Why Introverts Make Great Project Managers

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1 introverted project managers

There’s a common myth that great project managers have to be loud, outgoing, and constantly in the spotlight. In reality? Some of the best project managers are introverts. This article by Anna Lung’aho Anderson explains not only why but how introverts can lean into their strengths to manage projects.

Think about it. Introverts are natural deep thinkers. They are strong listeners and thoughtful communicators. They don’t just talk; they observe, analyze, and strategize. These qualities make for incredibly effective leadership, even in a role that requires managing teams and engaging with stakeholders.

But here’s where it gets tricky. Many introverts hesitate to step into leadership roles because they assume they’re at a disadvantage.  They see their extroverted peers effortlessly commanding attention in meetings, networking with ease, and jumping into conversations without hesitation. It’s easy to think, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this. Maybe this is not for me.”

It turns out that introverts don’t have to change who they are to succeed as project managers. They just need to lean into their natural strengths.

  • Deep listening leads to better problem-solving. While others rush to speak, introverts take time to truly understand issues, leading to more thoughtful decision-making.
  • Strategic thinking makes them proactive leaders. Instead of reacting impulsively, introverts plan ahead, minimizing risks before they become problems.
  • Thoughtful communication fosters strong relationships. Introverts might not be the loudest in the room, but when they speak, people listen—because their words are intentional and impactful.

The key isn’t becoming more extroverted. It’s about leveraging what already makes you great. Confidence in leadership comes from knowing how to lead in your own way. 

If you’ve ever doubted that you can succeed as a project manager because you’re an introvert, know this: your quiet strengths can make you an exceptional leader.

Here are some FAQs asked at a recent Office Hours LinkedIn broadcast that Anna and Bonnie did:

  1. How important is setting boundaries as an introvert while still showing confidence?
    • Very important! Boundaries help you protect your energy and focus. Setting them confidently shows leadership, not weakness.
  2. What if focused thinking time is misunderstood as isolating?
    • Communicate upfront: “I’m taking an hour to strategize and will circle back.” That shows leadership, not isolation.
  3. How can introverts lead meetings effectively?
    • Prepare a clear agenda, guide the conversation with purpose, and summarize decisions. You don’t have to be loud to lead well.
  4. Are there other ways to grow as a leader besides meeting prep?
    • Daily reflection, practicing assertive communication, taking small leadership roles, and finding a mentor are great ways to build leadership muscle.
  5. How do I network on LinkedIn when recruiters are overwhelmed?
    • Personalized messages are key. Reach out to peers and recruiters with genuine curiosity, not just job asks. Make connections intentional and not transactional. Add a note when connecting and be ready to utilize the time to build relationships.
  6. How do I present confidently in high-stake meetings?
    • Prepare, speak clearly and concisely, and don’t be afraid to pause before answering. Visual aids help, too.
  7. How do I prep for meetings without working late?
    • Block time during the day, use templates, prioritize, and delegate when possible.
  8. Does family management count as project management experience?
    • Yes! Organizing, budgeting, and coordinating are real PM skills. Frame them that way!

Does this resonate with you? What’s been your biggest challenge (or advantage) as an introverted project manager?

What’s one strength you’re ready to embrace as an introverted PM?

We’re cheering you on!

For more about how to put your introvert strength to work in project management, check out Anna’s course, Succeeding in Project Management as an Introvert.

 

My course Project Management Foundations was #2 in LinkedIn Learning’s Most Popular courses of 2024. Watch it for free with this link!

 

 

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 88,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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Should You Resurrect That Doomed Project?

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Newsletter Graphic Advice The PM is IN

Dear Bonnie,
I’ve been asked to relaunch a project that flatlined six months ago. Tasks just…stopped happening. Status meetings turned into ghost towns. So, I stopped managing and reporting on it, and—surprise—no one seemed to care. Now, someone wants me to resurrect it. How do I know if this is a great second chance or a reputation-ruining time sink?

Sincerely, Frustrated and Wary

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Dear Frustrated and Wary,

When people lose faith in a project, they can always find more exciting things to do, like rearranging their pens or watching the air conditioning fluff their colleague’s combover. Before you grab the defibrillator and attempt a project revival, let’s determine if this thing even has a pulse.

  1. Who’s behind this reboot request?
    And I don’t mean the person who emailed you. I mean the real puppet master. If it’s the same folks who let it wither before, be skeptical. If it’s someone new, they might actually have the muscle to keep it alive this time.
  2. How much power do they have?
    Can they actually assign resources and secure funding, or are they just optimistic cheerleaders? Also, are they stepping up to be the project sponsor? If not, brace yourself for another round of the “Let’s-Pretend-This-Is-Important” game.
  3. Are they in it for the long haul?
    A sponsor needs to have three things: commitment, knowledge of what this project is supposed to do, and the stamina to see it through. If they’re just looking for a quick win to impress their boss, you might be saddled with another slow-motion failure.
  4. Does the project even make sense anymore?
    If the business case was weak last time, that could explain why everyone abandoned ship. Check if it’s still relevant. Otherwise it’s a sequel to the “Who Can Ignore This the Longest?” franchise.
  5. What’s competing for resources?
    Are there bigger, shinier projects that will drain away your people and budget the moment things get tough? If your project isn’t a priority now, it won’t be six months from now either—except maybe as a future “lessons learned” cautionary tale.

If, after this reality check, the project looks like it might stand on its own two feet, go for it. But don’t keep your findings to yourself—share them with the key players and team members. If you’re skeptical, they probably are too. Better to address doubts upfront than watch history repeat itself.

Good luck—and maybe keep a eulogy handy, just in case.
Bonnie

 

If you have a project-related question, add it in the Comments section or send me a message on LinkedIn.

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 87,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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Prioritization? What Prioritization?

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Newsletter Graphic Advice The PM is IN

Dear Bonnie,
I’m working on a project whose budget was cut by 50%. I’ve read that prioritizing requirements is one way to handle this. That way, we can reduce scope by delivering only the most important items. When I asked stakeholders to do this, 90% of the requirements came back as priority 1. They didn’t even have the decency to use priority 2. The few that weren’t priority 1 were labeled priority 1A!

How can I deliver successfully after this budget cut?

Signed,
Beg, Borrow, and Steal?

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Dear BB&S,
Oof! Cutting the budget in half is like ordering a new car and getting a 2010 Honda Civic smelling like cat puke.

You’re on the right track asking stakeholders to prioritize their requirements. But you underestimated their ability to consider everything a life-or-death necessity. You need to give them a prioritization model.

Here are two possible approaches:

1) Pairwise Comparison (a.k.a. The Cage Match Method)

This works well when you have a manageable number of requirements. A lot like an MMA cage match, stakeholders pit each requirement against each other to see who walks out unassisted. When you’re done, the ones with the most victories stagger to the top. Here’s an example:

priority pairwise table

 

 

 

 

 

  1. The lower half of the table is blacked out because all the one-on-one comparisons are completed by filling out the top half of the chart. (Comparing Req 1 to Req 2 is the same as comparing Req 2 to Req 1 so you don’t have to do the comparison twice.)
  2. Counting the votes gives you the priority. In this example, the voting is:
  1. Req 2 = 3
  2. Req 3 = 3
  3. Req 1 = 2
  4. Req 4 = 2
  5. Req 5= 0
  1. Two requirements are tied at 3, and two at 2 but you still have a prioritization. Just compare the tied elements to each other! 
  1. When Req 2 was compared to Req 3, Req 3 won, so Req 2 is a lower priority than Req 3
  2. When Req 1 was compared to Req 4, Req 4 won, so Req 1 is lower priority than Req 4
  1. The resulting priority is:
  1. Req 3
  2. Req 2
  3. Req 4
  4. Req 1
  5. Req 5

This process works if you have up to about 40 requirements. More than that, and you’ll have a spreadsheet that looks like a conspiracy theorist’s string diagram.

2) The “Split in Half – Twice” Technique

If you’ve got a boatload of requirements, this method keeps things under control:

  1. Ask stakeholders to cut the list in half—choosing only the requirements they’d keep if they could only have 50%. After doing this, you have two lists – top half and bottom half.
  2. Repeat the process with each half, splitting the top half into two and the bottom half into two. That gives you four priority levels for the requirements.

This approach is brutally effective because it forces stakeholders to make hard choices rather than clinging to their entire wish list like their teddy bear from childhood.

Give one of these methods a shot depending on how many requirements there are. Besides keeping prioritization from turning into an “everything is critical” party, you won’t have to consider selling your (or better idea, the stakeholders’) organs on the black market to make up the difference.

Cheers,
Bonnie

 

If you have a project-related question, add it in the Comments section or send me a message on LinkedIn.

 

Coming Up

Great project managers and salespeople have a lot in common – the most important being the goal of satisfying the customers’ needs. Join Dean Karrel and I for Office Hours on Friday, March 14, 2025 at 11am MT/1pm ET, we’ll discuss what project managers and salespeople both need to do in their jobs. We’ll also explore how the skills you might consider “pure sales” can help you be a better project manager. As an added bonus, Dean will share some tips on using technology and AI to handle sales activities more effectively. Click here to join!

My updated version of Agile Project Management with Microsoft Project has been published! Click here to watch.

 

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 87,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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Better listening. Better results.

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Improve listeningNo matter how well you already listen, you can increase your success by listening even better. Here are exercises to strengthen your and your team’s listening skills. (And you’ll learn other important things at the same time.)

  • Before a discussion, draft the questions you want to get answered. Take a formal approach to getting the information you want from a discussion. Before a stakeholder meeting, meet with your team to identify what you need to know and understand. Write down the questions you will ask to get that information. If necessary, ask those questions at the stakeholder meeting. After the meeting, follow up with your team members so everyone can share their perspectives. Focus on areas where your perspectives differ. (Someone else might have picked up on something you missed.) Sure, this approach takes a bit more time, but it improves listening skills and builds understanding about stakeholders you don’t know well.
  • Make predictions and track surprises. Write down your prediction of what will be shared during a meeting. After the meeting, document your results. Were your predictions accurate? How were they shared? Were there any surprises, that is, things you didn’t expect to come up? Capture what you learned and what you need to explore further regarding those surprises. To improve, identify questions you could ask to avoid surprises in future meetings with the same stakeholder. This prep and analysis helps you learn your stakeholders’ styles and approaches so you can work with them in a way that’s comfortable for them.
  • Summarize presentations or podcasts. In a business world that relies on multi-tasking, we can’t always be where we want to be. Formally assign a team member to summarize a meeting and share it with others who couldn’t attend. To enhance your team’s knowledge, create a rotation where a team member listens to a podcast and then shares the lessons learned with the team at your weekly team meeting. This exercise provides listening practice and increases the team’s knowledge. Bonus approach: Ask two team members to listen and then compare notes before presenting their summary. This can help them understand items they might not have picked up, which helps improve their listening abilities.
  • Improve notes from an AI note-taking tool. AI note-taking tools are great efficiency enhancers, but they present a risk: We might depend on them rather than honing our listening skills. Take the time to listen to a meeting discussion. Focus on aspects that AI tools can overlook, like subtle emotions from tone or body language. This improves listening skills and gives you perspectives you can share regarding the strengths and weaknesses of your note-taking tool.

For more about listening skills, check out Dorie Clark’s course Improve Your Listening Skills or Tatiana Kolovou and Brenda Bailey-Hughes’ course Effective Listening.

 

My course Project Management Foundations was #2 in LinkedIn Learning’s Most Popular courses of 2024. Watch it for free with this link!

 

 

 

 

Coming Up

Great project managers and salespeople have a lot in common – the most important being the goal of satisfying the customers’ needs. Join Dean Karrel and I for Office Hours on Friday, March 14, 2025 at 11am MT/1pm ET, we’ll discuss what project managers and salespeople both need to do in their jobs. We’ll also explore how the skills you might consider “pure sales” can help you be a better project manager. As an added bonus, Dean will share some tips on using technology and AI to handle sales activities more effectively. Click here to join!

My updated version of Agile Project Management with Microsoft Project has been published! Click here to watch.

_______________________________________

This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 87,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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