Curiosity didn’t kill the cat – diffidence did

I found this article on Canadian Girlpostdoc's blog and found it extremely informative - and a bit spine chilling. I think that Kathy Weston has done many up-and-coming scientists a great service for by sharing her experiences (especially woman who might also have confidence issues or be trying to balance work and small children). Although I must admit that balancing kids with a career is a challenge (and that job sharing would be wonderful!) I know many parents (including women) who are successful at both. The trouble is that, I also know many colleagues (mainly women) who admit to a lack of self-confidence and under-used abilities at self-promotion and networking. This lack of confidence and ability to toot ones own horn might be more damaging than I realized. Reading about how Kathy would hide out at conferences I had to cringe. I don’t hide out, but I have a tendency not to call attention to myself in group settings, even when I have something to say. For example, the last time I was at a conference I attended a stimulating workshop. Many times I came up with exciting thoughts and ideas, but was too shy to share them. More often than not others got over their shyness and voiced similar ideas. At the time I thought nothing was lost, since the ideas were discussed without me speaking up. However, my shyness meant that none of the people in that room, who did not already know me, learned anything about my work or my thoughts on the changing nature of the field. Next time I am in a similar situation I will try to remember Kathy’s warning and speak up!