Looking Past the Noise When Selecting Leaders
One of the many things I admire about Tom Peters, the noted management guru, is that he does not hesitate to change his mind when evidence contradicts a deeply held opinion. In a August 26, 2013, piece in the Financial Times, Peters reviews his learnings from two recent books highlighting the often-overlooked contribution introverts make as organizational leaders.We use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) extensively in our leadership development programs, and one of the most frequent questions we get about MBTI results is whether introverts can be successful heads of independent and international schools. The answer is yes, of course, but we have noticed (and documented with MBTI data) something of a selection bias in favor of extroverts on the part of search committees. Peters has this to say about hiring:
...if your organisation is hiring, sit in on a couple of candidate interviews: are we so enamoured with the action faction that the quiet ones who frequently pause to reflect are considered too slow and passive?I became ever more antsy as the realisation sank in that ignoring the quiet ones and the failure to consider anything other than hasty action dominated my models for what makes for success.
Food for thought for search committees and interviewers.