Every martial arts movie seems to have a scene where two combatants that are about to engage face each other and one of them, usually the hero in the plot, makes a gesture with his hand inviting his opponent to “bring it!†This move is such a classic that even the parodies of these movies magnify this to the point of comedy. “I’m ready. Show me what you’ve got!†I’m told that this is really movie fighting and not any kind of legitimate pre-match protocol. It is definitely more antagonistic than a preliminary bow or handshake because life doesn’t follow all the rules all of the time. Sometimes this act is a display of supreme confidence and at other times it is just blatant arrogance. Either way, in real life the outcome is never a sure thing even if the lead character may believe that it is over before it starts.
Maybe it is life imitating art, but something is happening in the world of work and it is not all good. Maybe it is because of my perspective as a recruiter, but it seems that bravado is encouraged even at the expense of ourselves and others. This is probably a display of the 80/20 rule where only a small percentage of people suffer from overinflated egos, but it seems greater because of the time and energy this mindset consumes. There is a fuzzy line between self-serving ego-feeding swagger and confidence in the ability to perform and get results.
Job Seeker Arrogance – Their attitude spectrum at times seem to stretch from the desperate to the defiant even though they all are after the same goal. There are a whiny few who are so desperate to have things their own way that they make up their own rules and then complain when they lose the game. Nothing is more frustrating than to see prospective candidates that are obviously ready for expanded roles in their next career move disqualify themselves by thinking that they must live by ultimatum rather than negotiation. Digging in and taking an unmovable stand when it is not required is daring the more powerful player in the game to a fight. It is the job seeker who must “Bring It!†bringing skills to the table or they won’t be invited to sit at the table.
Employee Negativity – Employees owe an honest day’s work for a day’s pay. That is how the system works. Company profits are not a bad thing because it is the profitable employer that will expand and create jobs for more employees. Entitlement mentality stealthily creeps into the workplace from somewhere that is beyond realism. Maybe it starts with the conditioning that every kid on the soccer team gets a trophy regardless of individual skills. On the pretense that this builds teamwork, it actually creates a false ego and an evolution into grown-ups that see adversarial relationships as the only solution. From the laws of the jungle, if you starve with a lion the lion starves last. In business, feed your employer with your good work and everybody succeeds. Knowing that you are challenging an infinitely more powerful adversary is not a great time to say “Bring It!â€
Self-absorbed HR – Those who function as talent management leaders are not any better or worse than others in a company and often there is a steep learning curve to become effective. In some cases practitioners take on a superiority complex that puts them into positions as unnatural advisors to key leaders. It is a human flaw to assume an air of greatness by being near to the great. Most people swell with pride when acknowledged by someone in power and having an influence over the powerful is godlike. Looking down on employees from this lofty perch while sitting around the campfire singing Kumbaya is not how HR is supposed to work. Combining this attitude with employee negativity is toxic. The alternative is to raise the level of professionalism to greatness rather than appointment by attitude. Regardless of who says “Bring It!†somebody is going to lose.
Government Meddling – It cannot be said with certainty that this is caused by the minority of people that will always do the wrong thing or if it is adding to the tensions that already exist by assuming that everybody will always do the wrong thing. Lately, in a classic case of a solution looking for a problem, the NLRB is challenging the “At Will†employment statements in U.S. company’s employee manuals. Even though union membership in the private sector is only 6.9% (down from over 30% fifty years ago) the official government attitude is to “Bring It!†on the outside chance that some employee will want to organize and be prohibited to do so. We have all experienced the teacher who would keep the whole class after school because of the antics of one class clown. Peer pressure doesn’t work between businesses. The exasperating need to create jobs during a recession and punishing all job creators because of the sins of a few totally defies all logic.
This is not supposed to be a rant on how bad things are or a warning that we are facing imminent doom. It is also not some sort of political manifesto that dictates right thinking. Moving forward happens when all sides open their minds and work together. Thankfully, crossing over that fine hazy line into negativity is not a certainty and there are enough positive-minded people to offset anything that would fall into these traps. We all must find ways to challenge intolerance, negativity, unprofessional behavior and faulty logic without regard to ego or self-promotion. The battle cry is “Bring it!â€
Image credit: Angry Teen reana / 123RF Stock Photo