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On Leadership

Introverts tend to be better CEOs — and other surprising traits of top-performing executives

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April 17, 2017 at 3:38 p.m. EDT
New research finds that better performing CEOs are slightly more likely to be introverts, rarely hold Ivy League degrees, often have career failures on their resume -- and have several traits in common, including their ability to make fast decisions. (iStock)

The image most people have of a straight-from-central-casting CEO is usually something like the following: An extroverted, charismatic, confident executive who climbed a mistake-free ladder to the top with a degree from an elite school.

But a new 10-year study from a leadership advisory firm and economists from two business schools, published in this month's Harvard Business Review, finds that the most successful chief executives often don't fit that mold.