A634.3.4.RB - The Harder They Fall

Using concepts from the Kramer (2003) article as a baseline, share your insights on dilemmas that happen in society, work, and in your life.

Many of us were taught to strive to do our best in everything we do early in our lives.  It makes sense because if we work hard at something we should be able to achieve our goals.  This may be the case in many instances throughout life.  However, it is not always the case for everyone trying to reach career goals.  The further up the corporate ladder one wants to climb the more competition there will be in the winner-takes-all environment.  And, there is only room for one person at the top.  So many people have great intentions of traveling their path to success in the most gracious and ethical manner possible.  They cannot even imagine doing it any other way.  Yet, when faced with situations they never anticipated, they fail to meet their ethical standards.  They tend to lose sight of what they thought were their strong ethical codes or are simply willing to sacrifice breaking their code for career advancement.  Many people think that “getting ahead means doing things differently from ordinary people—for instance, finding a back door to success that others have not been smart enough to spot” (Kramer, 2003, p. 61).  

I used to believe that my hard work, dependability, loyalty, and dedication would allow me to reach any career goal I set forth.  I found out the hard way that this is not the reality.  I believe if I would have finished my career in the Air Force that the sky was the limit (pun intended) because I think the career progression system was fair.  I did not always think that way and believed the promotion system was flawed.  I thought that only “book smart” people made rank and it was not fair to see someone with great study habits and poor social skills climb the ladder.  In hindsight, that was just a poor excuse to avoid studying.  I have been out of the Air Force and working in the civilian sector for almost 9 years now.  In comparison, advancing in the civilian sector is incredibly more difficult.  I have grown tired of hearing throughout my career that “you deserve more” or “you should be doing something better”, implying I should be climbing the ladder.  I used to think climbing the ladder is what I wanted and what I was supposed to do because a stagnant career was one of my biggest fears.  I cared so much about what others thought in that regard too.  I have finally reached a point in my career where I know what is important.  And the keys are balance and knowing that I am the one who determines what makes me happy.  I have always tried to maintain a balance between family, education, recreation, and career.  I now understand I was not willing to throw that balance off for the sake of advancing my career.  For example, Kramer (2003) references a woman who walked away from her marriage and two-year-old daughter to gain an opportunity for improving her promotion potential.  She says “It was one of the most painful things I’ve ever done, but I just was not willing at that time to let all of this Ozzie and Harriet stuff slow me down or hold me back” (Kramer, 2003, p. 62).

The differences between those I have watched climb the ladder and me is that they were willing to sacrifice their balance and other things I refused to sacrifice.  I have seen people focus on their careers so hard that they lose sight of other important things like their family or health, sometimes to the point in which they lose their family or have health problems.  Some even have no problem using others to progress.  I have had many instances where coworkers take credit for other’s work or use someone as their proverbial sacrificial lamb to make themselves look better in leadership’s eyes.  I was just never that great and still not great at “playing the game”.  It is simply not worth it to me.  It means I have to adjust my moral standards and that is not happening. 

So what happens when this laser focused, career driven person reaches the top?  Some have extreme difficulty dealing with it.  For example, “the sacrifices an individual makes on the way to the top not only make it harder to cope with the rewards when they do come, they also make the person greedier for more of the same” and tend to “rationalize such an exaggerated sense of entitlement” (Kramer, 2003, p. 63).  This is not to say all have difficulty.  Some go on to become great leaders through what Kramer (2003) found to be “a remarkable sense of proportion” and “a high degree of self-awareness” (p. 64).  Their ability to remain grounded and highly effective leaders was found in “a certain combination of psychological and behavioral habits” (p. 64) such as keeping their lives simple, understanding their weaknesses, and being more reflective.          

References:

Kramer, R. M. (2003). THE HARDER THEY FALL. (cover story). Harvard Business Review, 81(10), 58-66.