Always
look to be where you are in favour; where the favour of the bosses,
directors and mangers is with you, or at least there isn’t an
obvious disfavour operating against you. If you enter a situation
where you know there is a general dislike of you and what you have to
offer, and you know you have done your best to be a team player, to
be an asset and yet there is this coldness towards you, start
thinking of your exit (yes even in this economy!).
This
is one of the reasons why some of you need to have your own
businesses and concerns. Some of us are not meant to work too long
for others. Brilliance can make some people feel threatened.
I
was re-reading one of Steven Covey's (RIP Sir), books and came across
the bit where he talked about adding value to your job and how it
makes you stand out, get the promotion etc etc. Have you ever noticed
that in some of these companies cited in such self help books, they
are always just desperate for the right workers, but they just cant
seem to get good ones lol, which is cue to telling us the readers,
that we need to sharpen up and we will achieve the dream job. Well,
the truth is that more often than not, you get work teams where a
very good worker is actually more of a threat than an asset and can
be pushed out! This is more the case with government work and work
than is not exposed to strong forces of competition or that is not
'rationalized' by the profit making objective. I have seen brilliant
workers pushed out because the work teams were not really looking to
elevate their practice no matter what they profess and recite, and
what snazzy fashionable jargon they are spouting about, 'best
practice', 'value for money' etc. The talented worker would have
likely shaken things up and thus proved a threat to their relaxed way
of working.
It
takes a really evolved boss to handle talented people without feeling
threatened as a manager. It takes a person who is sure of themselves,
where they fit in and their own unique value, and how many of those
do you think there are around? Not as many of we would like.
I
remember working for a woman who I believe was certifiably mad. When
I took the job I remember thinking (when it got all crazy with files
flying across the room, door banging, workers insulted), that 'the
need for her to meet her contractual 'targets', would eventually,
somehow put a limit to her undermining the workers. My calculations
and assumptions were however wrong because her job -and the project
as a whole- was not operating within the context of any expected
results in other words, she was never called to the carpet if the
project didn’t reach the targets it signed up to, and why was this
you ask? Well this was during the time of the Labour government in
the UK, when they were literally throwing money at 'black'
organisations and would not dare question their work outcomes (least
they be called racist) no matter how ramshackle. In fact if these
organisations underperformed, more funding was deemed in order! I
actually watched her write a report making such a case. The net
effect was that she was able to run an insane asylum of an
organisation without anyone having the ability to put a stop to her
activities.
However
back to my initial point - which is also in line with the whole ethos
of going where you are valued and cherished that I have had occasion
to talk about in the past months on this blog (scroll down to see)-
always look to be where you and what you do is in favor. It wont be
everywhere but there will be places and people for whom you will be
'hot' stuff!
There
are some battles/places you cant win but you can be favoured in
others, seek these favourable spaces out.
My Latest e-books are now available to buy from my website book page or from Amazon. Please click on the corresponding links below for more info.
First Steps to Personal Empowerment Buy Here or Buy at Amazon |
Do Black Women in Afros Date White Guys? Buy Here or Buy at Amazon |
Supposing I wanted to Date a White Guy...? Buy Here or Buy at Amazon |
Thank you, Thank you for this post. I'm going through this same exact thing on my job, feeling like I'm a threat, folks trying to make me feel less than, due to their own insecurities. I often have to dumb it down when around certain managers and co-workers and can no longer feel that since I'm working towards my degree and this job is just a stepping stone I should just deal with it, because the economy is bad and I'm in the group where unemployment is the highest. I needed to read this!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Halima! I have been reading your site for little over a year and I just HAD to respond to this post.
ReplyDelete"If you enter a situation where you know there is a general dislike of you and what you have to offer, and you know you have done your best to be a team player, to be an asset and yet there is this coldness towards you, start thinking of your exit (yes even in this economy!)."
I have been working in the government sector for the past nine years (since graduating from college). In those years, I have attempted to move up. Despite encouragement from my supervisors about my work ethic, leadership abilities, etc., I continue to have the promotional door slammed in my face. I now understand that I am being coddled so that I can continue to be the "work horse" that they need. And yes, I have dealt with jealousy from my peers who run the gamut in race, sex, and age (smh). No lie, the "hate" has come from all directions.
"This is one of the reasons why some of you need to have your own businesses and concerns. Some of us are not meant to work too long for others. Brilliance can make some people feel threatened."
This quote should be trademarked and copywritten-LOL! A few months before the New Year, I gave myself the deadline of resigning by Summer 2013. My goal is to buy a franchise and/or become an author. I came to the realization last year that I need to work for myself. I am not good at being in a herd of sheep.
Thanks for "listening" Halima and please keep up the good work!