Berlin The Hamburg founder Moritz Mann does not like to be in the limelight. He almost never gives motivational speeches or verbosely presents company figures. He is not a typical manager – and yet he has 40 employees.
Mann, 34 years old and head of the digital agency Protofy, describes himself as an introvert. He prefers to ride a racing bike alone than to do team sports, listens first to discussions instead of speaking himself, and prefers one-to-one conversations to the stage.
His team members appreciate that Mann doesn’t see himself as a leader. “Here, for example, not every decision has to go through my desk,” he says. Each team defines its own goals and is also responsible for achieving them.
Mann also pays particular attention to supporting quieter high potentials as a boss. “I don’t just want to promote loud and frequent speakers,” he says. “I want to create an environment in which even the quiet make it to the top.”
Introvert and CEO: For many, that still sounds like a contradiction in terms. If you want to climb the career ladder to the top, the qualities that belong to more extroverted characters will help you in today’s job world: dominance, enthusiasm, talkativeness, a certain demeanor. People who like to network, always speak up in meetings and confidently talk about their successes are more likely to make it into the executive chair than loners and low-keys.
Introverted bosses promote independence in the team
This unwritten law is a hurdle for many introverts on their way to the top – which they often only overcome with great effort. Daniela Fink also observes this. She has been advising executives for more than ten years and has worked for SAP, Deutsche Telekom and RTL, among others. “Many introverted top executives feel that they often have to pretend. It costs them a lot of strength,” says Fink.
More introverted managers would be good for the working world. “Introversion is a skill that we need in disruptive times like the present.” Most companies today want their employees to take responsibility and think entrepreneurially. Fink believes that introverted bosses succeed more often than extroverted ones in encouraging their employees to be independent. Because they are usually good listeners and observers, they often know exactly how and where they can deploy their team members in such a way that they perform at their best.
Despite this, Fink believes that introverts can also learn from their extroverted peers. “It’s not about turning an ‘intro’ into an ‘extro’ because that doesn’t work,” she says. “But just as an extrovert can learn to be more restrained and a better listener, introverts can learn to be more extroverted at times.”
Visible without being loud
Diana Gajic knows how to do this. She is a senior recruiter and personnel developer at Deutsche Telekom. Gajic has worked with many introverted executives, and she describes herself as more of an introvert. “Restrained people can train their extrovert side like a muscle,” says the 36-year-old. She has five tips to help:
1. Use LinkedIn
Not only verbal contributions in meetings or conferences can help to increase visibility in the job. “I also become visible when I make a LinkedIn post and say things in it that I could have thought about before,” says Gajic. “And that without my having to be loud.”
2. Write a thought log
If Diana Gajic has to go to a talk show or a conference, she first writes down a thought log with four or five bullet points. This includes: the core theses and statements that she wants to convey to her audience.
“I don’t memorize the points, but I have them in my head when I go to the event,” says the recruiter. She recommends this type of “anchor” to all managers whom she accompanies as a personnel developer.
3. Rehearsals
Sounds banal, but it can work: Rehearse a presentation at home before you have to give it at work. “It works in front of your partner, in front of a friend or even in front of your pet,” says Gajic. Such a sample can help you identify areas where you still need to file. This in turn gives security.
4. Schedule time for networking
Diana Gajic regularly blocks times in her calendar that are only there for networking. “Once I get the blocker on my calendar, I’ll pick a manager or co-worker, jump over my head and text the person, ‘Hey, I’d like to find out more about you and your project over lunch or coffee!'”
She has never experienced that someone did not want to have such a meeting. And those who challenge themselves on such appointments expand their network – “which is very important on the way to C-level.”
5. Present a heart project voluntarily
As an introvert, you can also take advantage of big regular appointments in the company: by presenting your own team and their work or a project that is important to you. It doesn’t need a specific reason, says Diana Gajic: simply book a time slot in the event log beforehand, prepare the lecture – and present it.
If you follow Gajic’s tips, you have to dare to step out of your comfort zone and into the “learning zone”. This is what the personnel developer calls the area in which people grow and learn new things. She has never regretted stepping into this “learning zone”.
Because being noticed and heard is a basic human need. Even from introverts.
More: This graphic shows: This is the dream boss of the Germans.