Are extroverted people the most successful?

There are many examples of successful people who have been introverted. Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, J.K. Rowling, and even Christina Aguilera are all introverts (click here for more.

From what I've experienced over my career so far is that successful people know when to speak up and when to let other's have the floor. I've seen introverted people speak up and give some great ideas. I've also seen extroverted people get a team engaged and excited about what they're doing.

Each personality type has natural advantages and disadvantages but just because someone talks a lot doesn't mean they'll be successful. That said, I do think it's important to speak up if you have something relevant to add to the conversation. As an introvert, I can tell you that it's uncomfortable sometimes especially at first. But, over time it becomes a habit... even if it's not something that comes naturally. What I found was that once I made my point or asked my question... nothing bad happened. In fact, many times I was able to contribute something that no one else had though of... or that everyone else was thinking but didn't want to say it out loud. Over time as I got more confident it became easier and I earned respect from my peers.

There are many factors to success but I think it's more important to learn your tendencies - what comes natural and what doesn't. A great book I recently read talks about the advantages introversion and extroversion as well as giving real-life examples of how to leverage the strengths of each personality type. Here's the link for it.

Hope that helps, good luck!