This has come to my mind last night after a short discussion with some old college friends. The topic came up when we discussed why do inefficient people are appointed on high positions or awarded for something that they do not deserve. This is not an isolated case but something that generally happens at schools, offices and in politics.
My friends and I have thought of a number of reasons why do this happen e.g. the appointee is either blinded, stupid, or not competent enough to make such critical decision. But the most sensible reason we have come up with is that leaders or anyone with authority qualifies a person to be appointed not according to his competency but according to his loyalty.
Obviously, these type of people (the appointee) do not care about the well being of the organization that they manage. Instead, they care more about protecting their positions or their personal interests... because by choosing a loyalist, they are assured that this person will be on their side even if what they are doing is wrong.
Sadly, in a world where everybody wants to succeed, the competition is not fair. And when proving your loyalty becomes more important than proving your competency, the birth of below annoying people wishing to get a position comes next:
1. The Kiss Ass : This type of person will say nothing but positive things to the appointee. He is all praise to him even if it means lying. e.g. Saying "That is a brilliant idea!" even if he knows that the idea of the appointee is the dumbest of all ideas.
2. The Bullshitter: This person talks about nothing but bullshit. Bullshit is when you say non-sense things and make it sound to be a bright idea. The Bullshitter is usually favored by the appointee because he knows that this person is less intelligent than him and will less likely take his position in the future.
3. The Bitch: Can be a boy or a girl, as long as the person tries to get the appointee's interest through sex appeal. This can be done by showing off some skin in front of the appointee or making body contact which will get the appointee's attention.
4. The Pa-Cool: This person will suddenly be interested on things that the appointee likes, in other words, he is a pretender. E.g. Will suddenly like the sports or the music that the appointee loves and will use this to do small talks with the appointee. Later on, they'll be playing the sports together or be watching concerts.
5. The Fault Pointer: Whenever something wrong comes up, he will point his finger to the other person or group. It will always be the other person's fault but it will never be his fault nor the appointee's fault.
6. The Merit Grabber: As the name says, he grabs all the merit for the work of the people under him or sometimes even the work of other people from a different group. He will always say, "mine" "me" and will not even give a small acknowledgment to the other people who really worked hard for it.
7. The Idea Taker: He will get the idea of another person and claim it as his own. At times, even if the idea was already spoken by another person, he will just repeat it (sometimes verbatim) and just add some positive notes about the appointee. He will then be acknowledged by the appointee as the idea owner. E.g. "I think we should do this and that, so that all the hardwork and efforts of (name of the appointee) will not be wasted."
8. The Backstabber: Whenever he has the chance, he will say bad things about other people behind their backs. Up to the point of making stories about other people saying bad things about the appointee. He will pretend or act as if he's the eye of the appointee when the appointee is not around.
Do any of these annoying people sound familiar? You have probably met a number of them and some can even be a combination of these. One of the people you know might even meet the characteristics of all of the above. Or worse, you can even be one of them.
Ideally, we hope that appointees will look more into a person's competency rather than his loyalty. But since it's only the ideal, it's different from the real life. And that truth just sucks.
Disclaimer: I am not a psychologist or anything close to that. This is just my opinion which I have based on my observations on my 24 years of existence. Also, this blog does not pertain to any organization in particular but just a general idea on how people within organizations act or behave.
My friends and I have thought of a number of reasons why do this happen e.g. the appointee is either blinded, stupid, or not competent enough to make such critical decision. But the most sensible reason we have come up with is that leaders or anyone with authority qualifies a person to be appointed not according to his competency but according to his loyalty.
Obviously, these type of people (the appointee) do not care about the well being of the organization that they manage. Instead, they care more about protecting their positions or their personal interests... because by choosing a loyalist, they are assured that this person will be on their side even if what they are doing is wrong.
Sadly, in a world where everybody wants to succeed, the competition is not fair. And when proving your loyalty becomes more important than proving your competency, the birth of below annoying people wishing to get a position comes next:
1. The Kiss Ass : This type of person will say nothing but positive things to the appointee. He is all praise to him even if it means lying. e.g. Saying "That is a brilliant idea!" even if he knows that the idea of the appointee is the dumbest of all ideas.
2. The Bullshitter: This person talks about nothing but bullshit. Bullshit is when you say non-sense things and make it sound to be a bright idea. The Bullshitter is usually favored by the appointee because he knows that this person is less intelligent than him and will less likely take his position in the future.
3. The Bitch: Can be a boy or a girl, as long as the person tries to get the appointee's interest through sex appeal. This can be done by showing off some skin in front of the appointee or making body contact which will get the appointee's attention.
4. The Pa-Cool: This person will suddenly be interested on things that the appointee likes, in other words, he is a pretender. E.g. Will suddenly like the sports or the music that the appointee loves and will use this to do small talks with the appointee. Later on, they'll be playing the sports together or be watching concerts.
5. The Fault Pointer: Whenever something wrong comes up, he will point his finger to the other person or group. It will always be the other person's fault but it will never be his fault nor the appointee's fault.
6. The Merit Grabber: As the name says, he grabs all the merit for the work of the people under him or sometimes even the work of other people from a different group. He will always say, "mine" "me" and will not even give a small acknowledgment to the other people who really worked hard for it.
7. The Idea Taker: He will get the idea of another person and claim it as his own. At times, even if the idea was already spoken by another person, he will just repeat it (sometimes verbatim) and just add some positive notes about the appointee. He will then be acknowledged by the appointee as the idea owner. E.g. "I think we should do this and that, so that all the hardwork and efforts of (name of the appointee) will not be wasted."
8. The Backstabber: Whenever he has the chance, he will say bad things about other people behind their backs. Up to the point of making stories about other people saying bad things about the appointee. He will pretend or act as if he's the eye of the appointee when the appointee is not around.
Do any of these annoying people sound familiar? You have probably met a number of them and some can even be a combination of these. One of the people you know might even meet the characteristics of all of the above. Or worse, you can even be one of them.
Ideally, we hope that appointees will look more into a person's competency rather than his loyalty. But since it's only the ideal, it's different from the real life. And that truth just sucks.
Disclaimer: I am not a psychologist or anything close to that. This is just my opinion which I have based on my observations on my 24 years of existence. Also, this blog does not pertain to any organization in particular but just a general idea on how people within organizations act or behave.
