Friday, October 12, 2012
Thursday, October 04, 2012
I am the Victim!!!!
There has been much in the news around the presidential election about certain people taking assistance because they think of themselves as victims. Let me say from the outset this is not a political rant. It however is a consideration about the concept of being a victim in our global workplace.
I recently finished reading Dave Ulrich's latest book, HR from the Outside In,(which by the way I highly recommend be read by all HR professionals) It looks at the global HR profession from the perspective of the latest Human Resource Competency Survey. In the book Dave Ulrich and his team make reference to a quote from William James, In one sentence William James established the essence of this blog post. He said
We are not victims of the world we see; we are victims of the way we see the world
Stop and consider that for a moment. We on a consistent basis hear claims that the government is against us; the labor unions are trying to destroy our businesses and society. We hear that the reason we can't expand our businesses is because of too much red tape and regulations. But is that really the reality of the situation? Are we victims of the world we see? Or are we victims of our own piece of reality?
Lets take just one aspect of the reality here and consider the two perspectives. If we picture the scenario that one of the problems organizations are having is the difficulty in hiring workers to fill needs with the organization and compare the views:
We are Victims of the world we see
If this is your view of the world, you can argue that the difficulty facing the organization is due to the fact that the world economic environment is in dire straits.The policies of global governments are hindering the advancement of our organizations. The solution to the problem is we need to cut costs and the easiest way to achieve that is to cut headcount. We therefore have to overload the current staff because the work still has to get done. Besides have you seen lately what happens when we post a position? Have you seen all the untrained people who apply? How can I possibly have time with the other responsibilities I have to get through them all?
We are victims of the way we see the world
Have you seen the range of complaints from the EEOC lately? They are literally plastered with examples of organizations that take this view of the world into the workplace. The range of complaints are clear demonstrations of the fact that these organizations think that they are victims of the world they see. Consider these examples:
An organization refused to hire a pregnant woman as a group leader - We can't hire them as they don't represent the image we want. Besides they won't stay with the organization after the arrival of the child anyway.
An organization placed an employee of different color in a lower position than a white employee - Those people are always the rebels and don't like following rules so we need their services but not as bad as the other employees. Besides they don't want to work anyway. Just look around town and they are always hanging out on the street corners with nothing to do.
Years ago Napoleon Hill wrote that what the mind can conceive and believe it will achieve. So if you take the position that you are the victim of the world you see, sorry t say you will be that victim. If you expect that a certain employee is nothing but trouble, they will be. If you categorize a group of employees under certain characteristics, they will be that characteristic.
It is your choice whether you view the world we see as part of a grandeur scheme or as a victim. Dictionary.com tells us that a victim is a person who is deceived or cheated, as by his or her own emotions or ignorance, by the dishonesty of others, or by some impersonal agency. So when you look at the world do you create your own reality by suggesting out of ignorance that you are the victim in the business world?
I would strongly suggest that in order to bring this global marketplace back to a point of strength we need to learn to work together, not as the victim of some imaginary stereotype of a group of people or conditions that you face. It is your choice whether you continue to segregate your organization from the new normal or join the global village.
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