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leaders. That is, stores with more proactive employ- ees earned higher profits under introverted leaders; stores with more pas- sive employees earned higher profits under more outgoing leaders. Outgoing leaders like to be the center of attention, and they often are threatened by their more proactive subordinates, Grant says in a Knowledge@Wharton article. "Introverted leaders, on the other hand, are more likely to listen care- fully to suggestions and support employees' efforts to be proactive." The researchers emphasize that introverted and extroverted leader- ship styles can be equally effective. However, when leaders are paired with the wrong type of employees, it could result in personality con- flicts, power struggles, and reduced productivity. "Reversing the Extraverted Leader ship Advantage: The Role of Employee Proactivity" is forthcoming in the Academy of Management Journal. An article on the study, as well as a PDF of its content, is available through Knowledge@Wharton at knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/ article.cfm?articleid=2638. Some Students Still Dominate Online Forums Many educators view social media as an equalizer when it comes to class dis- cussion. They believe that students too shy to speak face-to-face will participate more freely online. However, an imbal- ance in student contributions can still happen if instructors aren't careful, say Walkyria Goode and Guido Caicedo, professors at the ESPAE Graduate School of Management at Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) in Guayaquil, Ecuador. In a recent study, Goode and Caicedo examined the online interac- tions of 18 students all enrolled in three MBA courses, which Goode and Caicedo taught. The students were asked to use social media to write collaborative group responses to questions posed by their instruc- tors. The first group used the col- laboration tool Google Groups, the second used the blogging platform WordPress, and the third used the wiki platform MixedInk. The authors then analyzed the social networks that students formed. Goode and Caicedo found that in each class, four to five students were responsible for the bulk of the contri- butions and discussion threads. However, unlike students who deliberately dominate discussions in traditional classroom environments, the central actors in online collabo- rations did not actively dominate discussions, says Goode. Instead, because they were the first to demon- strate their critical thinking skills and contribute to discussions, their peers sought them out and referenced their contributions more often. As a result, discussions became "centralized" around the view- points of a handful of students. When this imbalance happened, Goode adds, later contributions that showed high levels of critical thinking were overlooked as stu- dents debated the original points. The authors admit that this leaves instruc- tors in a difficult position—they must encourage knowledgeable contributions without allow- ing discussions to skew toward the few students whose input is most highly valued. Goode and Caicedo rec- ommend that instructors follow a two-step process before opening up online assignments to students' free-flowing contributions. First, set a deadline for all students to make their initial contributions; then, set an extended deadline for additional con- tributions. In this way, says Goode, all students' original thoughts will be available before they begin their online discussions and collaborations. Their paper, "Social (Im)Balance in Education," was recently published in Volume 5, Issue 8 of The International Journal of Interdisci- plinary Social Sciences. Walkyria Goode Guido Caicedo BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2011 51