Introverted Leaders and Proactive Teams
The conditional finding that leader style fits a team: extraverted leaders did better with passive staff, and the advantage reversed with proactive staff.
What it is
Grant, Gino and Hofmann found in stores of a pizza chain that those with highly extraverted leaders earned higher profits when employees were passive, and a laboratory study replicated the pattern. The authors argue that the advantage reverses when employees are proactive, because extraverted leaders are less receptive to proactivity.
In effect
In the article on the difference between introverts and extroverts, it shows that the better style depends on the team.
What it does not say
It is a conditional finding about fit between leader and team, not a ranking of introverted and extraverted leaders.
Sources
- Grant, A. M., Gino, F., & Hofmann, D. A. (2011). Reversing the extraverted leadership advantage: The role of employee proactivity. Academy of Management Journal, 54(3), 528-550.