The Silent Killer

I got to hear the end of a conversation today where the running joke was that ambition will kill you in the workplace. You'll end up doing more work and staying busier if you have it because you want to excel.

This ties in with something that I've been rolling around in my mind for a while here. One problem I have with some coworker interactions is that I forget that not everyone thinks like I do. In fact, most people don't think like I do. I think it's safe to say that our first instinct in any human interaction is to assume that the person with whom you speak comes from the same basic frame of mind. Of course, that often isn't true.

Specifically, I don't really get into playing the political game. I'm not one to jump when told that a Senior VP needs something right now just because it's a Senior VP asking for it. I try to take care of all of our "customers" the same. Suggesting that I should jump higher for a senior person is sort of insulting.

I got into trouble a while back because I was kind of confrontational in a meeting regarding something that I thought was silly. A teammate called me on it and I apologized because he was certainly right. But I also explained that I don't have an agenda and that I don't really have any large aspirations. I don't see how I would advance much here and, given the environment, I'm not sure that I'd want to. Therefore, I don't get into these games. I got a 2.2% raise last year. Will working really hard get me 4%? I think that's on the wrong side of the cost-benefits analysis.

I have enough trouble just doing my job well and with a good attitude to get into all the games people play in the corporate world. I have plenty of ambition in my life, but not for success in the corporate world. On the other hand, I do stay very motivated when it comes to the things that I consider very important such as my ministry and my family.

I guess this means that I walk a fine line. It's very easy to turn into a genuine slacker, which happens to me more often than it should. It's also very easy to get caught up in the game. My goal is to stay balanced on this knife's edge.