One of the stereotypes of librarians is that we’re all introverts. The assumption is that we were attracted to this profession because we’re quiet, bookish types for whom social interaction requires an unusual expenditure of energy, energy that is replenished for us as we do solitary, cerebral work by ourselves – ideally in our offices, while wearing headphones and listening to classical music. Then we go home and knit sweaters while holding cats in our laps.

And, like many stereotypes, this one does have some basis in reality. Sure, all of us know extroverted librarians. But I’ve worked in four libraries over the course of my career and have interacted with hundreds (if not thousands) of librarians from other organizations, and I think I can safely say that my experience suggests the presence of a disproportionate number of colleagues who are at least somewhere on the “introversion” side of the extro/introversion scale. Maybe your experience has been different, but that’s been mine. 

In any case, even with a statistically normal distribution of extroverts and introverts in librarianship, the law of large numbers would still suggest that a good number of library leaders will be more introverted than extroverted. And that’s going to lead to particular challenges.

Of course, either extroversion or introversion will produce challenges for a leader. But as someone who measures on the fairly extreme end of the introversion spectrum myself, I’m not in a great position to talk about the challenges that extroverts face. I can speak with some authority only about the challenges faced by introverts in leadership, and I can also offer some tips for dealing with them.

First, know yourself. Pay attention to how different social situations affect you. Do meetings drain all of your energy? How long can you stay at a fundraising event before you start wanting to crawl under a piece of furniture? Do you find yourself hoping you won’t run into a colleague while on your way to the bathroom? Pay attention to these responses on your part and use them to form a mental template of situations that are particularly energy-draining for you.

Second, once you feel confident that you know yourself: marshall your bandwidth. All of us – but maybe people in leadership positions especially – are better at comprehending limitations of time than of energy. In other words: we have a tendency to assume that our stores of mental, emotional, and physical energy will always expand as necessary to fill the time available for accomplishing tasks. Suppose that I, as an introvert, have spent a solid six hours in meetings, and I have a 30-minute window before my next one, and someone in my organization has been trying to get me for a 15-minute meeting. In this situation, the idea that I might not have the bandwidth available for that meeting (even though I have the time) might not occur to me. But in fact, it may be that the wisest course for me would be to sit quietly, alone, in my office for those 30 minutes and handle some intellectual work, thus preparing me better for the upcoming batch of meetings – and to schedule meeting later with my importunate colleague. (For an extrovert, of course, exactly the opposite dynamic might apply: having to spend the whole morning working on a document may be mentally draining, and she may need to recharge by having lunch with a few colleagues and talking with them for an hour.) 

All of us – but maybe people in leadership positions especially – are better at comprehending limitations of time than of energy.

Third – and on the other hand – remember that one of the most important things you can do as a leader is to be physically seen by your team. If you tend towards introversion, you will likely look at all time not spent in meetings as a time to hunker down in your office, regroup, and update documents or catch up on your email. There’s nothing wrong with doing those things, of course (that kind of work is an important part of the job and can be restorative, as noted above), but it’s also important to push yourself to fill some of those interludes with walking-around time: check in on that department chair who’s dealing with a difficult personnel situation; walk by a service desk and give a fist bump to the student employees who are there and tell them how grateful you are for the work they do; go looking for confused-looking patrons and ask if you can help them. If you’re an introvert, you may not naturally want to do this, so figure out structural ways to push yourself – maybe put something on your calendar at least once a day that says “Get out of your office for 30 minutes.” Or maybe have your assistant regularly ask you “Have you gotten out and talked to anyone today?”. Maybe decide that every time you take a bathroom break, you won’t return to your desk until you’ve had a conversation with a colleague you haven’t already interacted with that day.

Fourth, respect the extroverts. Introverts have been having something of a Cultural Moment of late; we are now, apparently – and maybe inexplicably – considered somewhat cool. Extroverts, on the other hand, come under a bit of cultural suspicion right now, caricatured as loud, superficial, back-slapping suck-ups. It’s always tempting to dismiss those who are very different from us, and introverts are no less susceptible to that human tendency than anyone else. If you’re a library leader, you need to be extra careful about this. Instead of rolling your eyes at the extroverts or steering clear of them, ask yourself this: what are they good at that you’re not? Do you need someone more extroverted than you in administration, not only to bring a different perspective on organizational issues but also to make up for your weaknesses when it comes to things like fundraising and internal events? Would a more extroverted person be able to help you analyze your own interactions with staff and see where you might need to be more careful to communicate enthusiasm and support? 

Remember: there’s no single perfect personality type for library leadership. Every leader is going to bring a mix of strengths and weaknesses.

Takeaways and Action Items

• How well do you know and understand your own social orientation? Are there social requirements of your position that don’t come easily to you as a leader? If so, what will you do about that?
• If you answered the above question “No,” get a reality check. Ask someone you trust, and who knows you well, whether there are social skills you need to sharpen in your leadership role. Brace yourself for the answer.
  • If you tend towards introversion, make a five-point list of things you need to push yourself to do more of. These might include items like:
  • Take 15 minutes each morning and each afternoon to seek out a brief personal interaction with someone on your team whom you don’t already meet with regularly.
  • At least once per day, seek out someone in your organization who has done something good, and praise them for it in person – preferably, in front of others. Members of your leadership team can help you identify good candidates.
• Make a special effort to talk at least once a day to students, especially student employees. They will appreciate this more than you expect.
• For one week, check your fund of emotional and mental energy at least twice per day, at different times. When do you find yourself most drained, and most energized? What do your findings suggest about how you should be managing your bandwidth?