The Syco'logy.

Heya,

Before I began lemme post a comic from my favourite series.As a picture speaks a thousand words and certainly reduces the post size by a big chunk.So here :)

The whole Dilbert phenomenon isnt just a dry hypothetical satire.(For those who don't know dilbert,fire up www.dilbert.com,and start reading before its too late ;))
It is the harsh reality.More so in the corporate world.
How often do we find that the talented hardworking and deserving people find reporting to the relatively incompetent bosses(most of the times) who would generally not miss a single opportunity to jab their position onto them.

And then there is this one species which has adapted itself to this tyranny pretty well. ie sycophants.
No matter how big a jerk their boss is,they can manage a camaraderie with them.
And then people wonder why the boss is mysteriously biased towards certain few.Why he wouldn't hear a thing against them,why somehow the blame always comes on you even if its their fault.This never ends.Its omnipresent.Right from school..college..work you name it.

And why does this work...Well,who don't like praises.
I believe at subconscious level a part of us(most of us) always seeks for an applause,for a recognition.
Such people appear as bright fluorescent spots on a sycophant radar.They can smell such a person from a mile long.
All it takes to be in their good books is quench that crave by flattery,however insincere it may be.

Well this article isnt really aimed at giving them a flak.But rather to explore the other side of it.

I used to look very much down upon the flatterers.Like they are some kind of an abomination.But thinking about it from a realistic point of view,it is kinda justifiable to some extent and not as ugly as it sounds.To climb the corporate ladder it is imperative that you need to butter the joints for a smooth ascent.
Its reality and I hate it.

Some succumb to it.To some it comes naturally.
I myself find it very difficult to do that and I am sure many will share my sentiments here.Mind just doesn't permit me to and no its not a thing to be proud of to be frank.
Rather I sometimes feel I am at loss for my inability to do so.I call it one of the tricks in a bag you need to be well versed with to survive in this world.
Your relations with manager/TL are still a very big factor in your appraisal.Your chances of promotions are always leveraged by the rapport you have with your superiors.

Having said that let us not generalise.I have come across many people,very competent,knows-their-stuff type,who give a negative weightage to adulation.
But again it depends on your luck(like always) whether you will have such people as your superiors.

All are not so lucky.And that is when the "survival of the fittest" kicks in.Who wouldn't want to secure their opportunities and careers in this sinister competition.Flattery at an acceptable level when you have no other way out is I think OKAY.
For those accomplished ones,this would definitely be a catalyst in your career.

Summing it up,in a strictly acrid business point of view,I would vindicate sycophancy as a virtue...or better a low-rick high-returns investment.
And as far as me and my type is concerned,well...we don't have the capital in the first place...lol

So let me wrap it up by posting a very insightful SMS I received a few days back.

"Agar duniya me mehnat ki kadar hoti,to Gadha sabse jyada izzatdar hota" :p


Ciao