UNDERSTANDING THE HIERARCHICAL NIGHTMARE OF THE CORPORATE WORLD

I have always felt very uncomfortable in hierarchical organizations. I started my corporate career eight years ago at a bank. Since then, it has always been hard for me to understand why people are intimidated by other humans with senior titles within their corporation.

They are only another human with a job like you. If they get fired tomorrow or quit to pursue their dream of becoming a relaxed taxi driver, will you see them differently?

People fear or respect the title these people hold, not the person itself. 

If we see another human on the street with arrogant and petulant manners, we dislike them and do not hide our impression from them.

However, suppose a senior leader within our organization makes us feel uncomfortable due to unpolite manners and prepotent attitude or simply because of the inherent status of their title. In that case, we get nervous and bend in front of them. 

It makes me feel deeply uncomfortable to see how intimated and nervous people get when they talk with a senior leader. Nevertheless, I have been a victim of this low self-esteem a few times. Most of the time, due to other colleagues’ pressure.

Leading an utterly regular meeting to explain something or inform a senior leader is usual business. However, more times than not, my coworkers and organization put so much attention into what we would say to the senior managers to avoid hard questions. 

It generates fear within the group to talk with leaders above the ladder. Fear of being judged, being humiliated, and being labeled as incompetent. 

I have always hated it because I did not get the reason for this behavior. I did not understand why we couldn’t freely talk to the TOP leaders of the org. 

We all have the same goal of succeeding as one, don’t we?. 

More people like me detest this excessive endorsement to senior leaders and the hierarchical organization’s intimidation. There is also another group of people who are used to this environment, and it does not bother them. A third group feels very scared and intimated when talking with these leaders. 

But, a fourth kind understands the reason for this requirement of creating carefully-thought communication when directing to these senior leaders.  

Those senior leaders decide where the company is heading, how to grow it, what direction to take to become the best in class, etc.

Their attention is crucial for the company’s triumph. The messages they finally received have to be well-thought, analyzed, and on point. 

We do not want them to get preoccupied solving minor things or confused with poor communication that distracts them from their job number 1 (leading the company or workgroup to success).

If the CEO or any other senior leader of a medium or enormous company were easy to access for anyone and the focus demanded by their roles were not respected, they would be deserving the company.

We all have the same 24 hours a day. The critical point is where our focus is?

TOP leaders cannot be distracted with tons of messages and meetings; they must follow a strict schedule and focus on their role: strategize to grow the company.

That is why people feel intimated by the role, not the person itself. Tomorrow, if those senior leaders get fired or quit, people will still respect the new person leading the company to success.

The same applies to you as an individual contributor or not such a senior leader within the group.