Thursday, 6 June 2024

Dominance is not casting a shadow, but shining a light

Here is an interesting observation. If you are an introvert and seek to avoid the spotlight, you might try to avoid contact. But in doing so, you might inadvertently invite attention.

Let's imagine this situation:

You walk into a meeting a few minutes late. This makes you feel awkward, so you try to slip in quietly and take a seat. You think nobody has noticed you, but in fact, others have. By either acknowledging or ignoring you, they are, in some way, putting the spotlight on you. They expect you to understand this subtly.

Instead of trying to blend in, if you make a statement like, "Hey, sorry I'm late, but here I am. What did I miss?", the onus is now on others to respond. The spotlight shifts to them instead of you.

A dominant person is one that puts the spotlight on others, not one that keeps the spotlight on oneself. 

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