At TandemSpring, our vision statement is to “overhaul the corporate mindset so that all people can be leaders, operating in their true strengths, with unbridled authenticity.” Often, we get asked, “what exactly IS the corporate mindset” and why are we so hell-bent on flipping it? And, perhaps most importantly, what is it about the corporate mindset that keeps people from being leaders?
These are critical questions, and ones that, without answers, make much of the rest of what we talk about and do less relevant, if not altogether absurd.
Like art, the corporate mindset is somewhat difficult to define, but oh so obvious when you see it and feel its limitations. It is the unspoken rules of the workplace environment that reinforce a linear illusion of success and validate the hierarchy of power that sets the tone, energy, and business practices that drive organizations. It is the corporate mindset that leads to “yes men” and employee disengagement. The corporate mindset even seeps beyond the corporate world to how we consume goods and media and even into our half-true rule-of-thumb philosophies like “get a degree, get a job, get money, and you’ll be successful.”
Further, and perhaps most damning, is that the corporate mindset must, for its own survival, must keep most people from becoming leaders. It does this so effectively, all too many of us come to believe that we legitimately are just not “leadership material.” Think of the phrase “too many chiefs and not enough Indians.” Ignore for a moment the blatant racial insensitivity, and ask yourself where and when you first ever heard that phrase? If you’re like most of us, it was sometime early on in your working career, likely as a justification for why you, as a less-experienced entrant in the workforce, had to do some incredibly menial task. This was an early tell-tale sign to you of how the corporate mindset reinforces itself by keeping the balance and status quo, but like most of us, you were likely not aware of it at the time.
The corporate mindset is quickly becoming obsolete; it is driving a perpetual system of fear, ego-driven power, and rampant unhappiness across every level of the corporate structure that it can no longer bear its own weight.
So, what is behind all this? Some call it “the man” or even the “illuminati” or, more recently, “the one-percenters” – but all of that is disingenuous. If you have ever spent any time with the people who impose this kind of thinking as leaders of their own organizations, it becomes immediately apparent that while they certainly benefit from this structure financially, they are, for the most part, just as damaged by it emotionally and psychologically. Often, this is because they too had to play the game, and for them they did it for so incredibly long to get to where they are, it is that much more crushing to only to find out that it is no better at the top of the mountain than it was when they were on the bottom. Even for those who are actively aware of their unhappiness in the corporate mindset and want to shift, they are often paralyzed by their own fear of change and having to address their own role in all of it. So, as a result, they often dig their heels in deeper and fall back on adages like “no pain, no gain” and other such half-truths.
The corporate mindset is quickly becoming obsolete; it is driving a perpetual system of fear, ego-driven power, and rampant unhappiness across every level of the corporate structure that it can no longer bear its own weight.
It was one thing when this form of business leadership was developed in the early days of the industrial revolution. People worked hourly shifts along assembly lines and so forth. It wasn’t perfect, but it made a certain degree of sense. But, in today’s brain-based economy, where success is determined by your ingenuity, speed to market, and ability to grow, the old rules simply no longer apply. So, regardless of how we may define the word, how can one attain “success”? Well, it certainly isn’t by playing by rules that were never meant to let you win.
Deep down we all know that this type of corporate mindset just doesn’t work. And, the further away from being a wealthy Christian heterosexual able-bodied white male we are, the less relevant it even is to us.
Let’s start with a couple of ground rules, if you believe these, read on. If not, well… we’d be happy to have the discussion with you, so we’ll leave that to you.
- Regardless of title, EVERYONE has strengths and talents that can be effectively leveraged inside AND outside of the business world.
- If we all have strengths and talents, then nobody should have to feel compelled to tolerate that which is the root of their unhappiness just in the name of getting a paycheck.
- The bottom line is that organizational cultures and the American corporate world would all benefit if it could operate differently and actually unleash, rather than stymie, the strengths of all people to do what they do best.
But, at just about any organization you encounter, these truths are, at best, talking points and, at worst, actively ignored.
Deep down we all know that this type of corporate mindset just doesn’t work. And, the further away from being a wealthy Christian heterosexual able-bodied white male we are, the less relevant it even is to us. However, it seems that to function in the workplace we must learn to swallow these “truths” and step in line with the corporate mindset in the name of earning a paycheck and being a good employee. The game is so well woven into our social fabric and our individual survival mentality that to not play feels like a crazy risk, even when it is probably the only thing that would ever make “you” and “us” whole.
Leadership has less to do with how far up a corporate ladder you can climb, and far more with how well you can live within your authentic self and be the real version of you – allowing others to follow in your model and, in turn, become authentic leaders on their own. So, to hell with the traditional corporate mindset! We are living in a wonderful time where we can readily flip the third of our lives that we used to spend being unhappy with our jobs, and instead do what we love, what we do best, with meaning, and engagement, and impact.
Leadership has less to do with how far up a corporate ladder you can climb, and far more with how well you can live within your authentic self and be the real version of you
It doesn’t matter if you never worked a day in your life or if you are a veteran CEO, you can make this change, and it can start today – you just have to have the strength and confidence to:
- Regardless of title, EVERYONE has strengths and talents that can be effectively leveraged inside AND outside of the business world.
- If we all have strengths and talents, then nobody should have to feel compelled to tolerate that which is the root of their unhappiness just in the name of getting a paycheck.
- The bottom line is that organizational cultures and the American corporate world would all benefit if it could operate differently and actually unleash, rather than stymie, the strengths of all people to do what they do best.
Join us in striving to tear down these rules so that all people can build their own games, with their own rules, based in ways that make them stronger and more successful. There is a whole world of joy, opportunity, and success, far greater than what the horribly flawed rules of the corporate game has to offer. And, if you need a hand, we’ll be there to jump right alongside you. Let’s go!