The key is to focus in on one thing that person has that you want to emulate. So many people have thing's to teach you.

You should also look at role models who are at same stage you are so that you can better measure yourself against what they're doing. For instance, who are people in your age group who are more successful than you and why? Yet role models can change by month. You always have to study people, studying what works and what doesn't, always looking for ways to make yourself and your team more successful. There is no overestimating value of this. Because it's very simple: If we are not getting better, we are getting worse. There's no staying same. So I and constantly looking for new role models who might teach me new lessons.

So when you go looking for role models you are not looking for people who do things easy way. You're not looking for people who take shortcuts. You are looking for people who inspire you to seek new heights.

Introverted leaders, on other hand, may continue to reflect when it is time for action and their preference for internal processing may exclude others. Furthermore, their communication style is often more indirect so that others don’t always understand what’s most important to them, and they are often perceived as “hard to read”.

While introverts seek out solitary time in order to process internally, whether gathering information or reflecting, this may cause others to perceive them as aloof, distant, unapproachable and even arrogant. The introverted executive typically develops strategies for creating solitude even in midst of busy organizational life. Thus, appointments may be difficult to get, meetings may be highly structured and organized, and there may be little room for spontaneous sharing and brainstorming.

Both types of leaders can become isolated through externally created conditions or self-imposed ones. They either move toward isolation because their colleagues and staff pull away, or they remove themselves from interactive field when problems arise.

With self-awareness, feedback, and coaching, both types can learn to balance out their natural styles. The introverted leader can learn to involve others and to share information more frequently. The extraverted leader can learn how to continue to work with others without dangers inherent in sharing information prematurely or dominating conversation and missing input of quieter introverts.

(c) Copyright 2003. Manya Arond-Thomas, all rights reserved.