Vision and Fear 5
THERE IS this German proverb that says, "Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is."
Welcome to Leading Right.
I can never forget an experience I had several years ago. The austerity measures of the late seventies had spilled over to the eighties in Nigeria. Jobs had started to be scarce for qualified and skilled young university graduates. One of the nation’s conglomerates was recruiting. It advertised for Management Trainees with a Masters degree as the entry point. It received over two thousand applications, short listed five hundred for aptitude tests and eventually invited fifty of them for oral and final interview. The lucky candidates were split into five batches to be interviewed everyday Monday to Friday. I was one of the lucky candidates.
In my batch were nine others. Each with a burning vision to be a part of this progressive company. We were treated to a snack on our arrival as we were ushered into a tastefully furnished air-conditioned room. If any of us had not dreamt of working in this company at this time, I believe they changed their minds. As soon as the ushers left, I experienced a scene I would ever live to remember. A palpable fear fell on the group. These MBA holders from reputable universities succumbed to the spell of fear. What was supposed to be a fact-finding chat to determine the possibility of these top guys entering into a working relationship with the company was seen as a war. Even though the company tried hard to provide a non-threatening environment for us, my colleagues gave in to fear.
I thought I had a responsibility over the group, so I spoke to the group, reminding them we were some of the nation’s best heads. If any of us did not make it, I said, it would not be because we were not good. As I spoke some of them were clutching tenaciously to management books. One was busy going over a little book on current affairs. Another visited the toilet. One brushed aside my plea, wondering who had made me a class prefect. I watched as these eggheads saw the interview as a big deal. Fear had made the wolf to appear bigger than it really was.
Two weeks after, twenty of us reported for the company’s orientation programme. None of the candidates in my batch made it. It was a calamity. Fear had magnified the challenge to a war. They fell when they should have stood; they lost when they should have won.
Refuse today to allow fear magnify the challenge to your vision. The challenge is not as big as it looks.
Welcome to Leading Right.
I can never forget an experience I had several years ago. The austerity measures of the late seventies had spilled over to the eighties in Nigeria. Jobs had started to be scarce for qualified and skilled young university graduates. One of the nation’s conglomerates was recruiting. It advertised for Management Trainees with a Masters degree as the entry point. It received over two thousand applications, short listed five hundred for aptitude tests and eventually invited fifty of them for oral and final interview. The lucky candidates were split into five batches to be interviewed everyday Monday to Friday. I was one of the lucky candidates.
In my batch were nine others. Each with a burning vision to be a part of this progressive company. We were treated to a snack on our arrival as we were ushered into a tastefully furnished air-conditioned room. If any of us had not dreamt of working in this company at this time, I believe they changed their minds. As soon as the ushers left, I experienced a scene I would ever live to remember. A palpable fear fell on the group. These MBA holders from reputable universities succumbed to the spell of fear. What was supposed to be a fact-finding chat to determine the possibility of these top guys entering into a working relationship with the company was seen as a war. Even though the company tried hard to provide a non-threatening environment for us, my colleagues gave in to fear.
I thought I had a responsibility over the group, so I spoke to the group, reminding them we were some of the nation’s best heads. If any of us did not make it, I said, it would not be because we were not good. As I spoke some of them were clutching tenaciously to management books. One was busy going over a little book on current affairs. Another visited the toilet. One brushed aside my plea, wondering who had made me a class prefect. I watched as these eggheads saw the interview as a big deal. Fear had made the wolf to appear bigger than it really was.
Two weeks after, twenty of us reported for the company’s orientation programme. None of the candidates in my batch made it. It was a calamity. Fear had magnified the challenge to a war. They fell when they should have stood; they lost when they should have won.
Refuse today to allow fear magnify the challenge to your vision. The challenge is not as big as it looks.
posted by Abiodun Fijabi at 7:34 PM
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