Studies show one out of every two or three people are introverts; but in the business world, a quiet personality can easily be mistaken for someone who lacks enthusiasm or ambition while those with boisterous personalities are seen as engaged go-getters. The perception in our society is that if someone isn’t tooting their own horn, they must not have what it takes to succeed. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about Thomas G. Lynch, a sales support executive at business software company SAP, who despite having a good track record, was often passed over for leadership roles because of his quiet personality.

Lynch hired a career coach to help him overcome his quiet image. In the article, Lynch describes how he asked co-workers to provide three adjectives that described him. The results (words such as innovative, thorough, and empathetic) showed Lynch his best qualities were tied to his reflective, introverted style.

Rather than try to change his personality to become an extrovert, Lynch was encouraged to continue to build upon the strengths of being an introvert. The change he was encouraged to make was to promote those strengths to those around him, doing a little self-boasting and speaking up more in meetings. In other words, making small extroverted changes, but ones that didn’t completely go against his introverted style.

While Lynch now feels more positive about his career potential since making these changes, the article raises an important issue. Despite all the literature on the benefits introverts bring to a business, modern workplaces are designed primarily with the needs of extroverts in mind.

In her bestselling book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain argues that open-office floor plans that subject us to the constant noise and gaze of co-workers are often uncomfortable environments for introverts who thrive in quiet, low-key environments that allow for reflection and creative thought. Yet, introverts are constantly forced to work against their own nature and to turn on their creative juices in team meeting settings.

As an introvert myself, I used to head to meeting rooms 15 minutes early to have a few moments alone for quiet reflection and brainstorming before the troops entered and the room got loud. I wonder what would have happened if Lynch’s company had examined ways to create a culture that appealed to his natural temperament.