The Learning Network Blog: Do Great Leaders Have to Be Outgoing?

This is the question asked in an Opinion piece over the weekend that compared Bill Clinton, a famous extrovert, with Barack Obama, an introvert, and suggested that "introverts make great leaders, too."

What do you think? Whom can you name — from your own life or from public life — who you think is a great leader? What qualities do those people have? Are they shy, or outgoing? What qualities do you think you have that might make you a good leader?

In "Must Great Leaders Be Gregarious?" Harvey Morris writes:

Introverts like people just as much as extroverts do, and often care deeply about them. They just don't want to be surrounded by crowds 24/7 and they tend to prefer the company of close friends and colleagues. There's little evidence that Mr. Obama dislikes people — only that he socializes in a more intimate, less backslapping style than the typical politician.
Considering the fact that Mitt Romney has also been criticized for being too reserved, we might as well get used to the fact that, no matter the outcome of the election, we won't have an extrovert in the White House for at least another four years. And that gives us an opportunity to address our popular misconceptions about what leadership really involves.
Culturally, we tend to associate leadership with extroversion and attach less importance to judgment, vision and mettle. We prize leaders who are eager talkers over those who have something to say. In 2004, we praised George W. Bush because we wanted to drink a beer with him. Now we criticize President Obama because he won't drink one with us.

Students: Tell us how you feel about this question, and describe the qualities of leaders you admire. How many of them are outgoing, and how many lead in a quieter way? What leadership qualities do you have?

In terms of choosing a leader for president, do you agree with this writer that it is the "charisma of ideas" that matter more than how much that person cracks jokes, pals around with senators and attends cocktail parties — or do you think those kinds of extrovert behaviors matter a great deal in politics? Why?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.

Teachers: We ask a new Student Opinion question each weekday, and leave most open to comment indefinitely. Here is a list of the 163 questions we asked during the 2011-12 school year.