The Struggle for Control

October 3, 2006

In today’s society there seems to be a constant struggle for control. Everyone wants to be in control, but no one wants to take the responsibilities that come with being in control. Then ultimately no one is in control because no one will take any of the responsibilities associated with being in power. This problem is most prevalent in the business setting; especially when it comes to middle management.

For example, take the typical workplace. One of the little worker bees (me) has a project. Yet I cannot do my project without getting approval from 3-4 Queen Bees in departments associated with the project. The first person has one opinion. The second person has a different opinion, and the third person wants the project changed completely, and so on. You’re lucky if they decide upon something (IF being the operative word), and if they do decide upon something, it is never long before they change their minds again and again and again.

Everyone claims they want to be in control of how things work, but no one will step up and organize everyone. No one is willing to take responsibility for making the decisions and making everyone stick with the decisions. This leads to inefficiency, duplication of work, disgruntled workers, disorganization, and projects that are never finished because no final decision can ever be decided upon.

In their battle to be in power, do they not realize that they are creating more chaos than order? Do they not understand that to create order there must be one final decision on things and once the final decision has been made, it is not lightly ignored and revised? Do they not see that a Queen Bee is not really the Queen if there are hundreds of other bees with the same authority in the same hive; especially if they all each do their own thing and don’t mediate with or organize each other?

Ultimately in the struggle for control, many of the little worker bees have delusions of grandeur, but none of them will ever be in control as long as none of them ever steps up to carry the burdens that go along with being in control.