I’ve given some career advice in the past, and love talking to others about tips we each have for getting work done at work. Having problems working at work, or getting work done, might sound like an odd problem to talk about, but you would be surprised how difficult it can be sometimes. At any company, large or small, you are going to encounter “red tape.” People will want to put their stake in the ground and fight for their turf (right or wrong), or fight for change not to happen, even if the change makes total sense for the company (many only think about themselves or their respective area). Advice I often find useful is to fight back in the face of adversity. So many people give up when they face adversity and being the reality TV lover that I am, I’m always looking to learn from what most see as mindless (OK, some of it is) TV.
One of the reality TV shows I never miss is Hell’s Kitchen. Many don’t watch the show and often cite the fact that they don’t like how Chef Ramsay yells at the contestants. I don’t necessarily like it either, I think some of it is for TV, but one thing I have noticed is there seems to be a method to his madness. He will yell at the contestants, calling them words like “wankers, donkeys” and other belittling terms. I find some of what he says hilarious, but yes mean and absolutely disrespectful. If you model that type of behavior, you won’t stay employed, and you certainly won’t get respect. Unstable leaders results in unstable teams. Stressed leaders result in stressed teams. I could go on, but very frequently a team will model the behavior of its leadership. One thing I have noticed is Chef Ramsay scolds someone, and then he carefully watches their reactions. Some cry, some give up, and every now and then someone will fight back. I’ve noticed he doesn’t like those that fight back with disrespect, little do, but when contestants fight back with resilience, time and time again he will accept failure if it means he is able to keep someone who wants to continue in the competition. Then there are times when there is someone who fights back with no respect and as you can see in the video below, that didn’t go well for him, and it will never go well for you.
Similarly, in business I’ve noticed people will give up when they are reprimanded and choose a different career, quit the company, and in even some cases, stop believing in themselves entirely. Never stop believing in yourself, and always fight back in the face of adversity. How you choose to fight back is going to be different for everyone, but if you truly believe in yourself and what you believe in, one would hope it is worth fighting for. Fight back, but always fight fair, even when others aren’t.
