Blowing your own horn: A cultural and personality exercise in group responsibility

 

     "Blow your own horn".  Or "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". Not sure how widespread these sayings are. They are certainly well distributed in the United States and I think the general sentiment pervades business within much of Europe and the rest of the Americas. (No idea about Africa, I'm sorry to say.) However, in Japanese culture, the saying is the opposite ("The nail that sticks up gets pounded down") -- a direct effort to raise one's own recognition over that of the group is considered very negatively.

     No matter what the culture is or how shy, or extroverted, a person is -- there is a need for recognition for effort. In the United States (currently, it may be changing) that is primarily reflected in monetary recompense. The distribution of recognition between money/public recognition/awards/perks and so forth vary from place to place, company to company, and culture to culture. But, whatever the form, I feel quite sure that everyone wants to be recognized for their efforts.

     Everyone is unique in how they want to be recognized, however. A direct "thank you" may be enough for many people. A smile, a clap on the back, or a shake of the hand may be appropriate for someone else. Some will not feel recognized unless they have a plaque on the wall saying "Employee of the Century". I know that, when I received the first departmental recognition award back in the Stone Ages with Bell Labs, I felt both a desire to melt into the walls and at the same time the feeling of wanting to grin until my mouth would split.

     I also felt the desire to attempt to do even more -- until my supervisor at the time brought me back down to earth when she said "don't think this reward is going to help you at merit review". My peers recognized my contributions but management did not.

     And that is a problem -- for many people in many companies. Depending on personality, and business/social culture, people can make their contributions more visible -- but that doesn't mean they do such or do such effectively. Another supervisor (my all time favorite in my career) told me "until your office was moved next to mine, I had no idea just how many people you were helping every day".

     But is it the employee's responsibility to do their own promotion? Personally, I don't think so. Even in countries/cultures where it is approved to do such -- people are able to do it better, or worse, depending on many factors. For me, there was always the naive assumption that my management was aware of my work. But I knew how/what people could do to be better recognized -- my mentees over the decades have gone on to higher positions than I ever did.

     So, is it the responsibility of management? Yes, I think it is always one of the responsibilities of management -- to be aware of the contributions of people around them whether they work for them or are peers. Is it ONLY the responsibility of management? While it is, in my opinion, required of management it certainly should be encouraged for peers to recognize peers as part of the corporate culture.

     In many business cultures, this applies even more greatly to the accomplishments of women and minorities. A woman makes a suggestion and nothing happens. A male colleague makes the very same suggestion and it takes off without any acknowledgement of it being the woman's initial idea. The same can also happen with minorities.

     It is an inherent failing of power hierarchies. And it reduces the effectiveness, productivity, and profitability of companies. In most such power hierarchies, it requires a proactive approach to reduce these effects. That doesn't require different treatment of those who have not been well treated -- it "just" requires process that applies equally to all. (Much more easily said than accomplished.)

     So what happens with that "squeaky wheel" or "horn blower"? They are difficult to not recognize. For some cultures, such as in Japan, that recognition is negative. For many more, it means their name comes to mind. They are not only recognized but they are often taken at their own proclaimed value. (This is very similar to professional politicians.) So, they may advance faster than other, more productive or valuable, peers. And that is just the way it is -- until an atmosphere of peer recognition becomes part of the culture.

     A "squeaky wheel" MAY be highly productive and capable -- and they may not be. But, I will give good odds that their peers know what is real even if their managers do not. They know if someone is doing their own great work or taking credit for what others have done. They know if they are well regarded within the peer workspace and would be someone they would respect and be a leader they would want to follow.

     We can all learn, grow, and improve. But we need to be aware of those aspects to work on to be able to achieve it. Proper recognition of contributions is one such area that needs continued evaluation and improvement.