Extroverts Are Often Leaders. But... A new study suggests they have a challenge

"They speak up often. They assert themselves. They are high energy. They are outgoing.

These are some key traits of extroverts, and those who exhibit them are known to rise to leadership roles. Researchers call it the "extroverted leadership advantage."

But prior research only looked at leaders at one moment in time. A new study considered how these extrovert-leaders fare over time. It turns out, extroverted leaders tend to have larger networks compared with introverts, but those networks are highly variable. In other words, extroverts are adding new followers, losing old followers and keeping some originals.

That presents two main challenges to extroverts in leadership roles: They must constantly attract new ties from people who previously didn't consider them a leader if they are to maintain their status. And they must navigate social situations in the workplace where people who once considered them a leader but now no longer do may be present.

Blaine Landis, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the University College London and lead researcher on the paper, and three colleagues conducted two studies to try to understand the networks of extroverts in leadership roles over time.

For the first study, they asked a group of M.B.A.s, split into seven sections, to fill out a questionnaire to measure their level of extroversion. Next, they gave all participants a survey asking whom they deemed to be leaders within their section during orientation exercises. They repeated that survey four months later.

It was no surprise that students perceived extroverted students as leaders during orientation. What was surprising was that after four months, some of the people in the original group who viewed those extroverts as leaders had changed. "Extroverts had a large number of people in their 'leadership network,' meaning those who perceived them as leaders, as we expected," says Dr. Landis. "But after four months, even though the number of people in the group who saw them as leaders remained the same, some had left, some had joined and some remained."

To reaffirm their findings in a real-world, nonacademic setting, Dr. Landis and his team conducted a similar study with a professional-services firm, and found the same outcome.

If extroverted people tend to emerge as leaders, but also experience outsize network churn, what is a gregarious leader to do?

Dr. Landis suggests looking at it in two ways. For an external view, he recommends extrovert-leaders get feedback from a close friend at work whose opinion they value. "After a big presentation or meeting, ask them to give you an honest evaluation," he says. "And if you tanked, they'll tell you and you can adjust your behavior." He also advises recording videoconference meetings (with permission, of course), then gauging the audience's response. What the leader sees as confident, others may see as rude.

To gain an internal view, Dr. Landis says, take stock of your leadership network every now and again. "There will be network churn, so it might be useful to look at whether or not you are leading the same types of people across time, and who you believe see you as leaderlike," he says.

If people are dropping in and out of your leadership network, consider the causes. Am I dominating conversation? Am I being unreceptive to ideas? Then change your behavior to keep the respect of your network.

"Our findings suggest that extrovert-leaders need to draw new followers to replace those who are leaving to maintain the size of their leadership network for the long-haul," Dr. Landis says. To do that effectively, he adds, think about who may be dropping out of your leadership network and why, as well as who you'd like to have in that network in the future -- which might require support from people with different skill sets, backgrounds and perspectives. Says the professor: "Leadership networks are in flux; it isn't just once a leader, always a leader."” [1]

1.  C-Suite Strategies (A Special Report) --- Extroverts Are Often Leaders. But... A new study suggests they have a challenge
Mitchell, Heidi. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 05 May 2022: R.9.