Don’t Just Master Flawed Corporate Systems— Try to Improve Them
Balancing Personal Success and Systemic Improvements within Companies
Just another second-gen immigrant millennial in tech, navigating the chaos of wellness, pursuing happiness, and modern life. Subscribe if anything resonates!
Growing up, I never questioned the systems around me. Instead, I focused on optimizing within them to achieve success. My approach to life was simple: excel within the framework provided, regardless of if it was adding real value to myself or the world.
In school, grades were everything. I learned how to game the system for straight A’s, even if it meant not fully grasping the material. At work, I followed the goals set by leadership, driven by the promise of promotions and increased prestige, even when those goals seemed misaligned with true company success.
I accepted this as the status quo, believing that if you just worked harder in the system, you’d succeed. I criticized those who struggled, seeing their failure as a personal shortcoming rather than a systemic issue. The systems were what they were, and you either adapted or fell behind.
It wasn’t until later in life that I began to see the flaws in these systems. Recently there have been thousands of competent people laid off because the capitalist system prioritizes profit over people. Companies with record-high stock prices and massive cash reserves were cutting jobs to drive up shareholder value, not because of genuine need.
A few other systemic issues at companies that many employees simply work within cause they feel like “it’s just the way things are”:
Leadership Crafting Misleading Narratives: Leaders often create overly optimistic internal narratives to keep employees motivated, even when the reality is far from positive. Instead of providing a transparent and realistic view of challenges, they paint a rosy picture, which prevents addressing issues collaboratively with employees.
Complicated Promotion Systems: Promotion processes can be overly complex, suppressing fair recognition and reward. These systems often become popularity contests, where advancement is influenced more by personal favoritism than by actual performance and merit.
Ineffective Interview Practices: Candidates are frequently required to endure rigorous, performative interviews that fail to accurately assess relevant skills for the job. This approach often does little to predict how well a candidate will actually succeed in the role.
Practices like these need to be questioned and improved. However, actively calling them out and aggressively pushing back can cause damage to your personal career and financial security. Some people have the luxury to do this but most do not. So how do you help otherwise?
Engage in Discourse: The first step is to discuss the flaws in these systems even if its just in private with friends. We shouldn’t dismiss or silence those who highlight these issues. Accepting that the status quo is flawed and advocating for change is crucial. Leaders have the power to create change, but it’s up to us to apply pressure and foster discourse. Sharing ideas and expressing concerns can create significant ripples of change, so never underestimate the impact of your voice.
Gain Influence and Drive Change: To affect change more directly, you need to gain power within or outside of the system. Gain mastery over the existing framework as needed to ensure your own success and security, then leverage your position to advocate for improvements as you gain power. Use the power you acquire to make the system more humane, empathetic, and fair. Your efforts can contribute to a wave of change that improves many peoples’ lives at a large scale.
Navigating and improving flawed systems is challenging, but it’s a necessary endeavor for creating a more equitable and just world. By combining personal success with systemic advocacy, we can work towards a future where societal structures not only serve us but also uplift everyone.