Jess Lee (Polyvore CEO) describes how she adapted a leadership style that fits her introversion: she emphasizes transparency (sharing financials, performance, strategy), spotlights team members instead of seeking the spotlight herself, and uses visuals when presenting. She also offers practical conference/social strategies for introverts (approach wallflowers, use connectors, be the connector).
It was actually kind of difficult for me to find the right leadership style. I think when you think about like the classic CEO, you think of command, extroversion and like great oratory skills to inspire your team. I'm more of an introvert, maybe a little awkward. So it took me a while to figure out my style and I realized, you know, play to your strengths. I'm sort of what you see is what you get. I'm pretty transparent. So I played that up. Inside of Polyvore, we were very transparent about all our financials, company performance, strategy, and that helped engender a lot of trust for the team because I'm more introverted rather than trying to pretend to be an extrovert. You know, I realized like, if I don't want to be in the spotlight, I can spotlight the team. Like, I want the team to present at the all hands meetings and show the strategy. I want them to be in the press whenever possible. And I think that helped make the team feel really loved and rewarded. So that turned out to be a good thing. At conferences, I've figured out some tips and tricks for being an introvert. A lot of people try to pick. If you're trying to figure out what to do at cocktail hour and who to talk to, don't pick the group that's really lively and already engrossed in a conversation. Find the person who's more of the wallflower on the edge who also doesn't have anyone to talk to. Go talk to them and then. Or there are people who love introducing the connectors, who love introducing people to other people. Find one of those people. I have my certain conference buddies that I see all the time who are like very helpful. And then once you become someone at a conference that other people want to talk to, pay it forward, Go introduce other, be the connector. So that's sort of some of the tips. Oh, the other. Oh, go. Last moment. Being not a great public speaker, I realized that I can rely a lot on. I love to do design, so I rely a lot on visuals and presentations. Usually when I present to our team.
