Are we calling this complaining?
Thursday, July 15, 2004
There was an article the New York Times last week that talked about British society's shift toward complaining, reporting that "Britain’s Stiff Upper Lip is Being Twisted Into a Snarl."
Essentially, the writer pointed out the ways that the Brits are whining and suing like the best of us on this side of the pond. While this may speak to a shift in a cultural stereotype, for me it speaks to a broader reality that confronts cultures and organizations alike.
People aren't just going to sit by and take what is given, reacting with passivity or powerlessness as those "leaders" in power sometimes wish the "followers" or the little people would accept.
Are we talking about a cultural revolution? Not necessarily. Challenging authority was wildly fashionable in the late 1950s and through the '60s. When we got to the "Me" times of the '70s and '80s, we stopped worrying about challenging and started worrying about our own gratification. A generation later, we have experienced the riches, the unthinkable growth in prosperity, and now we are feeling the next part of the cycle. However, with many people living through this entire cycle, and many in the workworld only participating in the last 20+ years, people are left saying, "Forget this! I can serve me and I can do it in a way that isn't totally selfish, but it isn't totally self-less either."
What does that mean? I think that it means that people are going to want to be a part of the bigger whole -- society, the company, the workgroup, etc. -- but not following blindly. More and more of us are willing to confront the Status Quo and try to make it smarter and more sensible for the present and for the future.
With changes is market, geopolitics, economies, and technology moving as rapidly as they've been for the past 15 years, the pressure to challenge has never been greater. Similarly, never has the resistance, at least in some sectors and in some organizaitons.
And here lies the divide. Which side do you fall on? Are you gently with the tide? Are you riding the crest of the wave? Are you treading water nearby, watching it flow ahead of you? Or are you moving where you need to go, using the forces that exist outside of you along with your own ability to move yourself? The reality is that neither choice is Right or Wrong. They are all choices. Each with an impact, both positive and negative, on the individuals within the system as well as the system itself. More than preaching a direction -- which isn't that useful unless I understand much more about the individual reality -- I ask for you to be curious.
What's the benefit of each of the different stances? What is the impact of staying put? What's the impact of really pushing again the status quo? What do you think is possible that isn't seen by others? What do you think is impossible that may not be?
Is this whining or compaling? That's a way to look at it. Or is this pusing that boundaries. Probably. And to what end and for whose benefit? Also critical questions to ask.
Yes, in my opionion, Americans do look for ways to complain or sue for reasons that sometimes seem like only self-promotion, and at the expense of others. But that's not always the case. There are lots of people and lots of situations where a healthy dose of questioning and complaining -- as long as it is brought with ideas and a different vision of the future -- is exactly what is needed.
[
Essentially, the writer pointed out the ways that the Brits are whining and suing like the best of us on this side of the pond. While this may speak to a shift in a cultural stereotype, for me it speaks to a broader reality that confronts cultures and organizations alike.
People aren't just going to sit by and take what is given, reacting with passivity or powerlessness as those "leaders" in power sometimes wish the "followers" or the little people would accept.
Are we talking about a cultural revolution? Not necessarily. Challenging authority was wildly fashionable in the late 1950s and through the '60s. When we got to the "Me" times of the '70s and '80s, we stopped worrying about challenging and started worrying about our own gratification. A generation later, we have experienced the riches, the unthinkable growth in prosperity, and now we are feeling the next part of the cycle. However, with many people living through this entire cycle, and many in the workworld only participating in the last 20+ years, people are left saying, "Forget this! I can serve me and I can do it in a way that isn't totally selfish, but it isn't totally self-less either."
What does that mean? I think that it means that people are going to want to be a part of the bigger whole -- society, the company, the workgroup, etc. -- but not following blindly. More and more of us are willing to confront the Status Quo and try to make it smarter and more sensible for the present and for the future.
With changes is market, geopolitics, economies, and technology moving as rapidly as they've been for the past 15 years, the pressure to challenge has never been greater. Similarly, never has the resistance, at least in some sectors and in some organizaitons.
And here lies the divide. Which side do you fall on? Are you gently with the tide? Are you riding the crest of the wave? Are you treading water nearby, watching it flow ahead of you? Or are you moving where you need to go, using the forces that exist outside of you along with your own ability to move yourself? The reality is that neither choice is Right or Wrong. They are all choices. Each with an impact, both positive and negative, on the individuals within the system as well as the system itself. More than preaching a direction -- which isn't that useful unless I understand much more about the individual reality -- I ask for you to be curious.
What's the benefit of each of the different stances? What is the impact of staying put? What's the impact of really pushing again the status quo? What do you think is possible that isn't seen by others? What do you think is impossible that may not be?
Is this whining or compaling? That's a way to look at it. Or is this pusing that boundaries. Probably. And to what end and for whose benefit? Also critical questions to ask.
Yes, in my opionion, Americans do look for ways to complain or sue for reasons that sometimes seem like only self-promotion, and at the expense of others. But that's not always the case. There are lots of people and lots of situations where a healthy dose of questioning and complaining -- as long as it is brought with ideas and a different vision of the future -- is exactly what is needed.
[
