Sunday, November 11, 2012

Personality and Leadership


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I just finished reading Quiet by Susan Cain. The topic of the book is introversion and how Western culture tends to overvalue extraversion. Cain covers a number of interesting topics such as the relationship between work environments and personality, the downsides to the emphasis on group work in schools, and how differences in levels of extraversion can impact relationships.

As someone who is more towards the introvert side of the spectrum, I found the book particularly enjoyable to read. I thought the best take home message from the book was that introverts have unique strengths. The point is not that introverts can’t succeed in ventures that we assume favor extraverts, but that they are better served by employing tactics that come naturally than trying to fake it as an extravert. That being said, Cain also advocates for structuring one’s life in a way that suits one’s level of extraversion. The idea of seeking out a career that is a good match for one’s personality is an interesting point when considering the personality types that are drawn to political careers.

Given that holding a political office requires a great deal of interaction with others, it’s a safe assumption that politicians are more extraverted on average. On the one hand, you might think that this makes good sense; we need leaders to be outgoing, confident, and able to handle a great deal of public speaking. On the other hand, research shows that we tend to equate speaking more with being more intelligent and having better ideas when this isn’t true. We tend to overvalue presentation ability rather than the actual content of the ideas being presented. Extraverts may also be less likely to listen to listen to ideas from others because they are more prone to focus on their own ideas and leadership. One important quality that introverts may offer is a greater likelihood of being cautious. Some of the best stock traders are introverts for this very reason; being cautious and less enticed by rewards pays off in the long run. Introverts also have a knack for anticipating future negative events, such as economic downturns. They tend to be ignored however, particularly when it comes to predicting a bubble burst because expressing caution is not well-received among investors.

So if introverts make better predictors of risks and extraverts are more drawn to politics, where does that leave us when we consider the government’s role in addressing climate change? I fear that politicians on average are more extraverted and therefore more prone to dismiss risks and strive for rewards. However, there’s a reason that a wide range of the extraversion dimension exists within our gene pool; we benefit collectively when we have both extraverts and introverts. We need people who are good at marching towards rewards and bringing others with them as well as people who are good at sounding the alarm when risks are on the horizon. This range of personality allows us to maintain a balance within our population as a whole; however, our government is perhaps lacking in this balance. We need to find a way for the voices expressing doubt and caution to be heard as loudly as those promising security and future rewards.

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