3 Observations About Work

I’m going to take a break from my typical post to share some thoughts that have been coalescing over the last few months. Over the last 15 years of my working life I have served in a variety of roles in a variety of organizations. I have had experiences as both an associate and a supervisor. My times in those capacities have led me to the following conclusions.

Most people think their skills are undervalued.

Most of us go through our workplace experience with the subtle (or not so subtle) belief that our talents are being wasted or squandered. We dream of bigger things we know that we are capable of. Often this belief leads to the temptation of bitterness as we see ourselves passed over for advancement while others we may view as inferior flourish. At its most cynical, it subconsciously casts oneself in the role of the oppressed and sets up a scenario of ‘us against the world’. Each of us tends to be our own biggest advocate. We act this way for two reasons (one positive, one negative):

1.      Simply put, we know ourselves better than anyone else. We have access to the full scope of our talents and experiences. Whereas others can only surmise what we are capable of based upon interactions and observation, we know better what we have to offer.

2.       The complete abundance of evidence of our own qualifications often leaves us with a disproportional understanding and sense of perspective. We overvalue our own skills and undervalue those of our co-workers.

Most people dislike their boss.

Although not necessarily the case in every instance, I often found this to be the root of workplace dissention. This is often the case even in instances in which one’s supervisor is an otherwise a rational and sensitive person. The tendency to equate a person with a title (supervisor, general manager, CEO) seems to clear the way to dehumanize the person in light of the position. This disconnect makes it easy to dislike anyone who exerts authority over others.

There are, of course, many supervisors and managers who give in to the temptation and pressure to exert unjustly the authority given to them by way of their position. The temptation is very real and pressure from other authorities (we’ll get to this later) often pushes otherwise generous people to behave selfishly.

That said, it is our pride that often pushes us to despise those who appear to be our superiors. Our constant desire to be recognized, respected, compensated, and (perhaps) feared draws us away from humility and the reality of our own weaknesses and frailty and insists upon our own worthiness and qualification. The natural reaction then, is to tear down anyone who impedes upon that version of reality.

Nearly everyone is working under someone else’s authority; or to put it another way, they are ‘just following the rules.’

On the flip side of the previous point is this one. Each of us answers to somebody. Everyone has a boss. I say this not to absolve anyone of responsibility. Each of us has a person or persons who lay down the rules for us. Often, when we give into the temptation to demonize our superiors we blindly believe (subconsciously) that each rule and demand comes solely from the person we directly report to. Our arrogance is happy to leave us blindly ignorant of that fact that we all answer to someone.

Those of us who may be tempted to lash out against a rule or directive would do well to remember that A) our supervisor is a human being and B) someone higher than they are passing down rules and expectations that they too must comply with.

To all of us who have a measure of influence, we must never believe that an order or directive must be blindly and thoughtlessly obeyed. Each of us is subject to the laws of God and of Man. Our allegiance is first and foremost to them. Blind obedience, while perhaps encouraged corporately, does not negate our responsibilities to God and our fellow man. We must always operate with the superior directive to live and conduct ourselves justly, understanding that each of our co-workers is a human being of equal worth as ourselves.

The Root

A common theme emerges from each of these points; a common causation: pride. It is the nagging root of pride that pushes each of these unhealthy attitudes. It is pride that views ourselves as inherently more worthy than our co-workers. Only bitterness and cynicism come from this seed. Only a healthy understanding of humility will allow us to both reach our potential AND conduct ourselves in manner which drives us to do our best in whatever endeavor we find ourselves in.

It is pride that chooses to tear down our superiors to raise ourselves up. It is pride that uses us to dehumanize rather than empathize. We must seek to see our authorities as people as human as ourselves and see the reasons (valid or not) for decisions we may disagree with.

It is pride that causes us to think our superiors have only ill-intent toward us, and such feelings as the driving force of their actions. Pride shrinks our view of the world to the size of our own head. In such confined places, it becomes all too easy to forget that those in authority too, have authorities who place demands and expectations on them. It is pride, too, that leads men and women to compromise their own conscience in an attempt to meet expectations at the cost (ultimately) of the dignity of others.

Only in striking at the deepest root of all: the desire to rule upon the throne of our own lives can we foster the kind of humility that deserves to lead and to be led.