Frances Horibe's

The Big Career Chance The career situation You have a new job as a tester for children’s on-line games.  Two weeks in, it seems like a pretty good place, with a lot of career opportunities. The obvious leader is Larry, the senior designer. You haven’t quite made it in with the pack but you’re hopeful. Testing Pen is a programmer. You’re reviewing the bugs you’ve found with her.   Pen: Gosh, that’s a strange one. You: Yeah, and only happens when the forest background is playing. Pen: (opens the files)  Hmmm—nothing obvious, but I’ll give a look. You: Unless Larry intended some sub-routine he dropped. Should we ask him? He’s over there with Caleb. Pen: Looks like they’re busy. You: But Malcolm (everybody’s boss) wants it in production asap. Pen: Larry’s busy. He won’t thank you for breaking in. You: But… Pen: Trust me, you don’t want to get involved. You: Huh? In what? Pen: (looks back to the screen) I’m sure I’ll find that bug.   What did she mean? But it’s pretty clear she doesn’t want to talk. Larry’s project About a week later, Larry comes to your desk.   Larry: You must be quite the hotshot. Malcolm…

The Extroverted -Introverted Sweet Spot In the previous posts, I’ve discussed how introverts and extroverts can operate successfully in a work environment. But I think that the most successful people find the extroverted -introverted sweet spot. That is, they can call on either set of skills as the situation warrants. So, I’m doing one final example of a meeting. If you tend to extroversion, you should pay most attention to the left-hand column for tips on being effective. The introverts have a similar column on the right. Extroverted Philippa People Dialog Introverted Andrew Prep for meeting: Remember to: · Ask opinions of others · Confirm agreement to solution · Build on suggestions Topic of Meeting: How to coordinate use of 3D printer given recent complaints from both Philippa’s and Andrew’s units Prep for meeting: · Prepare argument · Practice delivery · Identify possible objections You’ve signaled you want to work cooperatively. Philippa: I’ve got an idea of how this might work. Mind if I start things off? Andrew: Sure, but I have a proposal, too. You created a space to come back to your idea. You’re asking for feedback rather than assuming agreement. Philippa: This seems easy to solve. We…

Extroversion Done Right In the previous post, your extroversion blind-sided you when trying to solve a problem with your colleagues. You thought you had a solution but nobody would implement. What went wrong? Well, there were a couple of things: You assumed leadership: Normally, it’s a good thing to have someone in the group who wants to take ownership of the problem and come up with a solution. But because you are all peers, your automatic assumption that you were the leader (implied: the boss) was unwarranted. You didn’t ask others’ opinions: With Ken’s objections (church commitments and babysitting), you handled them on their face value—that is, problems to be solved on the way to your solution. You didn’t consider whether his objections possibly reflected a more general feeling of discomfort with your proposed approach. You didn’t check for level of support for your idea: I think it is evident that at least some in the group didn’t buy your idea because they refused to implement it. If you’d surfaced these objections in the meeting, things might have gone better. Extroversion Done Right Let’s replay the meeting from the last post to get a better outcome. You: So, guys, I’ve…

When Being an Extrovert Can Do You In As I have discussed previously, extroverts rule the roost in most work places. They earn more, get more promotions, and are generally more valued than introverts because of their willingness to lead and sometimes even their charisma. So, if you are an extrovert, you’ve got it made at work. Or so you might think. But before we get going, let’s agree on our terms. What is an extrovert? It is generally agreed that the definition of an extrovert is related to the source of his/her energy. Introverts get their energy from being alone; extroverts from being with people. An extrovert tends to: Which confers advantages at work because: Like talking · You’re more likely to keep everybody in the loop · Enjoy being at the center of attention · You’re more likely to take on leadership roles · Act first before thinking · You can be great in a crisis · Enjoy group work · You thrive in and are committed to team endeavors So, all to the good, right? And generally that is the case. However, extroversion can come with its own set of pitfalls. When extroversion can get you into…

More Ways to be Successful with your Introversion In the last post, I discussed how to up your chances to get extra research money by taking a more active role in shaping how things roll out. There are other ways to be successful even with your introversion tendencies. Introversion prevents these extroverted actions Speaking up: There are undoubtedly situations where you have an opinion about how your unit should function. You typically might not engage in the debate or, if you feel really strongly, go to the boss afterwards to get him to change his mind. This is usually doomed to failure. You need to be able to speak up at the time if it impacts your work in a significant way. Putting yourself forward: It would be nice to think that all your good, hard, and even innovative work will be hailed and loudly lauded. If that is happening at your work place, stay where you are—you’re not gonna get it anywhere else. Typically, the quiet ones are either taken for granted or, at best, are thrown a bone (“Oh, yeah, that Amber—backbone of the unit.”) But backbones don’t get the to-die-for assignments—mouths do. If you want something that…