The Top 7 Challenges of Introverted Women Leaders

When people request to join my Facebook group for introverted women leaders, I ask them what their biggest challenges are as leaders. We analysed responses and identified the top 7 challenges that they said they faced.

Whilst the number of responses in no way reflects the total number of introverted women leaders in the world, or even the 87,000 plus of you subscribed to this newsletter (the group has 600 plus members), the responses are reflective of issues my clients have when they come to me for coaching, the women that attend my workshops and webinars, and those of you who comment on my articles or send me messages and emails.

The key to being impactful in the boardroom is to be a leader of influence. Mastering these challenges moves you towards leading with that confidence, influence, and impact.

The challenges are not in any specific order, and this week I’ll address number one. Over the coming months I will address the other six.

DON’T LIKE BEING PUT ON THE SPOT, NEEDING MORE TIME TO REFLECT BEFORE RESPONDING

When it comes to situations and environments that are high in external stimulation, extroverts find it easier to respond than introverts. The reason being is that introverts are said to have higher levels of cortical arousal than extroverts, namely that our brains are naturally more highly aroused and we process more sensory information from our surroundings.

This means that overly stimulating environments can have a draining effect on people who are introverted. You may feel like you want to disconnect from the meeting and go quiet. To those who don’t understand this, it can come across as being disengaged, lacking confidence, or even rude. When put on the spot in a meeting, with all eyes on you, it can be overstimulating, and you need to be able to process your thoughts.

People who are extroverted on the other hand have lower levels of cortical arousal which means they can take more external stimulation. Being put on the spot in that way and thinking of a quick response may be less of an issue for them.

Introverts are said to have larger, thicker grey matter in the part of their brains that are linked to decision making. Whereas extroverts have thinner grey matter in that same area. This suggests that introverts need more brain power for abstract thought.??

Here’s what can help

Knowing yourself and how you naturally respond when put on the spot, means you can put yourself in the best possible position to give as good a response as you can. Here are some of the things you can do to help with this:

• Preparation in advance of meetings
• Not over worrying
• Buying time ?
• Clarification of what is being asked
• Giving your initial thoughts and letting them know you will get back to them if you have anything further to add

How do you respond when put on the spot? What else would you add to this list?

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Showing your true identity at work was the topic of conversation recently and is something that frequently comes up in coaching. I am conducting a LinkedIn poll asking whether introverted women leaders find it challenging to show their true identity at work. What do you think? Please take my poll at this link or by clicking on the posted on LinkedIn image above (other people won’t be able to see your response), I will be writing about the topic next week.

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On the Quietly Visible podcast I talk about whether introverted women find it challenging to bring their true identity at work, explore some of the barriers that prevent them from doing so, and look at the consequences when they don't. Click on the podcast link to listen to the episode.

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About Me

I am an Executive, Career and Leadership Coach specialising in introverted women who are senior leaders. I've been the featured expert in Women and Home Magazine, Good Housekeeping Magazine, the Telegraph, on BBC Radio 5 Live, named a LinkedIn Top Voice UK 4 years running, and received awards for my work developing women leaders.

Through my work I have helped 1000s of women across the globe to increase their confidence, influence and impact as leaders, and overcome imposter syndrome, increase their executive presence, improve speaking performance in meetings, get a promotion, and much more.

My vision is that ALL women achieve their full potential and become influencers of positive change in their respective fields.

If you are an introverted woman and a senior leader and want to increase your confidence, influence and impact, take my free assessment and get a report identifying areas to develop. You can take the assessment?here.?

My book Quietly Visible: Leading with Influence and Impact as an Introverted Woman addresses many of the challenges that introverted women face as leaders and shows you how to overcome them. It was listed as one of the 10 best self-development books written by women to read during lockdown by BeYourOwn. You can get your copy?here?along with a FREE recording of my How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome workshop.