sadly, i've noticed something about the promotion of people...
and how the system which promotes them, screws up the
organisation...
people who are rank and file, with a pathological attention to
detail, are seen by the bosses as good, careful and meticulous
workers...
they will be graded as "superior" to those who see the big picture,
will argue about the purpose of the whole project or whatever, turn
in work where details are not complete but the idea is
sound...
those who are able to see the big picture will know that the little
details do not matter in the end, as long as the purpose of the
project is kept to, will be seen as careless and graded
"inferior"
this keeps getting reinforced and the "details" person's behaviour
is shaped such that he starts nitpicking.. and for that, he is
rewarded.. and eventually promoted...
and thus the cycle begins as he will promote those who are just as
good at nitpicking... unable to see the whole project and are lost
in the details...
while those who see the whole thing derailing because of the
details, will be left at the rank and file, frustrated...
i see this in my boss.. all her attention is to details... unable
to see that everything is flying off the rails and that the project
has totally lost its reason for existence..
i see that in the senior management too.. they argue over the
smallest things, and sometimes a stalemate happens over the most
inconsequential things, while the whole reason for the project, the
meeting or even the whole organisation is ignored...
the details people should be left where they are able to be
deployed to their best abilities... looking at details, doing the
job...
those who will not lose sight of the reason for any project or the
mission of the organisation, should be pushed up so that the
organisation will not meander off the path...
unfortunately, most organisations are the other way around when it
comes to the promotion and what the senior management is made up
of...
