內向的人照樣可以是職場千里馬

When you picture a leader, the image that usually comes to mind is someone like Jack Welch or Bill Clinton — gregarious, energized by crowds.

一提起領袖人物，人們腦海中最先浮現的便是傑克·韋爾奇或比爾·克林頓這樣的大人物——他們善於交際，在公衆場合更是活力四射。

Organizations tend to celebrate and promote such extroverted personalities, as opposed to introverts, who draw energy from ideas or one-on-one interactions. Such quiet types are often not as visible within companies, but by some calculations, introverts make up half of the population. That's an awful lot of talent to exclude from executive ranks.

一般來說，企業也更器重性格外向的員工，給與他們更多晉升機會；相反，性格內向的員工在這方面的待遇就要差得多了。原因在於，性格內向的員工往往需要藉助思考或一對一的交流來汲取能量，但在公司裏，這類員工卻很容易受到忽視。然而根據統計，性格內向者和性格外向者在人數上基本持平。這意味着將有數量驚人的優秀人才因此而無法進入高管層。

It's the numerical equivalent of excluding women — and similarly shortsighted, says Susan Cain, author of the new book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. "There's a bias in our culture against introversion," she says. To use Betty Friedan's language from The Feminine Mystique, "it's a problem in our culture that has no name" — pervasive, yet seldom discussed, at least until recently.

這一比例與女性受歧視的比例相當，而且蘇珊·凱恩認爲，忽視性格內向者是一種缺乏遠見的做法。蘇珊·凱恩近期出版了一本新書——《靜水流深：喧囂世界裏內向者的力量》（Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.）。她認爲：“它體現了我們的文化對於內向性格存在的偏見。”借用貝蒂·弗萊頓在《女性的奧祕》（Feminine Mystique）一書中的一句話：“它是我們文化中一個無名的難題”——雖然非常普遍，但至少到目前爲止，很少有人談起。

Certainly, introverts trying to make it in business face obstacles. As part of their hiring processes, some companies give personality tests that seem designed to weed out introverts.

誠然，內向性格者要想在職場取得成功確實會面臨各種障礙。比如，許多公司在招聘過程中進行的個性測試似乎存心就是爲了淘汰內向性格的人而設。

If you survive that, you soon discover that "Most of our workplaces are set up for maximum stimulation," says Cain. Some 70%, she says, are "open plan" offices, where people must deal with "the noise and gazes of their co-workers all day long."

凱恩表示，即便內向性格者通過了測試，他很快就會發現，“大部分公司工作場所的佈置都是爲了實現最大程度的刺激”。她說，約70%的辦公室被設計成“開放式”的辦公環境，人們必須“全天忍受開放辦公環境中的噪音和來自同事們關注的目光。”

Companies have an "inordinate belief in the power of meetings and brainstorming," and they tend to promote people who make themselves visible, often by speaking up first (whether they have anything meaningful to contribute or not). As a result, "most of us, at a young age, learn how to act much more extroverted than we are."

大部分公司“過分迷信會議和頭腦風暴的作用”，而且，公司更器重那些善於自我表現的人，比如不管發言有沒有價值，總是搶先發言的人。結果，“我們中大多數人在年輕的時候就學會了如何隱藏真實的自我，刻意表現得更加外向。”

But this ignores that introverts have several strengths that are helpful in business.

但這種現象卻忽視了一個事實——其實內向性格者的許多優勢對公司來說也非常有用。

For starters, being inside one's own head a lot isn't a bad thing. "We get our energy from what people refer to as our inner world," says Lisa Petrilli, a self-proclaimed introvert and CEO of C-Level Strategies, a company that works with leaders in mid-sized firms ($100 million to $1 billion). "That's very powerful. Ideas really do run businesses." Being energized by one's inner world translates into "being able to see and create a vision for others to follow."

首先，喜歡思考並不是壞事。C-Level Strategies公司CEO麗莎??彼得裏利自稱是一位內向性格者，她主要和市值在1-10億美元之間的中型企業領導人打交道。她說：“我們從所謂的內心世界獲得能量。這種能量非常強大。好點子確實能夠促進公司的發展。”我們可以這樣解讀從內心世界獲得能量的行爲，即“能夠找到、創造一個願景，吸引其他人一起追隨。”

Second, while introverts don't spend a lot of time talking, they do spend a lot of time listening — not a bad skill for managing client interactions.

其次，雖然內向者說的很少，但他們卻非常善於傾聽——在進行客戶溝通時，這是一項不錯的技能。

They may even be better networkers. "There's a myth that networking is all about cold-calling people and walking up to strangers at cocktail parties," says Lindsey Pollak, global spokesperson for LinkedIn (LNKD) and author of the newly re-issued book Getting from College to Career. "Often the best connections are made through mutual acquaintances. Shy people tend to feel most comfortable networking with the people they know, and then ask those people for referrals to others. That's a good strategy for anyone."

其實，內向者或許更善於交際。商務社交網站LinkedIn全球發言人琳賽·波拉克認爲：“人們一直以爲，主動出擊、在雞尾酒會上主動與陌生人搭訕纔是交際的真諦。其實，最好的交際方式是通過中間熟人來實現。靦腆的人與熟人交流感覺最爲自在。他們可以讓朋友介紹其他人。而這正是一種非常有效的交際策略。”琳賽·波拉克的作品《從學業到職業》（Getting from College to Career）將於近期再版。

Fortunately for introverts and the organizations that would like to tap their talent, technology is making it easier to be visible without shouting. "What technology does, really, is it allows us to connect with other people in less stimulating ways," says Cain.

不過，對於內向性格者和希望挖掘他們才華的公司來說，這裏有一個好消息——科技使人們能夠更方便地展現自己，而無需在會議中高談闊論。凱恩認爲：“科技真正所能做的在於它可以使我們用一種更爲溫和的方式與他人溝通。”

Email introductions are infinitely easier for introverts than picking up the phone, and "with the Internet, you can connect with hundreds, thousands, or millions of people without ever leaving the house." A white paper is easily shared and debated without having to fly somewhere to make a presentation.

比如，對於內向性格者來說，通過電子郵件介紹自己比打電話要簡單得多。“而且通過互聯網，我們足不出戶就能與成百上千，甚至與數百萬人進行互動。”人們可以輕鬆共享和討論一份白皮書，而不必飛來飛去做演示。

Organizations can also actively take steps to help their introverts feel comfortable. Cain suggests that companies "should think really hard about their office design" and create places where "people can have personalization and privacy" without a huge conference room reservation process. "You shouldn't have to sign up to be by yourself."

公司也可以採取積極措施，幫助內向性格的員工更加自如地工作。凱恩建議，公司“應該慎重考慮辦公室的佈置”，使員工無需經過預訂會議室、召開會議的繁瑣程序，就“可以在辦公室保持自己的個性與隱私”。“完全沒必要搞得這麼複雜。”

And even rethinking meetings can help. "Make sure to give people ways to contribute that aren't just to jump into the fray." Something as simple as handing out an agenda of a meeting in advance will give introverts "time to think it through." And since introverts are often energized by such thinking, they'll probably have great ideas to contribute — if you bother to listen.

即便必須要藉助會議，也應該重新考慮如何讓會議真正發揮作用。“公司應該提供各種途徑，給所有員工機會，讓他們能爲公司做出自己的貢獻，而不是讓所有人都搶着出風頭。”其實，最簡單的就是提前公佈會議議程，使性格內向的員工有“充裕的時間思考和準備。”內向性格者往往可以從這種思考中獲得能量，因此，或許他們會有很出色的想法——當然，前提是老闆樂意傾聽。