Sunday, May 30, 2010

Are you above schoolyard politics?

On the way home from our relaxing weekend in the Snowy Mountains, my husband and I stopped off to share a delicious, hot, Dutch apple crepe in a tiny country town.

Two women - both quilters - were sitting nearby, having an animated discussion, and I amused myself eavesdropping, (as usual).

I only caught snippets of what they were gossiping about, but the snippets went something like this:

'Of course we all supported her - after all, she was a member of the Guild...'

Hushed whispers...

'... the Dalgety Show incident...'

More hushed whispers...

'...obviously machine-done...'

'Oh, I know... I know!' (a la Sybil Fawlty, with much 'tut-tutting' and head-shaking).

Whatever the drama was about, it was clearly ridiculous, as so many of these things are in the grand scheme of things.

It got me thinking about human beings - how banal our petty politics can be, how trivial the content usually is and how badly it reflects on those involved.

Start today

'Schoolyard' politics arise anywhere where a group of people congregate, and offices can be a breeding ground for what I like to call, 'whispering huddle syndrome'.

It can be tempting to get involved - unless, as is desirable, you left this sort of thing behind in primary school along with Sunnyboys and Space Food Sticks.

Be the professional you want others to see you as, and not just when there's a chance someone might be eavesdropping...

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