True Lies @Office
There is a subtle difference between being dogmatic v/s getting institutionalized, but on the fence lies a notorious evil.
Are you an Outcast?
When we think about being in such a situation, we are pushed(away from team) and pulled(towards the team) at the same time. Being completely oblivious about what goes on in the background and with sheer dedication you tend to focus on your work. Well, Rewards and Recognition are still far-fetched at this moment, the question is Are you an outcast already? Or Are you part of the same school as the rest of your teamies? Different interpretations but make sense. Imagine you are in a team meeting and your presence is dwindling by the week and that gets cascaded to you and you sense not being part of the composite. Whatever may be the job, being on the silo mode, often hurts the organization as the time passes. You could call yourself a maverick but the pack thinks that you are bad egg.
Misery of the Overqualified
It is equally distressing to be in an overqualified position and to bear the brunt of dealing with incompetent superiors. It is like hanging over a cliff and trying to shoo away a snake stuck to the shoes. It is a matter of how much you weigh in your team and your mileage w.r.t your peers. Not sure how many would chime with me on this, but not many would take a quantum leap and try to break shackles.
Are you getting institutionalized?
What I mean is are you more organic in your growth? How old are you with the company? (Not the office per say, but company of friends & acquaintances). You probably age with the company faster than being a maverick. You get accustomed to so many ways of your own and develop some habits which work best within the company, then you should come out of your well soon to avoid getting a tag of a student. Surely but slowly you will be on the right wing but just at the brink of being dogmatic.
Being on the fence (~ Safe players )
More often than not people who do not express opinions switch sides whenever they want, their heart stays on the righteous side but they do forget that they have a voice. A weak heart is responsible for it. If you do not have opinions you are shaping up to be an evil in the ecosystem already. To break the tie it is imperative to get the opinion of everyone in a team only then we would know which side is winning. It is a game usually played by a manipulator to poach and bring the fish to other side of the pond. Silence helps but not for the righteous side of course. The team will be in great danger if there are too many people on the fence, watch out for the warning signs.
Victim of Dogmatism?
If yes, you are not alone, you share my dread. Trust me it shakes up your belief system. The assailant just doesn’t look at the victim’s face while talking, this adds spice to the wok. The victim keeps swallowing this bitter pill that none of his/her opinions matter, if the rest of the pack agrees it is just fine. This brings me to another topic Bring Your Own Nexus an insidious little weed which looks like a healthy plant but grows so big that it fights for itself and swallows the whole ecosystem around it unnoticed. Either be part of the nexus or just get out unless you want to fight a losing battle.(More about it in the next post). Dogmatism is a severe threat to any organization, roots will be deep as it clings on to the most reliable asset, Books. Anyone who reads or comprehends a written document would go bonkers for facts. But aren’t these just written by a person? Time to be Pragmatic, chuck books. If a client’s deliverables are not met we are not handing over a copy of Creative Thinking to them, are we? If you sense your points are valid and are getting ignored constantly, remember you have a voice to raise!
The Bird Theory
Every Bird has wings, only some can fly. Birds represent freedom. Seriously??, if you could train a bird to walk, why fly? Yes, we have seen birds which talk and squeak, but they are caged too but the real agony is when a bird had wings but they were cut to make it run, the whole life it would just pretend to fly cursing itself. You could be a falcon out in the wild, but remember falcons could be captured too and used as bird of prey to hunt other birds. What is more derisive is some birds are never birds they are just wrongly tagged and pushed off the cliff.
Rhetorical for dummies
Getting Institutionalized is healthy, but being dogmatic kills creativity. Just be wary of People on the fence they can play games. Self-righteousness is the only way to keep your foundation rock-solid and that will serve as a basis of your existence and pass on to the next generation and remember life is short, you will get your turn to roll the dice.
