Happy Happy Joy Joy

Old King Cole was a merry old soul and a merry old soul was he……..

Senior manager at one firm would glide across the room and greet visitors as if she had known them all her life. Speaking platitudes of how glad they were to see the visitor and going over the top in expressions of love and happiness. Of course this belied the underlying contempt this person had for everyone and that all the happy, happy, joy, joy was just a facade she used to get what she wanted. Boy, but turn her down once she made this grand spectacle of opening her heart to you, regardless of how asinine whatever she was asking for, and you would see the immediate dark side.

She was the type of manager that had no regard for the true opinions of those who worked for her. What?, you thought my expressions of peace, love, and happiness were real – then you are the real idiot in the room. All her expressions of love and caring were only intended to placate the emotional need of those she dealt with. If you did not know her then you accepted these offerings as genuine. Having dealt with this person day in and day out over a period of years I knew them for what they were – nothing but word vomit, diarrhea of the mouth, mutterings of a serial con artist, etc…

You might ask, why do so many managers in the workplace operate in such a manner? The simple answer is, unfortunately, that it works the majority of the time. A manager such as this lacks substance but gets by on the happy, happy, joy, joy facade which allows them to build political brownie points. Of course, ignore the fact that these types are generally not the sharpest knives in the drawer, but that is exactly the point – they have become shrewd manipulators who divert your attention away from the fact they can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.

They are the Joker in the deck. Great to have around company parties and events as they have learned the art of saying a lot without really saying anything. Meaningless dribble which buys many many political points and kudos in organizations that put more value on “fitting into the culture” versus actually accomplishing something.

I actually believe in a much more direct and honest approach to communication. One in which there is nothing left to the imagination. If you don’t like something, say so – I know this is a novel concept in an age where one must at all times mute what might be harmful to the social environment and the delicate souls that operate in it.

Lesson learned: happy happy joy joy is no substitute for proven experience and the ability to execute.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.