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As a Chinese born immigrant working in America, one of the biggest career struggles I face is comments like, “you are too quiet” or “you are not demonstrating your leadership skills by speaking up”. What people don’t understand is what it takes for someone who grew up in a culture that emphasizes discipline and sometimes, the value of silence, to speak up in his/her second language in front of dozens of native speakers of English. Even right now, it takes me lots of courage to write down these words.
I’m a huge believer of communication and teamwork, but leadership should have different styles and facets. Some people lead by talking, some people lead by doing, and they deserve the equal opportunity to be promoted and developed in an organization. The discussion of diversity and inclusion should not only happen on the premise of being “American”.
