Being an introvert, I tend to shudder when I hear someone else described as "a good team-player".

I mutter (to myself of course, being my own best audience), "Is anything valued these days apart from teams, and co-workers, and colleagues, and partners, and committees?"

What about the individual? What about the creative spark?

The problem when it comes to 360-degree feedback, is that "team-player" is one of the greatest compliments we can offer. There's little appreciation of those of us who accomplish wonderful things (or at least, things) by ourselves.

How often do you see a question like this on a 360 survey?

"Works on her own to accomplish breakthroughs."

Or "Manages to do excellent work without a group of colleagues cheering him on."

Never, that's when.

Anyway, I'm pleased to announce that the New York Times recently ran an excellent article by Susan Cain decrying "The Rise of the New Groupthink". Read it at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-new-groupthink.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

The writer reminds us that many of the world's greatest breakthroughs came from people who worked well in solitude. Think Moses. Jesus. Buddha. Sir Isaac Newton. Picasso.

And Wozniak.

That's right. Steve Wozniak, who labored in solitude in 1975 to develop the first truly user-friendly computer. He actually wanted to give it away, but then his friend Steve Jobs talked him into co-founding Apple instead.

Wozniak's advice to his fellow inventors was simple: "Work alone…Not on a committee. Not on a team."

Cain reminds us of studies that prove we're more efficient as individuals than in groups. But of course you can prove anything if you choose your studies carefully.

OK, maybe we introverts worry too much about the ascent of the team. It's good to support and stimulate others. It's great to share positive feelings together about our place of work.

But please, give us a few moments on our own.

And maybe a little recognition that we can be effective even when we're not part of a committee.