'Failing up': Why some climb the ladder despite mediocrity

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210226-failing-up-why-some-climb-the-ladder-despite-mediocrity

by pseudolus • 5 years ago

2 1 5 years ago

I'm surprised they didn't mention family. The last company I worked for, the daughters of one of the big-wigs were constantly getting promoted, even though they lacked any qualifications and weren't particularly competent with their nominal responsibilities. One had what was essentially a no show job. Their roles and titles became more and more important, and if you were an outside observer not aware of the circumstances, you'd probably conclude that each individual were extremely competent employees. It was almost as if they were using their father's influence in one company to pad their resumes in the event they needed to jump ship. Infuriating. I really think nepotism is something that people don't pay enough to. Just to take the entertainment industry, the number of actors whose parent is a successful actor has been something I can't help but to notice whenever I see a movie.

I mean even this article, look at the bio of one of the people they cite. Ruchika Tulshyan, "founder of the Seattle-based inclusion strategy firm Candour", is the daughter of a shipping and real estate magnate (https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/archive/2012/02/04/pala...). Naturally no one mentions that.

Another thing I'd mention is the politics that comes with employment. Plenty of people get promoted because they are in a political clique, a faction that promotes and protects their own social interests almost always at the expense of the company. Competence doesn't really matter when you're more focused about expanding and preserving your political power rather than some bottom line. Not to mention, managers who are in your faction can easily find ways to skew the benchmarks so that their people come up on top, so that their people are the ones who look like gold stars. Their people will be working on the best assignments or more likely will be in a position where they can claim the credit while the work is being done by others. And while I certainly agree in the aggregate that black people are generally given less breathing space than other people, I have seen too many instances where the reverse is true: especially if they are protected by someone with power, it is nearly impossible to pointedly criticize continuous shoddy work because you do not want people to weaponize accusations of racism against you. It's even worse because those sorts of employees are totally aware of this and have no problem with taking advantage as much as they can.

I've heard people say DC is Hollywood for ugly people. I think its fair to say the workplace is Hollywood for parasitic people. And if I come across as bitter, it is because I totally am. Starting a job in a new company is just "once more into the breach" and if you're lucky you'll manage to get by without too much abuse and if you're unlucky you'll go through a social meat grinder just to make a living. But I'm certain this feeling is shared by the majority of people who get shafted because they couldn't make it in life via their family's connections and wealth or they don't approach their job as a game of Diplomacy first and work a distant second. I think this phenomenon is a lot more complex than "black people and women have it bad", I think it's just a microcosm of how shameless people can be in social groups as a whole. And the people behind this paper, it's not as if they haven't thought of what I'm speaking of. But why bite the hands that feed them?

'Failing up': Why some climb the ladder despite mediocrity

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