(first published in People Matters October 2018)
Our abilities are grossly overrated !
Workplaces can be funny places. If one has a sharp sense of it, then humour will keep calling. Many professions have a heightened sense of self view which after a while becomes amusing. Look at for example the profession of politicians. The sense of self worth that they move about can easily mislead one that perhaps the earth will stop moving around the sun if they would not do what they do. The observers of this profession however have a wide range of opinions about them – from disdain to disbelief, from irritation to repulsion, and finally from laughter to sarcasm. However the politician is so engrossed in his sense of self worth and so convinced about his role in moving the earth that the reaction depicted above does not even touch him. He is oblivious to his insignificance even when he is screaming to claim his significance. This soap opera as I said above is either tragic or comic depending upon the mood and day of the observer. Work places are also susceptible to this – particularly if we do not guard ourselves.
I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that at workplace and particularly in people who profess to be proficient in them, the claims on following abilities are grossly overrated. (The pronoun He is used for because constant use of ‘he/she’ was becoming cumbersome. The thoughts apply across genders)
1. Self awareness: ‘I know what I am doing’: In their own eyes, everyone knows what he is doing and more importantly why is he doing it. He knows his motives very well, his reasons are clear and he is in full control of his actions and behaviour. We are confident that there is nothing about us that we do not know, that all that is worth knowing about us already is known to us and that all areas that others do not like about us or we constantly receive feedback about, is because ‘we chose to be so’. Our anger, irritation, decisions, choices, patterns, preferences are all deliberate, towards a purpose and that we are in absolute awareness and hence absolute control of it. I think this heightened sense of self awareness is Grossly overrated!!
2. Feedback: ‘Active seeking and Active working on feedback’. In their own eyes, most believe that they are so interested in self improvement that they know all ways of bringing about that improvement. What is still not captured through their sharp self awareness (as mentioned above) they seek out as feedback. Such is our obsession towards self improvement that we leave no stone unturned to collect feedback widely and deeply. They are diligent enough to seek feedback from seniors, humble enough to seek feedback from team members and large hearted enough to actively seek feedback from peers. They are also secular in the way they act on feedback. In the eyes of most beholders we do not distinguish who has given the feedback before deciding whether to take it seriously and act on it or not - isn’t it? They also believe that they work religiously and diligently on all feedback till the time those blemishes and creases are cleaned and ironed out. We leave no stone unturned to work on themselves. I think this heightened view about our ability to take feedback is Grossly overrated!!
4. Objective: ‘Free from biases. In their own eyes most believe that they are objective. They are convinced that their opinions and decisions are based on hard facts and facts only; that the way they reach their conclusions is tested on the touchstone of factual veracity, free from the interferences of preconceived notions, unfettered by the debilitating influences of personal biases of all kinds. They are resolute in their confidence about their decisions and more importantly the process with which those decisions have been arrived at. They are absolutely convinced that their own motives or preferences or influences of any other kind – obvious or subtle, have not coloured their opinions. I think this grandiose claim of being objective is Grossly overrated!!
5. Listen: ‘Understand completely’. In their own eyes, everyone is a great listener. He gives enough time to hear other people out, figure out what are others really saying, go deep below the words, between the lines, and make complete sense from the conversation. Most believe that they are unencumbered from interferences of any kind, that their own noises do not impact their ability to understand what really the point being made is, that their minds do not wander and that they do not judge. Most also believe they can sift through a person’s minds within a few minutes and within a few lines. Most believe that they can simultaneously be thinking of other things, be doing other things and yet be able to do justice to what is being said to them. Inattentiveness, lack of focus, inability to understand the real meaning etc are issues that others face – not them. I think these heroic listening skill claims are Grossly Overrated!
6. Change: ‘Change easily and at will’. In their own eyes, most believe that they are flexible and change without much fuss. This is my personal favourite in this list. Most that I meet, including myself, believe that we change our stance, opinions, habits, preferences, thinking, and methods – as and when it is required. Most believe that inflexibility is a scourge that afflicts others and that they have been particularly blessed with suppleness of thought. This one is an epidemic these days particularly because the subject of change itself gets discussed like never before, almost ad nausea. No one wants to be an atheist in the temple town. Hence everyone wears his ability to change on his sleeve. Most around us are supremely confident that as the context, environment, strategy, business model et al change, and as the demand from individual also changes as a result, they are amongst the first to change as a suitable and appropriate response to those changes. Everyone else takes time. In case one is charged otherwise, the intellectual defence comes camouflaged as decisiveness and firmness of decision making. There is no other way to say it but this - Our ability to change is grossly overrated!!
www.gurucharangandhi.com||
Our abilities are grossly overrated !
Workplaces can be funny places. If one has a sharp sense of it, then humour will keep calling. Many professions have a heightened sense of self view which after a while becomes amusing. Look at for example the profession of politicians. The sense of self worth that they move about can easily mislead one that perhaps the earth will stop moving around the sun if they would not do what they do. The observers of this profession however have a wide range of opinions about them – from disdain to disbelief, from irritation to repulsion, and finally from laughter to sarcasm. However the politician is so engrossed in his sense of self worth and so convinced about his role in moving the earth that the reaction depicted above does not even touch him. He is oblivious to his insignificance even when he is screaming to claim his significance. This soap opera as I said above is either tragic or comic depending upon the mood and day of the observer. Work places are also susceptible to this – particularly if we do not guard ourselves.
I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that at workplace and particularly in people who profess to be proficient in them, the claims on following abilities are grossly overrated. (The pronoun He is used for because constant use of ‘he/she’ was becoming cumbersome. The thoughts apply across genders)
1. Self awareness: ‘I know what I am doing’: In their own eyes, everyone knows what he is doing and more importantly why is he doing it. He knows his motives very well, his reasons are clear and he is in full control of his actions and behaviour. We are confident that there is nothing about us that we do not know, that all that is worth knowing about us already is known to us and that all areas that others do not like about us or we constantly receive feedback about, is because ‘we chose to be so’. Our anger, irritation, decisions, choices, patterns, preferences are all deliberate, towards a purpose and that we are in absolute awareness and hence absolute control of it. I think this heightened sense of self awareness is Grossly overrated!!
2. Feedback: ‘Active seeking and Active working on feedback’. In their own eyes, most believe that they are so interested in self improvement that they know all ways of bringing about that improvement. What is still not captured through their sharp self awareness (as mentioned above) they seek out as feedback. Such is our obsession towards self improvement that we leave no stone unturned to collect feedback widely and deeply. They are diligent enough to seek feedback from seniors, humble enough to seek feedback from team members and large hearted enough to actively seek feedback from peers. They are also secular in the way they act on feedback. In the eyes of most beholders we do not distinguish who has given the feedback before deciding whether to take it seriously and act on it or not - isn’t it? They also believe that they work religiously and diligently on all feedback till the time those blemishes and creases are cleaned and ironed out. We leave no stone unturned to work on themselves. I think this heightened view about our ability to take feedback is Grossly overrated!!
4. Objective: ‘Free from biases. In their own eyes most believe that they are objective. They are convinced that their opinions and decisions are based on hard facts and facts only; that the way they reach their conclusions is tested on the touchstone of factual veracity, free from the interferences of preconceived notions, unfettered by the debilitating influences of personal biases of all kinds. They are resolute in their confidence about their decisions and more importantly the process with which those decisions have been arrived at. They are absolutely convinced that their own motives or preferences or influences of any other kind – obvious or subtle, have not coloured their opinions. I think this grandiose claim of being objective is Grossly overrated!!
5. Listen: ‘Understand completely’. In their own eyes, everyone is a great listener. He gives enough time to hear other people out, figure out what are others really saying, go deep below the words, between the lines, and make complete sense from the conversation. Most believe that they are unencumbered from interferences of any kind, that their own noises do not impact their ability to understand what really the point being made is, that their minds do not wander and that they do not judge. Most also believe they can sift through a person’s minds within a few minutes and within a few lines. Most believe that they can simultaneously be thinking of other things, be doing other things and yet be able to do justice to what is being said to them. Inattentiveness, lack of focus, inability to understand the real meaning etc are issues that others face – not them. I think these heroic listening skill claims are Grossly Overrated!
6. Change: ‘Change easily and at will’. In their own eyes, most believe that they are flexible and change without much fuss. This is my personal favourite in this list. Most that I meet, including myself, believe that we change our stance, opinions, habits, preferences, thinking, and methods – as and when it is required. Most believe that inflexibility is a scourge that afflicts others and that they have been particularly blessed with suppleness of thought. This one is an epidemic these days particularly because the subject of change itself gets discussed like never before, almost ad nausea. No one wants to be an atheist in the temple town. Hence everyone wears his ability to change on his sleeve. Most around us are supremely confident that as the context, environment, strategy, business model et al change, and as the demand from individual also changes as a result, they are amongst the first to change as a suitable and appropriate response to those changes. Everyone else takes time. In case one is charged otherwise, the intellectual defence comes camouflaged as decisiveness and firmness of decision making. There is no other way to say it but this - Our ability to change is grossly overrated!!
www.gurucharangandhi.com||
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