First up, selamat hari merdeka to all my wonderful Malaysian friends!!
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Despite the fact that it is a public holiday in Malaysia today, I just spent the last hour in a phone conference with some of the other regional managers to discuss some go-to-market strategies.
Today’s discussion reminded me of when my old boss told me that while it seemed like I didn’t say much in meetings, when I did say something it changed the whole outcome of the discussion. I told him the reason why I was often quiet during meetings was that I wanted to listen, understand, form an opinion, and then make an intelligent input into the conversation. It’s a strategy that has always worked for me when I’m in meetings with highly opinionated and outspoken people because I personally am a bit of an introvert. Since I don’t like to talk over people, I make sure that when I say something (depending on the type of discussion) that it packs a punch or in the least, makes an impact and forces people to listen.
I’ve seen a lot of people take my less extroverted approach as a sign of weakness, and I’ve been amused countless times when they’ve realised that while I’m not overtly aggressive it doesn’t mean I can’t get my own way.
Lots of people have told me over the years that I need to be more extroverted in my approach to my job – also interpreting my approach as less effective. While I agree that the advice has been useful on countless occasions, today’s meeting has been a pertinent reminder that my own approach works as well – and in at lot of instances, gives me a lot more satisfaction. After all, there is nothing as satisfying at work as not only being able to get around a roadblock but watching it have to tear itself down as well.
The message in this? It’s always good to take on board other peoples advice as it helps to expand your area of influence 
However, if you find a technique that works well for you, recognise when its useful and use it. Just because someone else has a different approach doesn’t mean their approach will always work for you.