b'FEATURED ARTICLEQuietly Powerful Leadership - Megumi Miki1.What types of people do we typically see as2.Have you internalised the view that leader-like? quietness is a disadvantage?Despite the incredible powers of quieter approachesThe biggest challenge that quieter professionals to leadership, we still perceive people with outspoken,face is the unhelpful, self-limiting messages which extroverted behaviours to be leader-like. We mistakehave been internalised, that they are not good people who appear confident to be competentwhichenough because of their quieter style. Well-meaning can be a big mistake. These are due to cognitivecomments like You should be more confident shortcuts where we pay more attention to the loudestYou need to speak up more and Oh, youre not or even tallest person in the room, according toan introvert, are you? get translated into unhelpful Professor Bryan Bonner of the University of Utah. messages inside us. They turn into I am not confident enough toIm too quiet to be noticed or be a leader and I shouldnt be an introvert. We are often When this cognitive bias goes unchecked, we perceivenot even aware of this internalisation that results in those who are overconfident and self-absorbed asself-limiting beliefs and voices in the head.charismatic and having leadership potential. We may overlook people with substance and competence. Organisational Psychologist, Tomas Chamorro- When you notice and deal with these self-limiting Premuzic, author of Why do so many incompetent menbeliefs, you will have a much greater chance of using become leaders, states The result in both businessthe quiet superpowers effectively.and politics is a surplus of incompetent men in charge, and this surplus reduces opportunities for competent peoplewomen and menwhile keeping the standards of leadership depressingly low.It is time we started looking for different kinds of leaders who may not fit the traditional style of leadership.NOVEMBER 2021 13'