Race to Nowhere

As I do typically every morning I watch a portion of the Today show before getting on the computer. This morning they had a segment with the documentary producer who create a film that is making a stir across this country. The premise behind the film entitled Race to Nowhere" is that we are loading our youth with so much pressure to get into this college or that college that they can never achieve the goal. They discussed a 13 year old girl who failed to get an A on a math test and was so stressed out over it that she committed suicide.

I took a moment to carry this out a little further and asked myself if we are doing this to our kids, then they must have gotten this "drive" from somewhere and the natural thought is that it is coming from peers, teachers and parents. If in fact it in part comes from their parents and teachers, then does this race carry over to the workplace?

We all are cognizant of the fact that we function in an ever increasingly competitive global workplace. I realize it is a fact of life. But in an effort to be better than everyone else, do we equally place this urge to race to nowhere on our employees? Do we as managers walk the walk,and talk the talk that every employee must reach this lofty goal which maybe unattainable?

While our organizations need to remain competitive, it is equally true that we as business owners and human resource professionals must recognize that not every employee is capable or wants to be in the "Harvard" of the business world. Some can make equally important contributions to the health of the organization without being in the ivory tower of the organization. The employee could be the one on the floor who sees that we are doing something that is not totally beneficial to the organization and alerts management to a better way of doing things. The employee could be the one who in exposure to our customers enhances the relationship by going the extra mile to solve a problem. The employee could be the one who by being active in the local community extends the brand name of the organization by showing that the organization cares about the community in which they thrive.

 Competitiveness for the sake of competitiveness may look good on paper but it is not necessarily good for the health of the organization or its greatest asset - your employees

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed