If you are a manager and you have your suspicions that you might be an introverted leader, I have five signs that will help you determine if you are or not. 

I wanted to pinpoint five signs that aren’t the obvious signs when you hear about people being introverted. You know the common signs “don’t like being around people” “likes to spend time at home.” We have all heard those signs. 

These are five behaviours you might have and didn’t realize are due to being an introverted person. 

If you are a manager, these signs will resonate with you. You may even have an aha moment and come to a better understanding of yourself.

Would you prefer to read rather than watch? Not to worry! You can read the blog post below.

SIGNS YOU’RE INTROVERTED AS A MANAGER

Sign #1 You spend a lot of time processing before communicating

As an introvert, you are always thinking about other people’s feelings and how they will receive what you have to say. You don’t want people to have the wrong perception of you, so you take the time to think before you communicate with others, aka overthink.

This is amplified as a manager because you have to communicate with your team and your superiors, but you will spend hours, if not an entire day, mulling over how to communicate effectively. 

Worrying that you will hurt someone’s feelings, that someone may be upset with what you have to say, or that you cannot articulate your thoughts and ideas is a sign that you might be an introverted leader.

Sign #2 You are the last to speak in meetings

If you are an introverted manager, I’m willing to bet that you are the last person to raise your hand and say something during a staff meeting. You would rather slink into a corner and hope no one asks for you to speak. Being the center of attention is a scary place to be for you. 

Sign #3 You find yourself drained after meeting interactions

If you feel drained after several meetings in one day, you may be an introverted leader. I don’t mean the usual tired people feel after working all day. I mean, really tired like you ran a marathon tired. You cannot have any more interactions that day, and you just want to go home and not speak to anyone for the rest of the day.

Sign #4 You overthink your decisions

Being an introverted manager, especially when you are just starting your journey as a leader, can be very hard for anyone, especially if you are an introvert. Making decisions is somewhere you will struggle a lot. 

Much like mulling over how you communicate with others, making decisions could take you a long time. If you find yourself really struggling with making decisions and you just can’t make them quickly without overthinking first, that is a sign that you may be an introverted leader. 

As you progress into your leadership role, you will find processes to use to help with decision-making. However, it is likely you will still spend longer than others overthinking those decisions before committing to them.

Sign #5 You’re such a good listener that you end up carrying other people’s emotions

Being an introvert means that since you don’t like being in the spotlight, you tend to listen to people more. This is never a bad thing, good listening skills are crucial, but because you listen to people so much, you also tend to carry their emotions. 

It is so common that when you ask questions, other people will do the talking and you don’t have to have all eyes on you, and then couple that with being a good listener, people will unload on you. You will hear what they think about the task at hand, and you may even learn about their personal life while you’re at it. Making connections with your team as a manager is great, but this can be downright exhausting as an introverted leader.

Conclusion

Those are the five signs that you might be an introverted manager. If you are saying yes to each point, then I think it’s safe to assume that you are, in fact, an introverted leader. 

To reiterate the five signs:

>> If you take a long time to think about what and how you want to communicate with others. 

>> After spending all day in meetings, you find yourself to be exhausted.

>> You are the last to speak up in meetings or other big group projects; you’d rather not have all eyes on you. 

>> If you take a long time to make decisions.

>> You take on other people’s emotions. 

Being an introverted leader is relatively common. I myself am an introverted leader, and most of the new managers I work with in my New Manager Accelerator Program are also introverted. 

If you feel you are an introverted leader and want to reach out to me for help to become an effective and successful manager, book a call with me here and we can get started on your journey to success.