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Leadership in Group Communication

Q uiet, introverted people are often misunderstood in small groups. They may be seen as uninterested, dull, and certainly not leaders. Susan Cain is working to change this perception. How? After publishing her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Cain started the Quiet Revolution, a mission-based business that aims to transform attitudes about introverted personalities. NASA and Proctor & Gamble are among the companies that are asking Cain to help them develop team leadership potential of introverted employees.

Her “quiet revolution” is especially important in the United States, where verbal skill is a highly valued leadership quality. As Cain (2013) observes,

The more a person talks, the more other group members direct their attention to him, which means that he becomes increasingly powerful as a meeting goes on. It also helps to speak fast; we rate quick talkers as more capable and appealing than slow talkers. (p. 51)

Because we pay attention to outspoken and verbally fluent group members, quiet members are less likely to emerge as leaders in groups. But Cain (2013) provides evidence of quiet people who were strong leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Rosa Parks. A more contemporary example is Marissa Mayer, a self-described introvert and one of the most powerful technology leaders in the world. Among the first programmers hired at Google, Mayer made a name for herself by leading the development of Google Search, Google Maps, and Gmail. She has gone on to provide executive leadership at Yahoo. Mayer developed her leadership capability through rigorous academic preparation and a tireless work ethic.

However, working in small groups does not come easy for Mayer. She is often perceived as cold and detached. In meetings, Mayer gives tough feedback on ideas, making her seem like an “art teacher correcting first-semester students” (Holson, 2009). As a Stanford undergraduate, she grew impatient with chatty study groups, reminding them to get back on task (Carlson, 2015). She was even less likely to socialize with them after their study sessions. Despite her social unease, Mayer still inspires teams with her technical skills, vision, high expectations, and decisiveness.

Even though Mayer and other introverted leaders were sometimes perceived as cold and detached, Cain’s “quiet revolution” now challenges perceptions about introverts and their leadership capability. She answers the question of why they’re so quiet by revealing the nature of introverts’ thinking and decision making. Rather than being disconnected from group discussions, introverts prefer to think matters through before speaking up. They prefer quiet settings to noisy settings and take time making decisions rather than acting too quickly. Time alone recharges their energy; time with others can be exhausting. When introverts are in leadership positions, they are less likely to dominate the discussion but instead listen more closely to ideas. In fact, scholars found that highly motivated teams produce better outcomes when leaders talk less and listen more (Grant, Gino, & Hofman, 2011).

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Through school, work, and community life, you’ve undoubtedly had experiences with various leaders. Some may have been loud and outspoken, while others were more quiet, leading by their actions. What all leaders have in common is the capacity to positively impact others around them. When it comes to small group communication, we define leadership as the ability to influence and direct others to meet group goals. Even when a group has a designated leader, other members can still provide leadership within the group. That’s because the ability to influence and direct stems from communication behaviors—which anyone in a group can either initiate or foster in others. Since no one person can provide a group with everything it needs in all situations, other group members must also step up as leaders. With shared leadership, each group member has the capacity to influence and direct the group in achieving its goals (Pearce & Conger, 2002).

Developing your leadership capacity is certainly important for being a competent designated leader, but small groups benefit when all members possess and exercise leadership skills. In this chapter, you’ll learn: