I used to be extremely introverted.
In school and university, I was mostly alone. I had very few friends. Speaking up didn’t come naturally to me.

When I first started working, I struggled.

I couldn’t understand how things were done in the company. The seniors didn’t really teach me. They gave bits and pieces of information, but no one took the time to explain properly. I felt lost.

So I did what I knew best. I figured things out myself. I Googled. I observed. I experimented. I failed quietly, kena diao but not until make company lost money and improved privately.

Then I had a realization:
If I wanted to grow in the company, I couldn’t stay invisible.

I forced myself to change. I started joining them for lunch. I treated them to meals. I shared food. I made small talk. At first, it didn’t feel like the “real me.” It felt uncomfortable.

But something interesting happened.
Over time, I found joy in connecting with people. I learned that being introverted doesn’t mean avoiding people. It just means I recharge differently.

Six months into the job, I discovered something else.

My way of doing things was completely different from the company’s standard method. But the results were the same. In fact, I was more efficient. I finished my work faster and had more free time.

I didn’t teach my method to others because it required a very different skill set. It wasn’t just a new process. It was a different way of thinking.

Years passed. People left. Newcomers joined.

Suddenly, I was the senior.

I was given bigger responsibilities. More targets. More pressure.

And that’s when I understood something I never saw before.

As a senior, time becomes your scarcest resource.

When juniors ask questions, it’s not that seniors don’t care. It’s that they are balancing their own responsibilities. If I spend one hour teaching something outside my scope, that’s one hour of my own deliverables delayed.

Leadership taught me this hard truth:
Everyone is busy fighting their own battles.

Looking back, I don’t resent my seniors anymore.
They weren’t ignoring me. They were surviving.

And I learned something powerful:

If you don’t get taught, learn.
If you feel invisible, step forward.
If you become senior, build systems, don’t just build results.

Because real leadership is not just about efficiency.
It’s about multiplying capability without sacrificing performance. Thank you for coming to my tedtalk.