24 November 2012 - Dear Dairy #24

Dear dairy,

good morning. Excellent morning. It's Saturday. Sabado - muy bien. My English predictive text dictionary is accumulating a stock of Spanish words. Estupendo!

I awoke from a dream that mixed up characters from several jobs I have held. Something of a minefield. It left me pondering good old meritocracy. Principle, process, or justification? Having lived and worked in some very interesting organisations, it's revealing to consider approaches to career progression.

We consider ourselves to be meritocratic and pride ourselves on our objective selection processes. I do believe than in many cases people are promoted on merit but, from what I have seen, it is variable both within and between organisations. Sometimes, or maybe often, it is determination, ruthlessnes and low cunning that progress careers. These qualities require a strong system of patronage. I suggest that patronage still thrives within the most meticulously managed meritocracy.

The further that careers progress, the more these qualities are required. The energy required to reach the pinnacle of leadership can sort the wheat from the chaff, but takes many away from the work itself, leaving the difficult and the mundane to the non-career-minded. Perhaps this is how the system is designed to work - pack up your tools and bring out your speeches.

Just a thought. Breakfast beckons. The Parson Thru contagion is about to enter the charity bookshops of Cardiff.