[ggg9990]

Introverts aren’t as successful as extroverts in a CEO position that requires raising external capital and networking for customers. However introverts are often more successful in other roles (such as CTO), other types of companies (such as bootstrapped, low touch products), and other career types (eg mathematician).

[mathattack]

Introverts can make good large company CEOs. Built to Last describes how the CEOs of companies who outperform the market over longer terms are more steady (hedgehogs) than flashy (foxes).

[elefanten]

Yeah. Some people seem to assume "being an introvert" means being sentenced to social ineptitude. Most people can learn to overcome discomfort with certain experiences or activities. And with some effort, it's possible to even become good at such activities. Certainly, YMMV and not every introvert wants to, needs to or necessarily can pull it off.

If you're going to be CEO, either of a startup or a large co, you're probably broadly competent or hyper-competent in a handful of areas. Seems reasonable that at that level your ex/introvert tendencies are far from determinant.

[CamTin]

"If you're going to be CEO, either of a startup or a large co, you're probably broadly competent or hyper-competent in a handful of areas."

Any particular reasoning behind this? Why would this particular specialty (abstract people management and capital allocation) be more likely to attract competent people than any other job specialty?

[fersab]

Agree with this. But having said that, an introvert can learn to be much more extroverted and finally become CEO material.

However, with a high-touch product (as mentioned above), you really need to have a lifetime of extroverted experiences which leads you to all the other extroverted (sales people) that will close those deals.

[achow]

In the book 'Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking', the author gives several examples of how introverts can make good CEO (Bill Gates is one of the more famous example).