Screw being the ‘Yes’ person
The world’s corporations rely on good yes people to put
their heads down and graft for the good of the corporation. These hardworking
individuals produce what the corporation needs to maintain itself within its
select market place. All the while, the individual exchanges their time and
skills for those lovely pieces of coloured paper that represent value and what
saves us, as individuals, having to barter. The thing is I have been watching a
slow and quiet rebellion taking place within these ‘imagined’ constructs. It
seems that the big corporations are introducing more and more controls and more
and more rules to the individuals. Strangely those higher up the food chain don’t
seem to adhere to those same rules. The yes people abide by these rules through
fear of losing their jobs and not being able to pay bills. You know what? It is weird when you
think how much the workers essentially tolerate in exchange for money. If you
wish to read more about this please have a read of Sapiens, a fantastic book.
So today was a fascinating day. I have said before that I
work in two capacities. I run a wonderful team of Social Media creators and I
also work as a strategist and business analyst. I love both roles because they
appeal to both sides of my nature and brain. Yet, with all this in mind, today
was a day of rebellion. The most recent tremors began with an article that I wrote
on the top five New Year’s resolutions. The article listed the fact that people
wanted to lose weight, save money, get in touch with people, stop smoking and
drinking. The article was written and then sent for higher management approval.
Over the ‘festive season’ it turns out a whole series of new social media
rules were introduced. Many corporations are not allowed to mention Christmas
because not all people celebrate Christmas.
Smoking or drinking were not allowed to be mentioned and nor was weight
loss because it was not fair to penalise people for being fat or even slightly
over weight. That was not what the article was about, it was about health and
making positive resolutions. So from the original list, the only remaining approved item
was getting in touch. In the meantime, the higher management felt that people
should not be making resolutions because they did not keep them and that meant
they were going to fail which reduced productivity. I was then asked to
re-write the article and instead of talking about resolutions I was asked to
focus on ways people could increase their productivity at work. Erm… no! It was
quite an amusing moment because in addition to this, the social media group
were told they could not use photos from their phones, from the internet or any
imagery that had not been taken by an official photographer for the
company.
Are you sensing why there was rebellion brewing? Now, our
Social media site was created with the following mission: create uplifting,
inspiring and fun blog content that exceeds expectation and articles that the audience
will love to read. That is precisely what we did for a whole year. It seems the
blog’s success has caused its own problems because the blog team and I set
about creating something special and unique within a very controlled and
austere environment. The popularity of this blog went corporation wide because
the articles were passionate, written with humour and were a little bit
exciting – imagine! What’s more, the group were run on the theory of tribal
leadership. This is when the group enter a room for discussion and all hierarchy
disappears. We are all equal, we all take turns leading and we all choose our
level of engagement. Our level from the outset was the highest level whereby we
intended ‘to create something exemplary’ where others would be inspired to
aspire to our unique way of communicating. It worked so well that we had huge viewing
figures and other lines of business emulated the way we approached things. The
thing is with success often comes parasites. Those who noticed the success wanted
their names on it. They then found ways in which to control the free-spirited
creativity and that is what happened today. What I will say is that creativity
needs space and freedom. Creativity is not forced otherwise it is like
constipation: no matter how hard you push nothing comes out. It is only when
you relax that you can deliver.
For the last year we have provided excellent communication
and there have been numerous attempts at sabotage that caused the blogging team
concern. We all did our best to jump the hurdles, united our minds and found
new ways to progress. However, today was the last straw – no photos and being
asked to write dull shit! So that was it… My lovely young team and I had a heart-felt
discussion and came to the conclusion that it was time to say no. In doing so one
of the quieter natured creators turned to the group and said ‘Screw being the
yes man. There are times when a person has to say no and they are not going to
do it anymore.’ I agreed and asked what they wanted to do with our allotted
meetings if the blog ceased to exist. The answer was simple: have a meeting,
discuss how the group progress their careers and use the time for group
motivation and mentorship. So the crap was transformed into flowers.
You might well ask what has happened from the higher
management point of view. They are still in the process of figuring out what
happened and what to do. Of course the whole group have their main job roles
and this Social Media group was what was known, according to corporate carrot
dangling, ‘as an above and beyond stretch assignment.’ We went above and beyond
but there is only so far you are willing to stretch before the elastic band
snaps. That is when the yes person says screw this and shifts to the NO! That is when the other workers will begin to
ask questions.
You can find my books at the following link: Ruby Allure books on Audible:
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