When people think of leadership, the images that spring to mind are often larger than life. Whether it’s Shakespeare’s Henry V rousing his band of brothers into battle, or Gene Kranz’s “Failure is not an option!” from Apollo 13 , we tend to think of leaders as having big, bold, decisive personalities.

Extroverts, in other words.

But as our world becomes more complex and diverse, I believe that a steadier and less confrontational style of leadership is set to grow in value. Call it the emergence of the introverted boss - and my own experience in the workplace serves as a case in point.

Not only am I an introvert, but I’m a people pleaser: I feel motivated and rewarded when I make people happy. Thus, by nature, I hate delivering bad news or disappointing anyone. I've developed a wide range of techniques and skills to avoid confrontation. This tendency came into focus for me in a previous role, where I had to make decisions that, inevitably, made people unhappy.

But to be good at it, I needed to accept that confrontation was a part of my job - and this self-awareness helped me recognise how my non-confrontational personality impacted my performance and ultimately my success.