Fear and the Yes Man
Originally posted on August 17th, 2010
When I worked at Apple I sketched out a picture of Steve Jobs. Mind you, it wasn’t a caricature, but a legitimate portrait. I sent it out as an email attachment to a group of folks asking ‘Do you know who this is?’. I merely wanted to know if my drawing was accurate enough to be recognizable. As expected I received no response. I then printed the illustration out and brought it to one of my colleagues asking the same question. His response was ‘Yes, I know who that is, now take it off my desk’. This was my first real view into the ‘fear’ that a lot of people, especially within large corporations, feel when it comes to upper management. Admittedly Steve Jobs is a particularly strong entity to be trifled with, but the story is the same for the lesser known ‘gods of management’.
Here’s my problem with it. It sucks. It reduces productivity, and sacrifices one’s integrity. As an employee you are hired to give your input -or at least should be. It does nobody any good to be ‘agreeable’ for fear of losing ones job. Job security is important, but what’s even more important is that you contribute to a team.
As children, we’ve all known that one kid who agrees with everything and doesn’t express their own negations nor opinions on a particular subject. For instance, one day Stevie says his favorite apple is the green one, to which Jonny exuberantly agrees. The next day when Stevie says he’s changed his mind and likes the red ones, Jonny proclaims the superiority of red. While this may be part of growing up for some, it unfortunately carries into adulthood for others.
I’m not saying that one should be disagreeable for the sake of it. However, they should be able to express their own opinion without fear, even if it may differ from that of their ‘superiors’. Good leaders don’t rule by fear, but through trust and collaboration with those who are experts in their field. Dictating through fear, while it may work for Steve Jobs, is harkens back to a sense of childish superiority.
I understand that there are a lot of factors involved. I understand that fear stems from the need for job security, and that in some companies (bad ones in my opinion) it is a necessity to survive. To those who find themselves in such predicaments I place no blame. Circumstance can be a bitch. However, for those of us who are in a position to speak up and don’t, those who are afraid of having a CEO’s illustration placed on their desks, there is no excuse for such fear. These are the folks that bitch about their bosses behind their backs and do nothing about it. They’re miserable and, quite frankly, useless.
As an employee your role is to influence and to be part of a team whose goal is to push your company towards success. And VPs be damned if they don’t recognize the contributions of those that work ‘under’ them for they will ultimately fail.
