When you join a new organization, you live in a fishbowl; you start anew: make new friends, colleagues, find a niche for yourself, figure out your new career aspirations. And during this transition period, one can be tempted to compare-and-contrast -who is better/smarter/luckier/more knowledgeable than I am? etc. As President Roosevelt said once-“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Invariably, we end up spending time thinking about someone else’s success, or we have a fear of missing out, called FOMO in modern-day theory. In such situations, we feel lonely or worse about ourselves. Comparison can turn us inward and fill us with self-doubt or anxiety. And does lead to “Tall Poppy Syndrome.”
What is Tall Poppy Syndrome, you ask? Think of a field of poppies. The reason it looks so pretty is that the flowers are all uniform. They grow to the same height; they have the same color. As a result, they blend well with each other! But when you get a poppy that stands way above the others, it ruins the sightline, begs for its attention instead of integrating into the group.
And now, if you bring the same concept in our daily lives, “Tall Poppy Syndrome” is when others cut down people who have achieved too much success of acclaim. Usually, these ”achievers” deserve their success, but at times they do try & grab others’ attention, and the tall poppy is cut down in such cases. They disparage the person for their better career success. But the truth is, every individual has a story. Some may have excelled in academics, or others may be thriving in the corporate environment like one could be an IT expert, or the other could be strong in building Strategy, or someone may be good in Operations or Marketing roles. But with every Executive, I have met – no matter how seemingly ”Tall Poppy” they may be – they all have their insecurities, faults and need acceptance. No one’s life is perfect, no matter how perfect it seems, so a good rule is to be kind to everyone.
And on the other hand, you can also remind yourself that it doesn’t make you any taller if you cut a “Tall Poppy” down. Instead, it may make you look smaller, so it’s vital that we move away from this compare & contrast mode and focus on what we are good at and play to your strengths!