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I have a terrible tendency. I write people off, rather quickly, based on who they learn from or who they follow. I literally stopped following a senior HR professional because she preaches the mantra of a so-called guru teaching you to "High-five yourself in the mirror in the morning."
Paying attention to who people learn from can indicate many things like how they view the world, their mindset, self-discipline, or level of self-esteem. I learn a lot about people just by looking at whom they learn from, the type of books they read, and the people who follow them.
My friends are my best guinea pigs allowing me to practice this theory. I noticed that those who like Dr Gabor Mate (expert in childhood trauma) or those who like Jordan Peterson (clinical psychologist) have two very different approaches to life. Mate tends to be followed by those with the victim mindset and self-wallowing mentality. Peterson's crowd on the other hand are the "tough" ones who are not afraid to hear "Stop wallowing in self-pity, you are not unique, life is hard, get your life in order." I like both but no question about it, I am a Peterson girl. Depending on who we learn from has a major impact on our life.
Now how do we apply this theory at work? Easy!
There is plenty of bad pathology at work but nobody wants to acknowledge this.
The field of HR is riddled with unqualified professionals with no formal education in HR. This would not be a problem if from time to time the cycle was broken and someone qualified came into the field teaching those non-qualified people good HR.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. You find ten generations of HR practitioners who learned one bad practice after another and are intellectually lazy enough not to question everything they do.
Because if they did, they would find information that challenges what they do & how they think. I remember, talking to an HR Director proudly telling me that at her previous company, she used to go to tribunals every week. That was normal for her. This is what she learned. She never asked herself the question "Is this normal?"
I truly believe that the reason workplaces are in such terrible conditions is because of HR. They are unqualified and intellectually lazy. They learn from the wrong people and when you learn from the wrong people you do wrong.
So if things don't go well at work, the workplace is in a mess just stop and ask the question "Whom do these people learn from?" You will often find the root cause of all your problems.
During recruitment, ask your candidates whom they learn from instead of how they update themselves about industry trends. Also, ask them what practices they strongly disagree with and what would they do instead. You will get a magical insight into what is coming if you hired that person. Are they going to break the bad cycle or continue that? The answer might be in whom they learn from.
My advice to you as an individual is pretty much what my father and universities have taught me. Listen to all sides, look for opposing opinions, and look for those that confirm your belief. Evaluate all information and you form your own opinion about the matter. Never blindly follow anyone.
PS: If you follow a controversial figure it will give me the impression that you are open-minded and like to play with differing ideas.
Corporate Kindergarten on TikTok During recruitment, ask your candidates whom they learn from instead of how they update themselves about industry trends. Also, ask them what practices they strongly disagree with and what would they do instead. You will get a magical insight into... TikTok
