Seth Godin has a great post on “Sheepwalking” which he defines as:
“..the outcome of hiring people who have been raised to be obedient and giving them a braindead job and enough fear to keep them in line.”
This is true of many organisations today, looking for people who can “fit in”, get with the programme and not rock the boat. Conformance to the organisation’s expectations is what’s required. Seth goes on to say that…
“many organizations go out of their way to hire people that color inside the lines, that demonstrate consistency and compliance. And then they give these people jobs where they are managed via fear. Which leads to sheepwalking. (“I might get fired!”)…… What a waste.”
The solution…..?
“Step one is to give the problem a name. Done. Step two is for anyone who sees themself in this mirror to realize that you can always stop. You can always claim the career you deserve merely by refusing to walk down the same path as everyone else just because everyone else is already doing it…… The biggest step, though, comes from anyone who teaches or hires. And that’s to embrace non-sheep behavior, to reward it and cherish it.”
I think that this post impacted me because I see sheepwalkers at work everyday! People content to conform to the expectation of management. In so doing we lose, in that we settle for second best, we trade our passion and vision, for the perceived safety and security of a job. The result is wasted potential, we fail to fulfill our purpose, we live a life of mediocrity and apathy. I think the price we pay is huge. It’s definitely a greater price than I’m willing to pay!
“As long as we wish for safety, we will have difficulty pursuing what matters” – Peter Block, “The Answer to How is Yes“
Recognise that You Are Powerful Beyond Measure
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be – brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so small
that other people won’t feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in us, it’s in everyone.
As we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.- Marianne Williamson, 1992
So, Are you a sheepwalker?
Technorati Tags: Hiring, Leadership, Management, Culture, Business, Quote, Sheepwalking
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I love that Marianne Williamson quote – I have it posted on my mirror. Wouldn’t it be amazing to work/play in an organization where we all felt empowered and encouraged to be our fullest selves!
“The biggest step, though, comes from anyone who teaches or hires. And that’s to embrace non-sheep behavior, to reward it and cherish it.”
I think you left out one major player…parents. If parents were to ask their children, early and often in life, consistently, “Why do you think you’re on the planet?” and allow the child to ease into their own response, early-on in daydreams, and as they grow, hone it into a life purpose and actual vison, and without interfering and short-circuiting it, as the child grows and matures, the answer to the question and its attendant passion and purppose would become evident…then we would witness more passionate and purposerful adults at work, rather than the many 3-4-5 year-olds we see at work in adult clothes and in an adult bodies…fearful, playing small, feeling unseen and unheard, lost and frustrated…feeling much the victim…and fewer “mid-life” crises at 29!