Quote:
Originally Posted by pylon
I would go up, and embarrass the absolute hell our of myself on that microphone, and look like a giant asshat. But that is probably why the people that work under me, like me. I am not pretentious, and will take every chance I get to partake in a self deprecating activity in the name of good fun.
And as far as company golf tournaments go. As a guy who would be considered a decent golfer, I always make sure I pick the worst possible team of duffers play with. I never go into a fun company event with the idea of crushing the competition, I go with the idea of having a good time, and getting to know my playing partners on a personal level. I have had some amazing conversations and learned a ton of cool things about my co-workers just chatting in a golf cart.
Quit being so sensitive. Nobody is sitting there at a company golf tournament looking for gossip ammo "Oh, man did you see how terrible Steves short game was? That flying elbow of his definitely gives me concerns about including his input on the 2015 budget." The reason companies select golf, is because first and foremost, it is a highly social activity. The sport side of it is secondary.
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That's great that you feel comfortable embarrassing yourself in a self-deprecating manner in front of your colleagues. Not everyone else feels the same way, and it's absolutely not because they're pretentious. Telling them to "quit being so sensitive" shows a complete lack of empathy on your part.
The corporate world is certainly becoming more amenable to introverts in recent years (largely thanks to the work of
Susan Cain and others), but the ranks of senior management are still frequently dominated by brash, out-going extroverts who don't understand why introverts don't match their way of experiencing the world. You say that golf is a good corporate event because it's "a highly social activity". To your introverted employees, who make up anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the workforce, that's precisely one of the reasons why they
don't enjoy it. But the expectation is
always that they should conform to the desires of the extroverts in the office! "You need to socialize with your coworkers to advance your career, so suck it up, come out of your shell, put on a smiling face, and hit the golf course whether you like it or not." Have you ever heard anyone ask, "What's a good workplace social activity that the introverted employees would enjoy?" Instead of having a golf tournament or a karaoke night or something similar, why not do something like a pub trivia contest? It still accomplishes the goal of workplace socialization and having employees work together in small teams in a not-serious competition, but it's an activity that is much more enjoyable to the introverts of your staff.