I was
shocked and saddened when a friend shared how she witnessed and fell victim to
terrible, unethical choices a very senior business leader made in a large
corporate. I know that horrible things like this happen all the time. And when
you do not see it coming, it is much more upsetting.
During her
interview and experiences at the company the perception was created that this
leader was, in fact, a true leader.
She was completely motivated, had belonging and felt stimulated. It was only
when the head honcho had to make a moral decision that he failed. Miserably.
Admittedly
it was devastating when his true colours became clear. The dilemma that my
friend was faced with, was that now her own values, morals and ethics were not
matching her leader’s. And subsequently the business culture’s.
In another
conversation with a client, he expressed his frustrations with some of his senior
management colleagues that are ‘pretending’. Not being authentic. Not being
real.
Personally I
have more time for someone that is real - knowingly and openly ‘not perfect’ -
than for someone that are either pretending/faking it or still in denial about
who or what they really are. In other words, they are not even aware that they
are being pretentious.
As amusing
as it can be to watch the games of the ‘pretentia’
(as my husband calls this group), when under pressure, it can be quite
irritating to deal with.
Ayn Rand
wrote it so beautifully in The
Fountainhead:
"To sell your soul is the
easiest thing in the world. That's what everybody does every hour of his life.
If I asked you to keep your soul - would you understand why that's much
harder?"
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