The Reign of Introverts Is Here

- As much as current developments have made for more accommodating work/social environments for introverts, I wouldn't go as far as to say that "introverts have the upper hand". If anything, I would say the shift towards increasingly digital modes of interaction tends to reward those with a flair for self-advocacy even more -- just think about who tends to dominate discourse in online forums/social media/conference calls. I personally rely heavily on non-verbal cues to express myself/gauge others in social settings but there isn't really a channel for that type of expression in digital environments. That in turn leads to me feeling like I need to be more verbally engaged despite that not being my natural inclination, which then feeds back into a spiral of mental exhaustion -> degraded conversation and thinking -> more exhaustion.

- The characterization of extroverts as shmoozers and social climbers and introverts as doing "actual work" is rather unfair -- in the past, I've worked with both "introverts" who recognized they could skate by just doing the bare minimum to say they did something in standup and staying out of the way of everyone else and "extroverts" who would actively drop by to check if I needed help with anything. Moreover, in roles like that of a technical lead or solutions architect, being able to clearly articulate and discuss designs is a far more important skill than being a code-cranking steam engine which by the definitions of the article are "extroverted" qualities. When it comes to implementation I'd agree that heads-down, interruption-free environments are the most conducive, but the further I progress as a software engineer the more I've come to realize that implementation is only the tip of the iceberg.

I think introverts as characterized in the article do have it as good as ever as employees, but that is still far from a "reign of introverts". With the growing trends of creator economies and self-employment, self-advocacy is only going to become an even more crucial skill set and mentality to develop -- I can anecdotally attest that the notion that dedication to your craft alone is enough to carry you is a fallacy, and I think those most prone to burnout/depression in creative and self-employed endeavors are those who don't anticipate the level of self-advocacy needed to break through.

The definition of collaborative that includes "In person" is just wrong.

The work is always going to be collaborative, that is a given and the purpose of teams, but the shift right now is that as data and tech becomes more prevalent, the old times when extroverts governed by mere non-technical skills is going to wane in importance, because everything could be automated and quantified, leading to less room for human BS to climb the corporate ladder.

As the article mentions which I totally agree, communication becomes more important as you move up the ladder. But here is the key: it is easier for a technical person to learn soft skills than for a nontechnical person to do the reverse.

That is why the combination of engineering + MBA is so dangerous. It is because introverts are not given/interested in the chance to rule, that we don't see it often. But for a future where tech is going to dominate almost every industry, a firm's survival is going to depend on introverts.

For those interested, I recommend reading the book "Quiet" by Susan Cain, it explains this pretty well.