How to better manage introverted employees; 5 ideas

As a manager, of course you have your employees’ best interests at heart. You facilitate them in every possible way so that they feel good about themselves. That’s good for them but also good for the company. What makes it difficult sometimes are all those different characters. Of course, you already know that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to appealing to the unique talents of your people. But how do you actually go about doing that specifically, when, let’s say, half of your people are extroverted personalities and the other half are introverted personalities?

In this blog, I’ll show you how to do just that

1. “Do you understand your introverted employee?

Extroverts and introverts require radically different approaches when it comes to work and social interaction. When you understand and see through their preferences, it becomes much easier to bring out the qualities of these two groups of employees. This requires good observational skills on your part as a manager.

Example
For example, extroverts go straight to work on the project you asked them for. They are quick (and sometimes rash) decision makers. They don’t run away from risks; in fact, they enjoy doing so. Multitasking is also right up their alley. Introverted employees work more deliberately and take more time. They enjoy concentrating on a single task that they have planned in advance.

2. Go exploring in your team

Usually it is obvious whether someone is introverted or extroverted. Sometimes it’s not immediately obvious because some introverted employees have learned some tricks to act like extroverts. They look social at work but they collapse on the couch at home from fatigue.

3. How do you make your introverted employee come into his own?

As a manager, it’s worth having an open conversation with your people to discover where their preferences lie when it comes to how you do your best work. I have a set of smart questions for you to ask to find out. Feel free to vary the questions with your own style or language.

1. What is the maximum number of meetings you could / would like to attend in a workday that is ideal for you / What do you find a pleasant amount of meetings / What would be the max for you?
2. In what way would you ideally like to do your work? / What do you prefer / Where do you prefer to sit to do your work?
3. What is your favorite way to recharge / re-energize?

Note: Do take a moment to pay attention to the introverted professional. He/she may be a bit hesitant to answer this. You can clarify or explain why you want to know. Give them some time to think about it.

As a next step, you can think about how best to organize your workday. To do this, you use the information you have gathered in your team. My suggestion would be to involve your people in designing the ideal workday. For example, what is the best time of day to have meetings? Or: what are ideal times to work undisturbed?

Offer your people the opportunity and flexibility to arrange their own workday as they see fit.

4. Organize privacy at work

Sometimes it seems like the offices in this world are designed only for extroverts. Large open-plan offices and fun-furnished workstations with fussy chairs for collaborating with each other often predominate.

Research shows that both introverts and extroverts (introverts a bit more) need privacy opportunities at work to get their work done. Assess whether there are opportunities to retreat and work independently. It’s actually a bit like how it’s arranged on the train with silence zones. This could also be done in the workplace, in addition to all the common areas where you meet.

5. Here’s how to encourage introverted employees

The following situation is probably recognizable to you. You are in a meeting with about 8 colleagues in which 2 colleagues are doing more than 60% of the talking. In larger groups, that percentage is even higher. For introverted employees, this is not the most comfortable setting to show themselves in response to a direct question. As a leader, you can do the following to give (everyone) in the meeting the opportunity to contribute:

1. Send the meeting agenda a little earlier so there is more opportunity to think about the topics. You won’t have to improvise then.
2. As a supervisor, prior to the meeting, you can personally ask if he/she would like to prepare something related to an item on the agenda.
3. Then, if there has been too little time to think for a moment, you might consider making some reading time available as the first item on the agenda so that everyone can get an idea.
4. Many meetings are (obviously) conducted talking. Consider setting up flip charts so there are opportunities to write or draw ideas/suggestions as well.

Bonus: get your extroverted employees to listen a little more

Extraverted colleagues often bring enthusiasm and an open attitude to the workplace. And that’s something to be encouraged. But what you also want is for these employees to be able to have effective conversations by having an eye and ear for the perspective and thoughts of others. Learning how to listen to their introverted colleagues can therefore be quite useful, for example, in getting the picture of how the project should be handled complete.

What can you do in this as a manager? Extraverted employees like a direct approach. You can literally ask them to “turn on” their listening in the meeting. For example, by encouraging them to ask questions of the introverted professional about what he/she has put forward (rather than going over it in their enthusiasm).

So don’t forget:

1. In the office, ensure a good balance between workstations that promote meeting and collaboration and the more quiet workstations.
2. Send your meeting agenda, with sufficient time, in advance.
3. Capitalize on and leverage these 12 characteristics of introverted employees.
4. Establish flexibility and let introverted and extroverted employees decide how they want to do their work.
5. You probably already know a lot about introverted and extroverted personalities. Go the extra mile to get to know your people better and have a conversation with them about their work preferences. This is especially important for the introverted employee.
6. Whereas extroverted personalities find it easy to showcase their talents, it is often more difficult for introverted personalities. As a result, misunderstandings easily arise about the abilities of introverts.