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Here you see a person who is passionate about his work.

Completely silent and completely focused.

Photo:

Francesco Carta fotografo / Getty Images

Introverted people often lose out in their professional lives: They are lower down in the social hierarchy, are less likely to get a raise and are not promoted as often - even if they do just as good a job as their extroverted colleagues. Why is that? Researchers from Harvard Business School and the Humboldt University in Berlin investigated this question and found the key trigger for unequal treatment: the way someone expresses enthusiasm or passion for a task.

As part of their study, they asked 165 couples - consisting of a manager and an employee - to rate two things: how passionate the other person is about their work and how passionate they think they are. In a standardized personality test, the test subjects were tested for extraversion or introversion. It turned out that managers consistently perceived their more introverted employees as less passionate than their more extroverted ones - regardless of how enthusiastic they thought they were.

In fact, introverts tend to be just as passionate about what they do as extroverts. They just express their commitment differently, as the research team found out in another survey of around 1,300 full-time employees: less through externally visible behavior (laughing, speaking loudly), but by investing more time in the quality of their work. One person reported that in a situation of particular enthusiasm, he “didn't talk to [my colleagues] about other things, but instead concentrated on the task at hand.”

more on the subject

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  • Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel:The Introverted CEOBy Stephane Kasriel

  • Lead Forward:Are you more of an extrovert or introvert?By Antonia Götsch, editor-in-chief Harvard Business manager

How can leaders address this distorted perception? The researchers recommend first asking team members without judgment: How do you behave when you are enthusiastic about work? They could also allow introverts to use other forms of communication, such as written reports or one-on-one conversations. And they should make sure that when it comes to promotions, bonuses or raises, they are considering a person's actual performance. “We all need to understand that passion does not always burn brightly,” writes the team of authors. “Still, it can be hot enough to ignite an internal fire.”

© HBm 2024

Source:

Kai Krautter et al.: “Extraverts Reap Greater Social Rewards From Passion Because They Express Passion More Frequently and More Diversely,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, November 2023