Be honest — do you spend more time coaching your more confident team members? Are they usually the first to come to you for development opportunities?

Introverts can sometimes struggle in a busy, outgoing workplace. They may come across overly shy or even withdrawn. Their minimal attention-seeking is often misconstrued as lack of ambition or inability to influence others. Thing is, while they are less likely to seek out leadership opportunities, they are absolutely no less capable.

An introvert’s well-measured approach to tasks and their ability to look carefully at the big picture means they can be exceptional leaders when nurtured and encouraged to do so.

You might be surprised at the ideas and skills introverts can bring to the table when it comes to collaborative projects and activities. Their responses tend to be thoughtful, well-considered, and they will listen well to others, too. What’s more, a considerate and well-measured leader can inspire exceptional action amongst his or her staff members.

Here are some of the strengths of introverts, and tips on how to unlock their leadership potential:

Hone their strategic skills

Introverts are often quieter staff members who may spend time avoiding socialising to come up with strategic plans. These strategic skills can prove invaluable in a leadership position.

Consider activities that will hone these skills. For example, involve your introverted staff in projects in which everyone should work together, but each individual is integral to the final outcome. This will build confidence in these staff members and encourage them to make more use of their skills in future.

Encourage their participation

There’s a lot to be said for a staff member who’ll take a step back and look for details that others might miss. Activities that require a great deal of observation and attention appeal to these staff members, but they may not always naturally offer the information they observe.

If you are in a one-on-one or team setting with a shy individual, be sure to ask them their thoughts and opinions on what is being discussed. Get them more involved in the process of contribution and give them a platform to speak over louder staff who may have tendency to dominate.

Take time to understand them

Whilst these staff might be used to taking a backseat in discussions, when they do speak, it’s usually because they’ve got something important to say.

It’s worth taking the time to find out why these members of your team may struggle to put forward their opinions. And follow this up by involving them in projects that require a small amount of valuable contribution rather than a lot of ‘noise’. This will foster better communication skills in future.

Involve them in linear projects

Your introverted staff are likely to be great strategic thinkers who can view problems from a distance. This is incredibly valuable in certain work projects as well as leadership positions.

To develop these skills, consider putting them in charge of projects that are linear. For example, a situation in which stakeholders can’t move on until they’ve addressed a specific aspect of the project. An introvert will excel when something they’re dealing with now might be important further down the line.

Explain why speaking up is important

Finally, while extroverts like to be the centre of the action, introverts prefer the attention to be on others.

While this can be valuable at times, it’s also important to encourage them to understand the impact of not speaking up. It will reinforce their leadership opportunities by both explaining the value of their contributions, but also the implications of withholding their input. It can also be useful to highlight of the outward appearance of their shy behavior in the workplace.

So, to develop leadership skills in your introverted staff, consider involving them in activities, projects or team building games like an escape room that allow everyone to actively participate without being put on the spot. At Escape Hunt, their immersive rooms require a great deal of observation and attention whilst also requiring collaboration, communication and opportunities for measured leadership.