Many of the business founders that I work with have sucessfully built a business. However, for the introverted boss, there comes a point where the sheer amount of people involved feels a challenge. 

Introverts have many, many strengths, and part of our therapy work is to look at these. We can also look to our enviroment. This means tweaking the organisation so that both the extroverts and the introverts  benefit from a working environment that suits them and their different needs. This inevitably helps the introverted boss too!

Energy in business

In the past, we may have just classed the louder ones as the extroverts, and the quieter ones as the introverts. Today we know it’s a little more complex than that, and they both need different things.

It’s all about energy. Extroverts draw their energy from being around other people. In comparison, introverts need to recover from being around other people. Too much stimulation and they can literally feel their energy draining away from them. Or, some introverts  get so over-stimulated that they literally don’t know what to do with themselves. These may be quite chatty, confident and gregarious people who seem to fit the widely expected definition of “extrovert.”  In  reality, they need their space.

Conversely, many extroverts are quiet, even shy, people, who need the stimulation of others around them.

Supporting Introverted Colleagues

So, what does this mean in a work environment? For most cases, our work environments cater well for extroverts. Open plan offices mean that they can lean over and chat when they need a bit of stimulation. They can wander around and chat through a problem at the coffee machine, and there’s no need to escape anywhere. It’s all going on right in front of their eyes.

Introverts on the other hand will experience it differently. Rather than find the office background as an energising buzz, they may experience it as intrusive and distracting. Needing to deliver perky morning small talk before they’ve even taken off their coat may mean that first coffee is more medicinal than indulgent. External events like conferences or networking may be physically and mentally depleting. They may even feel  trapped, with no space to call their own. This can feel doubly so if they are working in a hot desking environment, with no way to personalise or make their own safe space.

Some of this may feel a little extreme to you, especially if you’re an extrovert. As I’ve grown older I can feel myself moving more and more into the introvert side of the spectrum. However, there was a time when I was on the cusp. This means I can tell you from personal experience there is no right or wrong type to be.  Having the right environment certainly makes things easier, more comfortablefor everyone, inlcuding the introverted boss.

Making the workplace Introvert friendly

• Have somewhere to escape. If you’ve got a board or meeting room that is lying unused for much of the time, allow people to use it to get on with deep or intense work where they don’t need to be distracted. However, don’t make it necessary to justify reasons why they may want some space: sometimes just half an hour away from people and introverts are fully refreshed and raring to go
• Do not encourage eating lunch at the desk. Make it clear, even if it has to be by your example, that it’s perfectly okay to get up and go for a walk, or disappear for lunch
• Let people use headphones if they wish. Quite often it’s as much about cutting sound out as purposefully listening to something
• If networking is a part of the job description, allow people to do it in their own way. Extroverts may blossom at large scale networking events, connecting with a number of people, while introverts may feel happier connecting through LinkedIn and then meeting up one to one for coffees. Both ways work so don’t be too prescriptive
• Let people do conferences in their own way. While I can be carried through the day on the energy of being at a conference, I need at least one night off alone, some which I may spend reading a book with a glass of wine in the bath, followed by room service and a call home. I don’t feel the need to carry on drinking with people I have been sat next to all day, would find the idea of going out clubbing horrific, and would rather have our ‘strategy’ meeting early the next morning rather than after a long day. Make sure the loudest people do not always set the social agenda
• I know in some cases this is the only option, but as a business psychologist, I’m not a fan of hot desking. People often have to spend the first half of their day re-setting chairs so they are at the right height, re-orientating themselves, and running the internal commentary of wondering who will be sat next to them that day. People like some comfort and familiar things around them. At least ask your employees what they would prefer if it’s possible
• Encourage open discussions about the experiences of being an introvert or extrovert. Let team members understand each other and their needs.

The Introverted Boss

Above all, creating a culture where everyone can be yourself,  including you, is key. Being upfront about your need for quiet, reflective time allows others to do the same. You then move from an introverted boss, to an introverted role model.

If you are an introvert struggling to build a business that suits you, feel free to book in a chat to see how I can help you and your organisation.