Bottom of the Food Chain
A Fresh Perspective on How Your Career Impact Goes Beyond Your Job Title
A Fresh Perspective on How Your Career Impact Goes Beyond Your Job Title
It's time we start looking at career success differently. Perhaps you have heard the idiom,"I'm at the bottom of the food chain." This phrase is often used as reference to a person's lack of power in the workplace or social group. And if you look at power and success in careers, the goal is typically to climb to the top and become a titan of the industry. But does the top of the food chain hold all the power? Success? Maybe. Maybe not. What if I told you that some of the most powerful people, right now, are at the bottom? With a nature-based lens focused on careers, the food chain demonstrates the importance of the bottom of the food chain in the work- place. For so long we've missed it. To understand the power in not being at the top is to understand that you may not have "big wins" and all your career aspirations may not become your reality, but that doesn't mean you are inadequate or that your value is diminished. Low-visibility roles and less visible actions are contributors to success, like anything else. Even the most seemingly minor actions or positions, can contribute to something greater. If you are exhausted from the efforts of trying to reach the top and feel like you failed because others around you have succeed in their careers in ways that you only dream of, take a break, and read this book. I'm not saying it's time to give up on your dreams, but it is time to see yourself for the Power Producer that you are!
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I wasn't sure what to think when I started reading this book. The desire not to dwell on the times I've been at the “bottom of the food chain” was strong as I started to listen. (I was gifted a copy of the audiobook by the author, and this review is entirely voluntary.) But most of us have been on the bottom of the food chain, and thinking about the perspective this book brings to positions in the workplace that are “on the bottom“ ended up surprising me. This book was in turns soothing and nurturing for me, and sometimes even inspiring.
Now, if you do zoom the lens back and take this book in context with the larger problems wrought by a ruthless capitalist economy, you start to wonder if the principles that uplift these bottom-rung workers might feel enabling. That's what happens when you reduce a position to just what it pays, though. And this book is all about broadening that narrow perspective of worth based on wealth and power.
What I loved about this book was that if you take it as a blueprint for making the most out of a situation that isn't always the most comfortable, you get practical and real action steps to finding confidence and satisfaction in your workplace. The grim realities of the biological food chain aside, the workplace is one where we modern-day humans spend a large portion of our lives. Learning how to generate respect from others, and most importantly, self-respect in that environment is likely one of the keys to our happiness. We are a species that thrives on periods of productivity and periods of rest. And this book gives us tools to make our time in productivity mode more satisfying, more meaningful, more generative, and more impactful to the people around us. And because we are social creatures, that impact on our peers and colleagues, and even on our supervisors and the very organizational structures that we find ourselves in, can make us feel more invigorated and motivated to perform our role.
And most critically, recognizing this impact and our ability to maximize our impact, can have positive effects on our feelings of self-worth, knowing that we are doing our best.
I found particularly helpful the reflection questions posed at the end of each section. A lot of us can benefit from slowing down and thinking about what's important for us what our values are, and how we bring value to others in an intentional, self-appreciative way. Whether you're questioning if a vertical or lateral move is good for you, or you're simply trying to decide how to maximize your effectiveness and self-satisfaction in the place where you're currently working, this little book is the equivalent of a morning spent with a good cup of coffee in the quiet sunshine, by a garden of your own tending that has started to produce real seeds of wisdom and fruit. So approach this book as a meditation and enjoy where the journey takes you.
