With UT’s culture of prioritizing high performance and professional achievement, it’s no surprise that students are eagerly searching for ways to take on impactful leadership roles. As students of varying backgrounds and perspectives seek out these positions, they may find themselves changing their personalities to fit the image of a typical leader.
Adapting to a rigid definition of leadership doesn’t ensure a path to success. Instead, students should identify what’s driving them to pursue leadership and use their nuance to inform their leadership styles.
During the professional hiring process, those who possess typical leadership characteristics, such as extroversion and agreeableness, are often perceived as better candidates than introverted applicants. This inflexible perception is prevalent in student organization recruiting on campus, which can make students who fall outside of this archetype feel unnecessarily pressured to mask their differences and restrict themselves in the roles they pursue.
A study analyzing whether group performance improves under extroverted leadership debunked the myth that extroverts are more effective leaders than introverts. It concluded that groups that are more willing to take initiative are more open to the approaches of introverted leaders, while groups seeking direction are more responsive to extroverted leaders. This study emphasizes that different leadership styles are successful under group dynamics and cannot be properly defined by a single, cookie-cutter definition.
Instead of debating the capabilities of extroverts versus introverts, we should be asking how leaders use their passions and specific personalities to connect with their teams. When groups are led by someone who amplifies their personal strengths, both sides become more effective in their roles.
“All leadership is disciplined,” said Paul Green, assistant professor of management in the McCombs School of Business with expertise in organizational behavior and leadership. “It’s understanding who you are, being willing to be who you are … (and) recognizing those moments where the needs of this particular individual require (you) to step a little bit outside of who (you are) naturally, because otherwise (you’re) doing them a disservice.”
The most effective leaders find a balance between remaining true to themselves and situationally adapting to the directional needs of others through reflection. By maintaining a sense of authenticity, leaders can help ground team efforts with their genuine passion.
Public relations junior Anna Buendia combined her passions for creation and entrepreneurship to launch Meet Me Here, a documentary-style performance series promoting musicians through their artistic expression.
“It’s easy to follow and I think it’s hard to lead, but it’s so worth the discomfort and the failures,” Buendia said.
Driven by her desire to impact people on a personal level, Buendia collaborates with a crew of nine people, using her hands-off leadership style to give them the freedom to bring their ideas to life.
“My position is less on the stage, all eyes on me, and it’s more of organizing the film, the crew, the logistics, (and) the relationships with the artists,” Buendia said. “ That’s what intrigues me a lot more, and it also feels like a more sustainable path to move down where I can impact people with my music.”
Similar to Buendia, student leaders who define their purpose by how they can highlight others’ strengths gain fulfillment from inspiring a collective passion in others without sacrificing the qualities allowing them to be authentically themselves.
By understanding why you want to lead, leadership stops being a means to an end and becomes an extension of you.
Williams is a psychology freshman from Richmond, Texas.
