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The Clash Between Authority And Competency
We joke about it all of the time, but it’s only funny because it’s so depressingly true.
It’s been well known, for a very long time now, that many people in positions of notional authority have achieved that level of status in spite of their ability, rather than because of it.
For all the congratulatory HR events, the modern style of back slapping adherence to apparently progressive¹ company values, and all of the other bullshit presented on company PowerPoints², the vast majority of organisations still remain regressive and inefficient oligarchies rather than progressive and innovative meritocracies.
This, naturally, also explains why us worker cogs are consistently underpaid, commonly exploited through various workplace initiatives (hackathons, working in open offices, hot desking, company “swag”, et al.), and are forced to jump through the continual soft skill hoops that HR dangles in front of us and mandates with career progression — rather than getting paid for doing our best valuable, forward looking, technical work.
Do I sound bitter? Well, that’s because I am and more so than usual too.
We could discuss why this is the case, perhaps dress it up a bit, but fundamentally we knows it’s about money (profit, shareholders, investors, expense accounts, and the like)…
