Article published: Introversion in leaders – role-congruent leadership behavior and thriving in everyday working life
This study examines how (more) introverted leaders respond to the social demands of their leadership role. Based on research findings on anticipated negative affect, we examined whether introverted leaders show less role-congruent (extraverted and leader-like) behavior during the workday due to anticipated negative affect. In addition, we examined whether role-congruent behaviors predicted the thriving experience of all leaders, although with a weaker relationship for more introverted leaders. Results from a 10-day diary study of 197 leaders (1231 observations) confirmed that more introverted leaders engaged in fewer extraverted, but not less leader-like behaviors, mediated by increased anticipated negative affect. In addition, engaging in extraverted and leader-like behaviors predicted greater thriving for all leaders, although the positive association of extraverted behaviors with thriving was weaker for introverted leaders. Overall, these results suggest that although leaders with lower levels of extraversion anticipate challenges, they can still experience thriving in leadership positions, even if in different ways.
Schmidbauer, J., Niessen, C., Spark, A., O’Connor, P. J., & Jimmieson, N. L. (2025). Introversion in Leaders: Role-Congruent Leader Behavior and Thriving in Daily Working Life. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. Online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00218863251342832