The Emperor's New Clothes

“Often the most practical thing we can do is to spend less time strategizing and planning for an unpredictable future and more time paying attention to our passion and potential. Only then are we likely to both be employable and find satisfaction in our work.” (Norgaard, 2005).

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What do you do? ... when you know that you are going to spend around 20 hours on the plane? Well, that's how long it takes to fly from Singapore to the US. For me, the first thing I do upon boarding the plane is to adjust my watch to follow the destination time. During the journey, I start adjusting my body clock - i.e. if it is sleeping time in San Francisco, I try to get some sleep. This way, I minimize any jet lag, particularly if I have to present a paper soon after my arrival. .

For the recent trip, I borrowed a book from the library. What first caught my attention was its title, "The Ugly Ducking Goes to Work". Written by Mette Norgaard, the book probes Hans Christian Andersen’s sharp and witty stories for inspiring lessons to bring more meaning, more energy, and more joy to your work – i.e. to create a meaningful work life.

The first fairy tale covered in the book is The Emperor's New Clothes. I am sure most of us are familiar with this story, which is about an emperor who unwittingly hires two swindlers to create a new suit of clothes for him. An abridged version of the story is below. For a complete version, visit http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/Emperors-New-Clothes.htm.

The Emperor's New Clothes:

Many years ago, there lived an Emperor, who was so exceedingly fond of beautiful new clothes that he spent all his money on being well dressed. The Emperor was so fond of clothes that he did not care about anything else. Just as one might say that the King was in the council chamber, so it was said here” The Emperor is in his wardrobe.”

One day, two charlatans arrived. They claimed they could weave the most magnificent cloth, which had the strange quality of being invisible to everyone who was “unfit for his position” or “impermissibly stupid”. The Emperor thought this would be a great way for him to tell who could not handle his position and was unwise, and he ordered the cloth to be made at once.

All the people knew of the strange power of the cloth, and all were impatient to see how inept or dim-witted their neighbors were.

After some time, the Emperor wondered about the progress on the cloth. Feeling a lit uneasy about its strange power, he first sent a trusted minister and later another affable official to check the work. Neither could see a thing, for there was nothing there. Each wondered, “Could I be stupid?” “Could I be unsuited for my position?” But they wanted no one to find out, so they effusively praise the fine colors and patterns.

A few days later, the Emperor arrived with his entourage to see for himself. “What’s this!” thought the Emperor, “I can’t see anything! Am I stupid? Am I no good at being Emperor?” But to make sure no one would find out, he exclaimed, “Oh, it’s most beautiful!” The whole entourage also looked and looked, but made no more of it than others. “It is magnificent! Exquisite! Excellent! It went from mouth to mouth, and they advised the Emperor to have new clothes made for the upcoming procession...

Along the procession route the people cheered and applauded. Never had the Emperor’s clothes been such a success. But suddenly, a little child said, “But he doesn’t have anything on!” and people begin to whisper to one another that a child had said, “He doesn’t have anything on!” Soon everyone shouted, “But he doesn’t have anything on!”

The Emperor shudded, for it seemed to him they were right. Still, he had to see the procession through, and that he did..

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The Tale At Work

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This prickly story pokes fun at phoniness and snobbery and shows how fear and ego can drive one to foolishness.

All of us have a face we show to the world, a closely shaved or nicely made-up face, a company face… we know how to play the part of an enthusiastic supporter even when we cannot see the “truth”. As we see, “fitting in” is natural and we figure out how to do it before we are eight years old. We know how to color within the lines, get gold starts, and gain the approval of our parents and teachers. We also remember the pain of rejection. As social beings, we enjoy relationships simply for their own sake (having a good time), but when we become too practical, when we manage our careers, relationships can become mere transactional, a means to an end (playing our role and playing it safe) ...

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Our ability to fit in depends on how well we understand the prevailing culture, adapt to group’s rules, and adopt that way of keeping score. For example, we may sit in a meeting where everyone, including our boss, raves about a business guru’s latest book. How should we act if we think the book, “doesn’t have anything on”? Should we ask “dumb” questions? Should we speak our mind off, fake it, or be quiet?” … By choosing safety over honesty, they ended up doing a poor job in their roles as trusted advisers. If we let on that we cannot see that the new strategy is brilliant, we could be considered “impermissibly stupid.” If we do not applaud the new products or cheer the restructuring, we could be judged as “unfit for our position.” So, we publicly say the right words, so we play it safe.

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In today’s workplace, we deal with similar vulnerabilities. We fit into a group or a culture when we play by its rules and go along with its view of success. The child’s statement, “but he doesn’t have anything on!” is an example of how to speak candidly. We need to stop the deceptions and be descriptive. We need to name what is going on, at least to ourselves. This episode rings true because many of us have faced similar dilemmas and rationalized our decisions as “practical.”

Reflection: "When teenagers go along, we say they give in to peer pressure. But when adults do it, we say we are practical."

Source: M. Norgaard (2005) "The Ugly Duckling Goes to Work."