Is Your Personality Holding You Back?

The woman in the cubicle to your right is quiet. The man in the cubicle to your left won’t shut up. They have different personalities; in fact, they’re complete opposites. Nevertheless, they both landed a job in the same company, in the same department, on the same floor in the same corner of the building. How does this happen? Different people can be qualified for the same job even though they have completely different personalities and ways of seeing the world and the people around them.

But it feels as if in today’s workplace it’s the loud people who are more successful than the quiet people. They demand more attention, which translates into more money. Meanwhile the quiet people at the office—those who enjoy the solitude of studying and academic pursuits—work quietly and diligently while rarely, if ever, receiving recognition for their hard work. Yet is it always those tall, vociferous and confident (which seems to be the new arrogant) colleagues who takeover meetings the ones who end up winning? In group and team environments, is it always the loud ones who end up getting all of the credit simply because they dominate the conversation?

This article answers these questions, “Research shows that charismatic leaders earn bigger paychecks but do not have better corporate performance; that brainstorming results in lower quality ideas and the more vocally assertive extroverts are the most likely to be heard; that the amount of space allotted to each employee shrunk 60% since the 1970s; and that open office plans are associated with reduced concentration and productivity, impaired memory, higher turnover and increased illness.”

Even though we live in a reality television culture where idiots can be rich and famous for being idiots, don’t lose faith in what your parents told you: work hard, do your job, and you’ll be rewarded in the end. Have faith in this. Don’t be discouraged by that blowhard in your office who just got a promotion. Talk can only get you so far. Sooner or later, discipline and intelligence will prevail over backslapping and hollow banter.

Photo courtesy of confiton.