Rebecca Holman, author of Beta: Quiet Girls Can Run the World, says those who don’t appear to speak up for themselves in meetings could actually be doing themselves a favour, even when it feels like they’re being drowned out by those who always take the lead.

Holman explains that she was a ‘beta’ boss managing an ‘alpha’ team – something she thought was a problem. But she says that consulting with experts and psychologists made her think otherwise. Explaining her idea in an article for The Times, she pushes against the notion that being loud is being heard: “What you can’t see is that while everyone else in the room is ‘engaging in a robust exchange of views’, [the beta worker is] making notes and thinking things through.

“While they’re getting sucked into a pointless argument, she’s trying to solve the problem. And, to save time, she’ll probably email her thoughts after the meeting to the person who presented it.”

While she acknowledges that this approach doesn’t always “get credit”, she says it’s the easiest way to actually get something done.

Organisational psychologist and co-founder of 3COze consultancy, Liane Davey, has previously told Stylist that putting up with those who interrupt you in meetings can have a negative effect, citing a study she undertook that revealed seeing someone get frequently interrupted means others “pick up on those cues and conclude that what she’s saying isn’t that important – that she’s not worth listening to.”

However, like Holman, she does endorse strategies that deal with the problem later – as betas are wont to do – rather than barrelling in like the alphas who seem to get all the airtime. For instance, approaching someone else on the team and asking for guidance on how to handle regular interruptions makes the asker seem in control of the situation again, while simultaneously ensuring the problem is noticed by others next time.

Why the quietest colleague in the office may have the last laugh