As a professional network, LinkedIn has been changed during the Pandemic. I’ve noticed many more people willing to emote here than ever before. That’s neither good nor bad, it just is. I have found that folks are much more likely to characterize others more openly than Id noticed prior – LinkedIn philosophers are definitely en vogue (or LinkedIn copy and pasters). Often the messages are sent in generalities and abstraction without offering specific details, which is likely for the best. The theme I’ve most often noticed is a criticism of others outside their “group” in an organization.
For example, I’ve seen oh so many managers post about the perils of “quiet quitting” within the lower levels of their organizations. Or front line folks complaining about the clueless, uncaring, selfish management they are subjected to. Or folks generalizing about how organizations are there to hold them back and underpay, underappreciate, and under value them at every turn.
I find this to be a fascinating insight to the author more than anything. That thinking is myopically self centered most of the time – it assumes that the author is all knowing and always correct while the world around them just “doesn’t get it” and is there as an impediment to the individual. There are plenty of days when I question those around me…but an equal number of days that I question myself. I try to keep some bedrock thoughts front of mind as often as possible that run contrary to this thinking.
First, I firmly believe that the vast, vast majority of folks show up every day to do their job most days without actively thinking, “man, Id really like to do the worst job possible today!”. Most people want to do a good job – maybe they don’t want to be superstars, but they want to do the right thing and the right time to get the right result. However, to read many of our LinkedIn philosophers, they have some deep rooted belief that everyone employed is coming in just trying to do poorly and make their life harder…peers, bosses, subordinates, everyone involved are all complete idiots with bad intent.
I wholeheartedly refuse to believe that. Most people want to do good work and excel. Do they want to kill themselves and work 18 hours a day. No! Do they want to be only their chosen profession with no interests or activities otherwise? No! But in the hours they do work, they want to do as good of job as possible. And often, when that doesn’t happen, the reasons are far more complex than “they didn’t want to do the work”, yet that’s what we hear. It’s not a lack of motivation or effort or intellect – but it may be a lack of infrastructure, support, mentorship, role specific skills, clear direction, resources, etc. There are a heck of a lot more potential points of failure on the organization side than on the individual side when you step back and think about it. Does this mean every last person is giving their maximum effort all the time? Of course not, but the assumption that people don’t care and don’t want to perform is foolhardy, poisonous, and unfairly shifting a burden to only the employee.
Second, we often read how “management” is either an impediment or adversary to those they lead on purpose. They are creating negative cultures, imposing impossible expectations, unfairly punishing employees, strategically underpaying and undervaluing people, withholding critical resources, and the list goes on. For any of you who have been a manager, you probably react how I do – with incredulousness. Sure, there are some “bad” managers. Just like there are some “bad” employees…but the vast majority of managers/management wants exactly the opposite: they want their teams to perform and evolve. Why? Because they are altruistic saints hoping to improve the human condition? No. Because their self interest is to have a team that is high performing so they are viewed as a high performing manager. It’s not rocket science. The vast majority of leaders actually want to best from their subordinates and are trying to help accomplish that goal. That doesn’t mean that their attempts are always the best. Anyone who has been a manager can think of a time where their best intention was a spectacular failure, in retrospect. But, much like with the view above of people in general, most managers want the best for the people they lead and are spending as much time/effort as possible to help them achieve just that. Their isn’t a conspiracy to make people’s lives worse, just efforts to make the team better – with some efforts more effective/enjoyable than others. The assumption that management is a group of bumbling idiots out to get the workers is corrosive, illogical, and culture killing, yet prevalent.
Finally, beyond managers and management, the thought that companies only exist to exploit their employees is tempting to believe, but ultimately flawed. Companies are absolutely going to try to optimize their resources. (Translation: pay as little as possible while getting maximum efficiency from folks.) That is one of the bedrock tenets of capitalism. However, companies also want to grow, scale, innovate, evolve, and run in perpetuity. That isn’t possible if the company constantly has to completely rebuild it’s workforce regularly. While there are undoubtedly examples of organizations who abused their workforce – and far more of these examples than any of us would like – they are largely the exception and often doomed over time. There is definitely a continuum of corporate responsibility towards their employees (compare the benefits a front line Wal Mart worker receives vs. those at a FAANG company), but neither end is openly out to exploit their folks – they are trying to extract all the value they can for the lowest cost. Is that wonderful for the world? Hard no. But in a capitalistic environment, it is the economic truth. Companies are out to “get you” – they want to get you to do the most work for the least cost, for as long as they durably can.
So what is the point of this rant, you ask? When you read the LinkedIn philosopher ranting about the evils of others, take a minute to put yourself in that “others” group and see if the point still rings true to you. Again, I am not here to say that our system is perfect, every employee is a superstar, and every manager is worthy of writing a book about, but I am trying to convince you that based on the human condition, the vast majority of all these folks are trying their best most of the time, have good intentions (although the results can vary), and like you want those around them to flourish as well. That simple moment of reflection may help you not only feel better about the world, but also may help you understand the very thing that the author is frustrated about in a far different way.
View from the Middle 