There is a
sacred cow in the corporate environment that seems to be rampant more
especially amongst Africans. This sacred cow is what pulls back a lot of us
from pursuing greatness in our organizations or even aspiring for a greater position
beyond our current standing. “Working beyond your call of duty is tantamount to
being obsequious or boot-licking to your superiors.”
This is the
notion that has crippled our efforts to progress in our careers. What usually
occurs is individuals in the same position or rank in an organization,
unconsciously, set a bar in terms of the effort they put in their work. A
norm is usual created that anyone who tries to perform beyond their call of
duty or beyond the confinements of that “norm” is basically trying to gain
unfair favour from their superiors or they think they are better than others.
And for some reason, people tend not to stand up and defend themselves against
such or even have the stand for what they know is right and continue to pursue
their goal. Individuals fear being ostracized by their peers more and succumb
to performing at par.
Of the 7
years of corporate experience I have, I’ve seen this play out in a department
setting. Individuals even tend to shrug and bury themselves on their chairs when
a public announcement is made to congratulate them for above par performance
mainly because they know of the backlash they will receive from their peers
afterwards. This backlash may not always come to them directly but even as
“jokes” or subtle condemnation like, “Oh! Here comes our Junior partner!” Such
comments are basically a way to deter those who do well from staying on that
good streak. This is a deadly culture that superiors tend to never pay
attention to or maybe they don’t see it at all. However, to promote efficiency
and effectiveness in the work environment, shooting this sacred cow is imperative.
Despite the
existence of this counterproductive organizational culture, there is always a
visionary employee, with focus and knowing exactly what they want in life and
doing all it takes to arrive at their goal, that will not agree to stay under
that veil of deceit. They basically burst these myths and social norms and defy
the laws of this culture. It is never an easy task to go against a culture but
with confidence and focus and reminding oneself of why you do what you do, that
goal alone breaks the walls erected by these sacred cows and erases all available
limits. One can perform and exert more effort to get to a level they aspire to.
To this individual, the negative response of their peers weighs less compared
to the hunger for success and to see themselves become someone in life or in
that company. Office and passage gossip become none of their concern as they see
the bigger picture in pursuing growth and success. The constant voice in their
head when propaganda comes is, keep working hard, stay focused and keep your
eyes on the goal, eventually the hard work will pay off.
These
individuals understand that all this negative talk by their peers is a draw
back and rather they focus on achieving their highest potential. In most cases
the sacred cows come from individuals who are vision-less and put minimum effort
in their work yet complain about the size of their pie at the end of the month.
It is important to ensure that as individuals in a corporate setting we aim to
shoot these sacred cows and encourage one another to strive to realize our
potential in our professions if we want to see a productive and booming Africa.
This is where great leaders, millionaires and game changers will be birthed. It
all starts with our attitudes and in our heads when we question why we do what
we do and the consequences of whatever action we take in every area of our
lives.
I am for
the death of these sacred cows and I believe this short piece of sharing is
“one bullet” to shooting these sacred cows and making our place of work a pool
of true professionals and tomorrows’ leaders.
Written By:
Modiredi K. Ketshabetswe
