Rebels, Leaders & Other Tide Buckers

I'm a rebel. There. I've said it. I admit it. And it gets me into all kinds of trouble trying to fit into Corporate America. Tracy Goodwin (aka The Red Sweater Lady) of Captivate the Room asked to interview me and titled the conversation When Speaking Your Truth Becomes a Threat and More. Yes, indeed, I have stories. How about this?

Me: There is a major problem here and we need to fix it. We could....
Boss: Yes. We all know there is a problem. You need to stop harping on it.
Me: But [boss] don't you see this is just like story of The Emperor Has No Clothes?
Boss: Yes it is. We all know that this is a problem. Nothing is going to change. No one is going to fix it. We need to stop talking about it.
Me: But we could...
Boss: I don't care. WE are not going to fix this. It's not our problem.
Me: But it's making everything we do take six times as long.
Boss: That doesn't matter. That's how it is. If you are going to work here, you need to deal with it.
Me: But isn't fixing it dealing with it?
Boss: No.

I just spent a year on this merry-go-round working for a large regional bank. I was specifically hired, courted, actually, by my boss to come in to make changes. That was just fine as long as nothing had to change. Huh? I managed to convert a series of allies and bring them along with me to embrace change and work in new ways and they loved it. But it's hard bucking the tide all the time. 

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