Political Dilemmas at Work: How to Maintain Your Integrity and Further Your Career

Chapter Eleven

THE EMPEROR WEARS PRADA

You have a compelling vision and a practical plan that nobody is opposing or resisting. Is this too good to be true?

 

 

 

 

People may respond to power with refusal and rebellion, but what is usually more common in the workplace is compliance and respect for the status quo. What happens when people respond with undue deference? What happens when challenge is met with warm, fuzzy agreement and inappropriate reverence? What happens when the needed debate slides off into tame agreement? Then the quest for accurate information—and an understanding of what is really going on in the organization outside of executive levels—can be more challenging and career threatening.

In the tale of the emperor’s new clothes, his subjects were pretending to be overjoyed about his new suit, when in fact he was naked—but no one dared point this out. Stupidity, fear, and vanity prevailed, until the voice of innocence highlighted the obvious. The emperor wears Prada is the modern, organizational equivalent. It is the dilemma where status and power can cut us off from the truth. It is the isolation that we feel when people are too scared or just don’t want to tell uncomfortable truths. It is what happens when the emperor wears Prada.

The Emperor Wears Prada Dilemma

I just don’t get it. I suppose most CEOs would think I am crazy complaining about this, but this has me beat. This team of Al’s is just too damn agreeable all the time. It seems ...