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Well, okay, I concede the point that sitting here being introverted and
wallowing in self-pity because nobody's giving me the technical reviews
I asked for won't get me the reviews. But I still feel there's a
distinction between on the one hand trying to be less introverted and on
the other hand making a point of being obnoxiously aggressive. Some
people can pull that off and some can't.
-----Original Message-----
From: Dick Margulis [mailto:margulisd -at- comcast -dot- net]
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2004 9:39 AM
To: Downing, David
Cc: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Seeking counsel - yet another difficult work situation
(very long!)
Downing, David wrote:
> Okay, I think what I really meant to say is that I'm naturally
> introverted, which means I'm not cut out for the sort of behavior
> described in the original post. And I'm guessing that a lot of folks
> who were drawn to technical writing were drawn to it BECAUSE they're
> introverted -- or is that a stereotype?
That's not exactly a sterotype. I think what you're trying to say is
that there a a significant correlation between being introverted and
having the kinds of skills associated with tech writing.
In any case, it seems to me
> that being introverted shouldn't be considered a liability. It's just
> a way that some people are.
And here is where several of us have a different approach from yours.
You may have been born with a shyness gene or been socialized as an
infant in such a way that you became a shy kid. Fine. Nobody's holding
that against you and a lot of us, myself included, were also shy as
kids. The point we're trying to get across is that being shy does not
work to your advantage in the corporate world. So you can sit there and
be dysfunctional (from the point of view of the corporate culture),
resulting in your being less effective than you might otherwise be. Or
you can work to overcome your shyness.
There are lots of people you encounter every day who are introverts
playing extraverts on tv. All it takes is an understanding that you can,
in fact, do this, coupled with a willingness to try out some new
behaviors (preferably in a safe environment, like a room full of
strangers). It doesn't really matter, from the corporate perspective,
whether you're a quiveringly shy person on the inside; what matters is
how you _behave_ toward others. Simple as that.
Until you can organize the world's introverts to fight for equal rights
(something that, on the face of it, would seem quite difficult to pull
off), being introverted will remain a liability--in the corporate
world--whether or not it _should_ be considered one.
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