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An introvert usually doesn't like to be the center of attention. He prefers to give that space to others. This is also the case for the introverted leader, who often takes on a more coaching and facilitating role, as my own research among 30 introverted leaders worldwide showed. New American research shows that modesty is a very valuable asset for a company, as it leads to better results.
Earlier research shows that modesty leads to better cooperation, more shared leadership and better information sharing within a company. Researchers from Texas and Oklahoma now add another benefit to this, which is that companies with modest leaders do better on the stock market.
Using videos, the researchers looked at the behavior of 185 CEOs of large listed companies. In doing so, they awarded scores for the modesty of those leaders. They also looked at financial analysts' predictions for those companies' stocks. As it turned out, the shares of companies with more modest leaders were estimated lower, allowing the more modest leaders to meet or even exceed those expectations.
Positive effect
The overconfident CEOs, on the other hand, struggled to meet the high expectations. They often achieved worse results than the more modest leaders. So the lower expectations of more modest leaders ultimately have a positive effect on the final result.
For me this new research shows once again the power of introverted leadership. I did research on this myself for my book on introvert leadership, which will be published in November. The conversations I had with 30 introverted leaders worldwide also showed their modesty, in addition to the freedom they give to their teams. Do you want to know more about introverted leadership and my book? Then I happily invite you to join my group on Facebook or Linkedin.
