Certifications are popular and trendy, but methodologies can almost never be applied here. It's intriguing to think about how many certifications one should hold and maintain for no practical application. Understandably that could render anyone apathetic at a certain point.
If we succumbed to apathy that would be an excuse to rif us to. Though the best laid documentation won't necessarily save us either. When we think about it, they really don't have to have a reason to let anyone go, there's practically no protections for us and who's going to attempt that after having lost a job? It would be David versus Goliath.
If we're a go-getter and don't get in an internal network, we might be putting a target on our back. That means we can only brown nose when we can stomach it, and even that is limited to who shall do so. How insidious is that, because how dare any of us assume we have a chance without a silent nod.
It's an impossible situation for proactive associates even though the mantra is value.
Good luck trying to build a network, it's an exclusive club that we may never get a seat at that table. These are reserved seats for people that must stay for whatever reason, their someone's friend, they have some dirt on someone and the rest of us have to be casualties or at least sitting ducks.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I am usually underutilized against my will. Even though our campaigns and mantras speak to the opposite suggesting agility, development and opportunity. Here agile means never finishing anything and always pivoting, which is what it's about I have to assume. It's a cult of a personality at a larger scale; "Tell the story", is really an ask to tell a story! We don't care about the value or actually bringing, just the perceived value?
Any attempt to bring value is an act of rebellion. There's been a few occasions where leaders have tried to respond with giving more valuable work, but it's still so unrelated to many of our roles it almost requires us to become experts of something else entirely, or otherwise doing data entry level work. It's the wild west & there's an invisible playbook clearly.
At the end of the day we are for-profit organization, but our demise will be they can only do so much theatrics around perceived value before it crashes entirely. A little bit of smoke and mirrors make sense and for profit settings, but we have to have some substance for longevity.
The organization is either bringing value or it's not, and by allowing all these dysfunctional corrupt internal networks to operate the way they do entirely on like bias almost certainly would fail.
Without a top down approach, even leaders who aspire to change this are significantly limited as if to be outing themselves. It is entirely possible to lead holistically with empathy and accountability, but it cannot happen if It isn't framed and expected from the top down.
Even if we tried to get connected to anyone with influence or opportunity, 40% of that would get rif'ed in due time anyway. When we think about the time it takes to build relationships, we would have just invested in something that went right out the door. Compound that with multiple certifications and maintenance of those with workday goals, It's a lot of busy work.
That explains why we pivot so much here, It's always how it looks to the public rather than what it really is, that can only go on for so long. For some of us we see that, but our hands are tied to do anything.