But, after seeing how (corporate?)USA works, I was able to specifically account for it.
Here's a few things I did that might help you (list specifically geared towards individual contributors):
- made sure I was the one presenting/talking about my work (stand-ups/hackathons/etcs)
- made a list of my daily and weekly contributions that tied to big picture/visibility so I could bring those up during 1:1s. This helps a ton because I am better at "showing-off" with concrete things or in a situation that asks for it rather than just generally.
- made an effort to be a point of contact to external teams/divisions for my group/expertise.
Even now, I do tend towards "head down, work hard, hope for reward" by default. But, having a system helps me keep on track. Even now that I've got my own startup :)
I personally feel that few traits are truly immutable, and that a lot of it is really just in your head. People who conform to a belief end up becoming what they think, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I've met tonnes of asians who are great at social settings. Just like I've met tonnes who aren't. Just like I've met tonnes of (black|white|hispanic|etcs) ...
I have noticed that asians engineers in particular, in a corporate setting, tend towards "work hard + wait for reward" strategy. Maybe it's the intersection of what draws us to engineering and upbringing that results in this?
But yeah, to say it's genetic is silly :)
It sucks, but the good thing is that it's never too late to change. There are tons of boss Asians. I was rather popular in high school (and I'm from the deep south, only Asian guy in my class) and college, and often find myself the center of attention in social situations. One of the upper level managers at my company is Asian and he's very social, and he even has an accent! I have plenty of other friends who are very extroverted and confident, and they're asian too.
It's a skill, like any other, and focused hard work will yield improvements.
you're making excuses for your under-developed social skills.
how embarrassing.
-Ryan Iwamoto
At my first internship, people were commenting on how timid I seemed. I was used to obeying my parents and teachers without question; all I did was try to keep my head down and work harder. This sort of upbringing makes for great workers but bad leaders. I hope to come out of my shell more during the rest of college and my formative years.