Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

As a management professor, I run executive education programs for companies. Surprisingly, whenever I pitch programs in "hot" areas such as marketing, sales or leadership, I often get responses like "sure, but can you offer us programs in developing communication skills?"

According to some estimates, roughly up to 50 percent of professionals working for companies are not confident of explaining what they do to their CEO, much less to larger audiences.

One important reason for this is the age-old division invented by psychologists, dividing people into introverts and extroverts. While not many people fall into these neat categories, some do. So, is there an easily understood rule-of-thumb that could tell us if we are introverts or extroverts?

I find this definition handy: Do you feel energetic when working alone and avoid socializing? It is possible that you may be an introvert. Do you get energized when interacting with or surrounded by people? Then chances are you are an extrovert.

Extroverts are often in the limelight. Introverts, in comparison, seem to lack a certain something and can be overlooked. There is nothing wrong with being an introvert and some of the greatest achievers in history have been introverts. But when you work in a large company and are being evaluated for more senior positions, it may become a problem.

I recall the amazing case of a competent, hard-working and respected engineer who applied for the position of general manager. He ticked almost every box that needed to be ticked. The only problem seemed to be that he was uncomfortable in making small talk with his colleagues.

In his new role, he would be called upon to explain difficult investment scenarios to top management. He would also be expected to communicate extensively with his team members. Would he be able to do this, some of his seniors wondered.

The above categorization of introvert vs extrovert is even more relevant when it intersects with gender. Having taught in several countries, I have found that women tend to be quieter. Now this could be because of other reasons, such as differential socialization processes and norms. However, despite being brilliant, they may be denied promotion on the flimsy logic of not speaking confidently.

Can something be done about it? Yes.

In classroom teaching, I structure the incentive system in such a way that students who speak more get a higher class participation score. I personally mentor those who do not. It works 100 percent of the time. But what can we do to improve the communication skills of professionals?

The truth is that irrespective of being categorized as introverts or extroverts, many of us can benefit from mentoring and training.

Socializing, networking, communicating publicly - all are handy skills that stand us in good stead during our careers.

And as we move to more senior positions, our written skills diminish in importance and our verbal communication skills assume a far larger significance.

It would be a great pity to both our organizations and ourselves if we were to let these labels limit our potential in the workplace.

This article was published on the Global Times Metropolitan section Two Cents page, a space for reader submissions, including opinion, humor and satire. The ideas expressed are those of the author alone, and do not represent the position of the Global Times.