This Week in the World
Shut Up and Sing
The
Dixie Chicks know when you Speak Strong, you can become the target of
bullies who will stop at little to silence you. The Chicks were the
most successful female band in America until they spoke 15 words at a
concert in London in 2003 that expressed their disapproval of President
Bush and the war in Iraq. While their word choice wouldn’t pass the
PowerPhrase test, those of us who grew up in the 60’s thought little of
it. However, those words resulted in an orchestrated effort to destroy
their careers, including blacklisting their music from radio, CD
crushing events, media refusal to accept ads for their concerts, hate
mail and death threats. They document their experience in their newly
released movie, Shut Up and Sing. It's an alarming story about repression of opinions.
The
Chicks are back, with no regrets. As they say in their Not Ready to
Make Nice song, "It turned my whole world around
and Ii kind of like it." Their latest album makes it clear why. They
have become all the more powerful and expressive. They wrote every song
on the album and are making the kind of music they want without feeling
restrained by their former base. Because they spoke what they believed
they got kicked out of a group they didn’t completely fit with and are
discovering a group that feels more like home.
The
attack on the Chicks occurred three years ago, and they believe that
had they said what they did now it would have gone unnoticed. People
are becoming more aware.
This awareness
is reflected in the current political climate. Yes, this election
season is carrying more attack ads than ever (90%), but this year the
attacks aren’t going unanswered or unexamined as they have in years
past. There’s more fact-checking and more examining of tactics. Bully
tactics are backfiring on the bully. I’m not saying that the bully
tactics will fail at every attempt, but I am saying that the bully is
losing its grip. I hope the bullies are losing their grip in your life,
and it will become safer to speak your simple truth, personally,
professionally and politically.
And
whether you can speak your truth with impunity or find yourself a
target like the Dixie Chicks did, I also hope that speaking your truth
leaves you with no regrets either.
(An excellent article on how to lose your fear of losing your job at; http://positivesharing.com/2006/09/how-to-lose-your-fear-of-being-fired/#more-1183 )
Post a comment in our blog, here.
PowerPhrase of the Week
Reacting Personally to These Attacks is Pointless
Rush Limbaugh accused Michael J Fox of exaggerating his symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in a stem cell ad. Fox’s response was:
- I
don't want to react personally to these attacks. It's pointless, it's
silly. It's like getting in a fight with a bully. You're not going to
change his mind. You're just probably going to get a nose bleed. So why
bother? But make no mistake, it hurts.
Fox
has continued to speak his truth without compromise, and he sets an
example of how to respond powerfully to attack without giving your
detractors much fuel to build a fire from. Perhaps if the Dixie Chicks
had followed his lead they might not have become quite as attractive a target as they did.
comment
Poison Phrase of the Week
Making Some Changes
Note:
I originally wrote the Poison Phrase of the Week based on an article
that caught my attention. Only after I had written it did I realize the
article was satire. What does that say about the news these days? Hmm.
Stacey has an outgoing voicemail that says,
- Please leave a message at the sound of the beep. Please know that I’m
making some changes. If you don’t hear back from me, know that you’re
one of those changes.
Can you imagine getting that voicemail?
comment
Ask Meryl Two Questions this Week - With a specific request for feedback on the second one.
Laid Off for Speaking Up
I did speak for myself and have been laid off as a result. I was asked
to perform a function and I said I would be glad to do it but I wanted
to express my concern about how I had done it 13 times and my coworker
had only done it 4 times. I told him this was unfair to me. He just
selected the staff he wanted to lay off with no regard to seniority. It
has been very humiliating. Does speaking up really pay?
Meryl Responds
I'm very sorry to hear this.
As far as, does speaking up really pay, that’s a question I'd like to
ask you in a year. Most people (75%) who are laid off say it was the
best thing that ever happened a year later. From the information you
provide it sounds like you were laid off unreasonably. Do you really
want to work somewhere where you get laid off for asking for parity,
especially when you express willingness to do the task as you speak up?
I don't mean that question rhetorically...it may be the benefits
justify tolerating injustice and unfairness, and tiptoeing around the
issues, but it might not.
My experience is that more often than not, people who speak up are glad they did, but certainly not always.
Of course, only you can answer your question for you, but my hope is
that this doesn't case you to hesitate to speak out when you need to in
the future.
I wish you the best and I hope this turns out to be a positive step in the big picture.
There's an excellent article on how not to be afraid of losing your job here.
My Boss Doesn't Like Me
I
know my boss doesn't like me personally. Nothing I do seems to make any
difference. I have perfect stats. I always volunteer for the extra
jobs. I am on time, I do my work as best I can. She just avoids me like
the plague. The only time she said anything to me in a positive way she
added well I know you had some problems with personality issues when
jean was your manager. (This was in reference to how well I handled
someone getting all bent out of shape because I looked at them with a
naughty glint in my eye.) The woman just doesn’t like me. This will (I
would bet) affect any raises, promotions and stability in my job. I
want to address this issue, but I don't know how. I don't even know if
it is wise. It is eating at me and has been for quite some time. Any
suggestions?
Meryl's Response
If it was me, I would ask her directly. I would say (if appropriate)
- I
get the feeling you don't like me, which baffles me since I do my work
well and I like you. I can live with that but I am concerned that it
will affect my bonuses and raises. Am I perceiving you correctly and is
there anything I can do to mitigate this?
comments
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