The Gift of Introverted Leadership with Jennifer Kahnweiler

The Anxious Achiever

Morra Aarons-Mele

Business, Careers, Management, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.7 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For years, leadership has been associated with charisma, confidence, and speaking the loudest in the room. But what if some of the most powerful leadership traits are actually quiet ones? In this episode, I’m joined by leadership expert and author Jennifer Kahnweiler to talk about the strengths of introverted leaders. We break down the misconceptions around introversion, why many successful leaders are secretly introverted, and how preparation, listening, and thoughtful presence can become leadership superpowers. Tune in to rethink what effective leadership looks like and learn how quiet strengths can create lasting influence. Check out our sponsors: Northwest Registered Agent - Protect your privacy, build your brand and get your complete business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes! Visit ⁠https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/achieverfree⁠ Shopify - Sign up for a $1 per month trial, just go to ⁠http://shopify.com/anxiousachiever⁠ Talkiatry - Head to ⁠http://talkiaitry.com/achiever⁠ and complete the short assessment to get matched with an in network psychiatrist in just a few minutes. Working Genius - Take the working genius assessment today and get 20% off with code ACHIEVER at working ⁠http://genius.com⁠ Brevo - Meet brevo, the all in one marketing and CRM platform built to help you connect with customers, boost engagement and grow your business smarter. Go to ⁠brevo.com/achiever⁠ and use code ACHIEVER50 for 50% off. In this Episode, You Will Learn 00:00 Why introverted leadership is often misunderstood. 03:45 What is an introverted leader? 06:00 What has changed and what hasn’t for introverts at work. 10:30 Are you adapting or just exhausted? 14:45 The 4 P’s of introverted leadership. 18:30 Why telling your team you’re an introvert is a leadership hack. 21:30 Why quiet men face unique workplace bias. 27:15 The connection between introversion, anxiety, and performance. 33:00 How introverted leaders prepare for high-stakes meetings. 35:15 Techniques to make meetings more introvert-friendly. 39:15 How giving teammates a heads-up increases participation. 44:30 How to show presence in meetings without talking more. 47:45 The introvert's guide to not burning out in a hybrid world. Resources + Links Learn more about Jennifer Kahnweiler ⁠HERE⁠ Listen to Jennifer’s podcast: ⁠The Introvert Ally Podcast⁠ Get a copy of my book - ⁠The Anxious Achiever⁠ Watch the podcast on ⁠YouTube⁠ Find more resources on our website ⁠morraam.com⁠ Follow Follow me: on LinkedIn ⁠@morraaronsmele⁠ + Instagram ⁠@morraam⁠ Follow Jennifer: on LinkedIn ⁠@jenniferkahnweiler⁠ + Instagram ⁠@jenniferkahnweiler

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Today on The Anxious Achiever, the power of introverted leadership.
0:09.0	I'm Maury Erinsvely, and this is The Anxious Achiever, the show that looks at the intersection of mental health and leadership and work and asks, how can we do it all better?
0:20.0	I'm really excited for this episode with Jennifer Conweiler, who has written many books on introverted leadership.
0:29.6	And she herself, when I first met her many years ago, was like, I'm an extrovert, but I am an introvert's ally.
0:36.6	And indeed she is, and she's really knowledgeable and
0:39.7	really fun. You know, my first book was called Hiding in the Bathroom. And the initial subtitle
0:46.8	was an introverts roadmap to getting out there when you'd rather stay home. This was in
0:51.2	2017. And I identify very strongly as an introvert. I'm also one of the most
0:59.8	extroverted seeming people that you might ever meet. I am really comfortable on a stage in front of
1:06.9	a thousand people. I'm a ham like my hand was always up in class.
1:12.8	I'm not shy.
1:14.4	I'm actually a shy loud, which the Australian comedian Jordan Roskopoulos coined.
1:21.8	I am really, really in love with the spotlight. And I like to share what I know or what I think I know.
1:31.6	And I'm also extremely socially anxious, shy, and I prefer to be by myself. I contain multitudes,
1:40.4	as you probably do as well. I'm introverted. I draw energy from being alone. I'm very happy in my
1:45.9	own company. I am very reactive to stimulus and I need a lot of quiet time. I'm very, very happy to
1:54.3	spend the whole day alone. I love being in one-on-ones with people and if you see me at a cocktail party, I will be hiding in the bathroom.
2:03.6	And yet I don't seem to many people, even after all these years, talking about introversion, like an introvert.
2:10.6	There are so many misconceptions about what introversion and extroversion are.
2:16.6	And the truth is, there's no blood test for this stuff.
2:22.0	Introversion and extroversion were initially posited
2:25.9	by the psychologist Carl Jung as facets of personality.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Morra Aarons-Mele, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Morra Aarons-Mele and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.