“You’re doing great work. I just want others to see it, too.”
Ever received that feedback from a manager? If you’re a quiet personality, you’ve likely heard it more often than most. Despite the workplace being evenly split between introverts and extroverts, research shows we very much live in an extroverted world. According to Industrial Psychiatry, introverts account for just 5% of middle managers and 2% of senior executives.
At The Predictive Index, we recognize that leaders come in all forms. For every Maverick who leads with big ideas, there’s a Scholar who leads with the finer details. For every Persuader who brings the energy to a room, there’s an Operator who brings stability or an Analyzer who brings the data.
To amend a favorite phrase around here, “All patterns are beautiful and capable of leading.” But in a world that favors the bold, how exactly do you lead while staying true to yourself?
We can’t necessarily answer that for you, but we can offer a solution we think will help—and that’s our latest product, PI Perform.
How Perform helps quieter personalities lead
Leadership is for everyone. Whether you’re managing people, projects, or something else entirely, here are five ways Perform helps you lead with confidence:
1. Maximize your 1:1 and group meetings.
Managing meetings is a job in itself. Between finding time, creating an effective agenda, and keeping everyone on task, it’s a miracle these meetings get anything done. (Spoiler alert: Many don’t.)
Perform cuts down on that wasted time and effort. Connect your calendar, and we’ll pull all your recurring meetings right into the software. Click on a meeting, and you’ll be prompted to create a virtual “workspace” where you can collaborate with team members on your upcoming agenda.
Creating an agenda is equally simple. Pick from a list of pre-built templates, then personalize it to your liking. Invite others to add discussion points, then share your agenda in advance, so everyone has time to process the information and prepare.
Give managers the tools they need to drive performance
The all-in-one platform for managing meetings, feedback, goals, and employee recognition, supercharged with behavioral insights.
2. Build accountability with action items.
Too many meetings end with little follow-through. If you don’t come away from a meeting with clear next steps and owners, your work will never get done.
Perform helps you turn your agenda into action—literally. Pull up your agenda during a meeting, and check off any completed items in real time. If an item requires further attention, convert it into an action item in a couple of clicks, then assign an owner and due date.
If you’re not used to delegating work, holding others accountable can be tough. But Perform makes it easy to document who owes what, when. Comment on action items, attach important documents, and tag teammates with follow-up questions, all in one convenient place.
3. Tie your work to broader organization goals.
You don’t need direct reports to “manage.” According to Merriam-Webster, the word has a far broader definition: to handle or direct with a degree of skill. It’s why we see roles like “product manager,” “project manager,” “social media manager,” and so many more.
Managing a function or project often requires working cross-functionally with many different people or teams. With so many moving parts, however, it’s easy for teams to talk past one another. Let the tension mount, and work can become siloed—or not get done at all.
Perform helps you keep those projects on track. Each workspace has a “Goals” page dedicated to tracking team progress. Create a new goal, assign an owner and end date, and then choose how you’ll track success and who should be informed.
You can even tie smaller “sub-goals” to an existing goal—perfect when leading a company initiative that involves multiple teams or stakeholders.
4. Give structured feedback in a safe space.
If holding people accountable is tough, providing constructive feedback is even tougher. No two people process feedback the same way, and finding the right words and forum for that feedback is a delicate art.
Perform provides the tools to give feedback that will resonate—not ruffle feathers. Use our “Feedback” page to share public shout-outs, provide detailed 1:1 feedback, or kick off a 360 review. Leverage a pre-built template, or create your own and make it available to other leaders at your organization.
If you’re stuck or don’t know where to start, use our FeedbackAI tool for guidance. Select up to two adjectives that describe the feedback you’d like to provide, and we’ll provide a quick summary that you can—and should!—fine-tune based on the person you’re reviewing.
Whether you’re managing up, down, or across, Perform can make those challenging conversations a little bit easier.
5. Understand your natural strengths and gaps.
Ultimately, being an effective leader is less about business skills and more about people skills. Do you understand the people in the room (or Zoom) with you? Do you understand what motivates them and how to speak to their strengths?
Perhaps most importantly: Do you understand your strengths and gaps, so you can manage with self-awareness and poise?
Perform is a Predictive Index product—naturally, we wanted to add some behavioral magic. If you’ve completed the PI Behavioral Assessment, you can view your results and Behavioral Report from your profile page. Click into a 1:1 workspace, and you’ll see your colleague’s PI data as well.
If you’re an existing Inspire customer, you’ll see even more. Visit the Relationship tab in a 1:1 workspace, and you’ll see your Relationship Guide. Use this data to understand how to navigate conflict, improve communication, and more—right where you are in Perform.
See Perform for yourself.
Interested in learning how Perform can help you manage with confidence? Request a demo, and see how the product works firsthand.
