Team meritocracy
Definition. “The holding of power of people on the basis of their ability,” says the almighty Mac dictionary. Most modern forms of government or types of civil service revolve around this very principle of working your way up an institutional ladder or a bureaucracy based on the operational word “merit” or “the quality of being particularly good or worthy, especially so as to deserve praise or reward.” Reminiscent of the existentialist school of thought, you should be nothing else other than what you do, and what you accomplish, and not who you are, where you’re coming from, and whom you know. Conversely, there can also be no such thing as wasted potential, or what you could’ve done to alleviate your situation. In this light, Bibot Amador would say, “An actor is only as good as his or her last show.” “No day but today,” as captured in the bohemian life. Then of course, there is carpe diem or “seize the friggin’ day.”
The concept of meritocracy lobbies around the ideal setting of how things should be done in any corporate or professional setting that pays strict reverence to fairness and equitability. It is the goal of every democracy to equalize opportunity. However, in an archipelago of nth degree associations, of “small world and even smaller horizons,” and convoluted connections, it’s become rather difficult to follow this systemic approach to the perennial labor acquisition. Unfortunately, in a country such as ours, it pays to be connected — especially when you’re trying to get employed, or get ahead.
In the realm of public service, there is the reality of the political dynasty, across-the-board patronage politics that affects the issuance of public policy among many others, and abject nepotism in government. Business-wise, you have the COO or “child of owner” that often trumps the entry of deserving CEOs into your father’s company, and into the dog-eat-dog working community. Entertainment-wise, you have the son of Mr. A and the daughter of Mrs. B possessing Grecian good looks and automatic celebrity. These people can book job opportunities left and right while Diva C and Macho Papa D have to claw their way up the whole nine yards. And as for status royalty and monarchial succession, well… That is the very essence of having one.
It has to be said though that people of these privileged lot, despite their seeming comparative advantage to the corresponding workforce, have unfortunately a lot to prove and proverbial “miles to go before they sleep.” The very fact that they get special treatment or that the job was booked on the basis of whom they know or who they are, forwards a gauntlet of task-long insecurity and metaphysical unease. The person may live under constant scrutiny from the people around him, or the people who hear of him, thereby soliciting judgmental hubbub and brownie contributions for the corporate rumor mill. Relying on connections after all may have been detrimental to his or her wellbeing, if public perception and self-motivation are factored into the equation.
At the end of the day, one can easily cast aside negative perception with a firm grip on one’s self, one’s passion, and one’s capabilities. Veering away from a system of meritocracy in the Machiavellian sense and recognizing opportunities as they regularly come have become the polemic loopholes and the modern rationale to living the good life and finding one’s own place in the sun. A lot of such people have actually surpassed what is expected of them, overcome detraction, and thereby earmarking their place in the social, political, and cultural sun. In the familial sense, think of it as a form of “stepping out of the shadow” of your father, or mother, or husband, or sister – either continuing along the lines of what they’ve done, or innovating their legacy all together. Then there is of course the fighter who wants to make it on its own and do whatever it takes.
In the advent of success, it becomes all the more difficult to overturn the social reality of “using connections” in favor of just meritocracy. At the end of the day, the stigma of the nth degree persists, with the unconnected workforce having to push harder and harder to level with those who lucked out a few at the opportune moments of their lives – the caveat being that fulfillment on the latter’s part has to be earned. Pressure on oneself can be the existential poison to what can either bring him down or pull him up, guaranteed that the pressure can creatively motivate his or her actions. This would be the lucky man’s just recourse and life’s noble antidote if one just happened to be well connected.
* * *
Catch you breath and let me know what you think at imcalledtoffee@mac.com
