4 Reasons Why Introverts Make Great Project Managers

Project managers balance a variety of activities: planning and problem solving, leading the team, resolving conflicts and communicating, communicating, and communicating. Very often this role is associated with meetings, meetings, meetings, which for someone with an introverted personality might seem overwhelming and draining. On the flip-side, hiring managers might assume that outgoing extroverted candidates might be a better fit for the project management roles, due to their strong, loud presence.?

Does that mean that the profession of a project manager is reserved for extroverts? Not at all! Before we go further, I must say, I am quite introverted— I recharge by being alone, taking walks in nature or spending time in a small group of close friends. I love my alone time, but I also love people. Throughout my career I met brilliant project managers who identify as introverts and who are very happy and successful in their profession.?

In her course - Managing Introverts - Jenny Blake talks about four introvert superpowers that I think translate into a lot value for project managers:?

• Contemplation. The power of contemplation enables us to do deep creative thinking. As project managers, we lean into this skill when we analyze the complexities of the project, from organizational environment and team dynamics to the smallest project risk. Contemplation prevents us from making hurried uninformed decisions, we weigh in all the factors carefully and mindfully, knowing that the project success factors have a lot of dependencies and it’s always important to consider the overall impact.?
• Deep conversions. Project managers rarely have formal authority, that is when your project team reports directly to you in the organizational structure. Therefore, we lead without formal authority, relying on trust, rapport and relationships. Trust is built through connection, open conversations and actions. It is very difficult to build the necessary level of connectedness without having deep conversations with your team members and stakeholders about their needs, pain points, concerns and reservations. In my course Managing Project Stakeholders I talk about the importance of supportive leadership for project success.?
• Independence. Project managers have to be self-starters and lead the team and the project with limited instruction and guidance. To clarify, you would have direction from your executive sponsor or sponsor board, and probably some guidance from the Project Management Office if you have one; however, it is up to you and your project team to deliver results. This appetite for independence also translates well into remote work environments and managing distributed teams. Being effective at working remotely and at managing dispersed teams are two skills that are in highest demand nowadays.??
• Less is more communication. Project managers usually spend 90% of their time communicating. In this case “less is more” implies that it is better to communicate a well-thought through message, then oversaturate your team with unnecessary or untimely information and confusing details. “Less is more” approach also encourages project managers to be strategic with planning and carrying out their communications.?

Simple things, like posting the agenda for the meeting and providing the team members enough time to prepare or share their feedback prior to the meeting, will ensure that team members who are less likely to speak up during the meeting still have an opportunity to share their insight.?

Introversion and extraversion are not absolute measures of professional success. These traits exist in a spectrum and they influence how we approach certain work tasks.?

How do your personality traits influence your career and management styles? Please share in the comment down below!?

Lean and grow - check out: ?

?? Managing Introverts by Jenny Blake

?? Leading Remote Projects and Virtual Teams by Cyndi Snyder Dionisio

?? My course - Managing Project Stakeholders by Natasha Kasimtseva?