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Have you ever wondered…?
Have you ever wondered about the ridicule of
corporate life, where one person - or a small group of individuals - is
considered competent enough to judge another’s performance and bring out a
report as to whether this other one meets the criteria for pursuing this or
that?
Oh yes, it may be that the examiner has particular credentials that
justify his or her authority to do the selecting, but how do we deal with
the age-old problem of chemistry? As you know, chemistry is not just
something that determines the success rate in a love affair. It works just as
well in the business world. People determine at first sight whether they
like someone or not. And sometimes, unfortunately, they are influenced
by historical or personal views about members of other ethnic groups or
sexes. It may be an accent, a color, a way of dressing, or anything else that
makes this other person different from them. And, even more unfortunate, it
is not written on recruiters’ foreheads whether they are influenced by biases
of any kind. Many of these recruiters or scrutinizers are wise enough never
to
admit or show their prejudices. Actually, some of them even make it
their specialty to conceal or abnegate this shortcoming.
But the above
described phenomenon is the exact reason why inequality will remain for a
long time in the work environment: people just have an ingrained preference
for the ones that resemble them most, either in looks or ways. Besides, let’s
be honest, hiring one who comes from your own culture and background is so
much easier. Think of the time you will save in
training and familiarizing!
Think of the speed with which decisions will be made due to homogeneous
perspectives!
Yes, this is what goes on in our world today, and perhaps
tomorrow as well. Maybe even forever. It’s a sad truth, as the solutions
enforced by the government have not proven their effectiveness so far.
Preaching diversity and executing affirmative action? They have long
demonstrated their flaws: If you force an institution to maintain certain
minimum percentages of under-represented groups in their work- or study
force, they may just go for achieving those percentages without caring for
the quality. Some even do it deliberately. Why? Because enrolling or hiring
the weaker members from minority groups will prove in the end that these
groups really have intellectual and performance flaws!
It’s all about
strategies and politics. And business, whether we like to admit it or not,
thrives on politics. Only the strong survive.
So, how do YOU go about
achieving anything if YOU happen to be an outsider with no support group to
turn to? I guess the solution lies in a combination of behaviors:
1.
Always, always, always perform to your very best. Be alert, and never slack.
Practice ten, no, hundred times harder than your counterparts who were
privileged by their very appearance.
2. Try to find a job that limits
your exposure to a political climate. And since every environment with more
than two people is a politically laden one, there is not too much else to
consider than working from home. However, working from home brings to the
surface a number of other requirements, of
which self-discipline is the most
important.
3. Participate in as much educational endeavors as you can.
Of course you should determine your focus and your area of interest first.
But obtaining education and attempting to broaden your capabilities as much
as possible, may make it harder to have you turned down, simply because you
don’t meet the appearance standards that certain recruiters seem to have in
mind.
4. Follow the news and, whenever possible, do some traveling. The
message here is, that you should make yourself familiar with other
environments than the one you are currently in. No one said that your future
should be established per definition in the country where you happen to be at
the moment. Besides, there is much you could do for other countries from
the
safe environment of your home as well. The Internet may just be the
place for you to search – and find.
5. Never, ever let rejection get
the best of you. See through it. Who are those people anyway to reject
something as powerful and talented as you? They could only do so because they
are meager, shortsighted ants with little or no depth. But they are in the
position to do it, so you are allowed to be
down for a few days, but make
sure you get up again, and continue looking. Always! Remember, no one can
keep a good thing down. Be a cork: Pop up every time they release their thumb
from you. It’s all about vigor, self-confidence, and perseverance. And the
resilience to get up one more
time than you fall.
The 5 tips above are
not the points of salvation, for salvation lies within you. They are just
hints for you to keep in mind, and to try. However, they will be worthless if
you do not believe in yourself; if you have never wondered; and if,
subsequently, you have not developed a healthy perspective of the
subjectivity that goes around in the world.
But if you have, you know the
ridicule, and you will learn to laugh it off…and be successful
anyway!
Joan Marques, Ed.D.
Burbank, May 10,
2004
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About the
Author:
Joan Marques emigrated from Suriname, South America, to California,
U.S., in 1998. She holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership, a Master’s
in
Business Administration, and is currently a university instructor
in Business and Management in Burbank, California. You may visit her web
sites at http://www.joanmarques.com
and
http://www.spiritcounts.com
Joan's
manual "Feel Good About Yourself," a six part series to get you overthe
bumps in life and onto success, can be purchased and downloaded at:
http://www.non-books.com/FeelGoodSeries.html
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