Sensitivity training: count me out!

Oh lordy lordy! Never did I think things would get this bad. Never did I think things would become such a big deal. Never did it occur to me that my coworkers were so incredibly delusional and petty. Disclaimer: I realize that by some people's definitions, I would also be considered delusional and petty.

I work in a relatively small department; allow me to paint a picture for you. There is the boss and coming down from there is a relatively flat department. There is a supervisor (she does operational type stuff) who has two direct reports who are the jacks of all trades of our group. Also coming down from the boss is the rest of us. Myself and one other individual have the illustrious word "lead" in our titles but really, no one really knows what that means. The rest have the same title just minus the ambiguous qualifier. Do you see the picture?

So this department is about 4 years old. In that time, we've had 6 bosses (no joke). I have been employed by Capella for 8 years. For a company started in 1993, you have to admit that's pretty damn good. Anyway, our group is an eclectic bunch. When your group of 10 is made up of a Jew, a gay, an ex Minnesota Vixen player, natives of France and Pakistan, a bible thumper, "the plant lady" and the soft spoken church mouse then you have some work on your hands. And no, I was not included in that list...quite obviously. Case in point our last "real" boss was a big fan of "everybody is the same and you're all equal so regardless of the amount of work you do to make yourself stand out, I'm never really going to acknowledge your superior work." As you can imagine, this in turn created a group of individuals who, for the most part, truly believed that everyone was as good as they were and that they were just as good as everyone else. But I'm sure you know where this is going. Everyone was not equally great. The department success was carried by three individuals (as was apparent through such metrics as "volume of work" and "award recipients." It took a long time but when the new boss came on, she began to recognize these differences much to the dismay of some and glee of others.

Roll all of this up, let it simmer for 8-12 weeks and then bring the team together to talk about community and collaboration. What are you going to get? A group of individuals (though, to be fair, only two were vocal in the conversation) who want to plan an off-site retreat for the team in order to strategically plan our departmental culture. What does that even mean??? Because if you want to know my blunt opinion on what our departmental culture should be, I will tell you this: "An environment that recognizes, values, and rewards hard work and determination." Or " A department where not all people are created equal." Or even, "A department that requires the slackers to ramp it up or get the hell out." But I'm pretty sure that those would be considered wrong answers. So where does that leave us?

If this group or individuals is allowed to say "we want it!" then shouldn't I have the right to say, "no thank you very much!"? I should think so! We've spent four years saying "yay you!" and never anytime coaching and respectfully pointing out areas for improvement. I'm tired of that. I don't have time for it. I screw up and when I do, I say hey buddy, sorry about that. My bad. I take responsibility and if someone gets a promotion or recognition that I would have wanted, I realize that there are probably some things I could do better and then I do it!

A lot has been said about our generation and our children. Apparently we're raising girls with princess complexes and boys who think they're amazing no matter what they do. We're allegedly not teaching them right and wrong and instead claiming that everything is a gray area. We're insulting their intelligence simply by buying into this whole politically correct "machine." And I hope to God that I don't do that and that none of you will either. No, don't raise jerks. Raise them to be compassionate but smart, fair but able to recognize and accept that life isn't fair.

So when this retreat happens (oh, and I think it's a given), you'll catch me in the corner, silently rocking as I mumble to myself and try not to spew all of this all over my coworkers.

They should report to Michael Scott.