Avoiding the poisonous standing loop

Organizations and cultures are construct on affiliation and arranged by standing. And that standing by no means stays secure.

There’s a standing loop in some suburbs in how the entrance garden seems to be. A properly stored yard will get a nod of approval from a neighbor and may be rewarded with a better resale value. And so one good garden may turn into three or 4, after which rakes come out and the cycle continues. The identical might occur with Christmas lights.

However it additionally occurs in some regulation corporations, the place working late or weekends will get you a promotion to associate, after which the race is on, with folks sacrificing years of their private lives to earn extra standing.

A poisonous standing loop goes additional. Not solely may it hurt some individuals, it additionally finally ends up belying the bigger targets of the tradition. Physique shaming can result in poisonous consuming issues, or a concentrate on gross sales commissions can result in eroding requirements of ethics–all of which undermine the very level of the tradition within the first place.

In sure political circles, standing is gained by outdoing opponents in apparently being much more true to a few of the social gathering’s said rules–specializing in performative or fringe parts of the platform on the expense of serving the general public.

Step one is noticing the loop. The second is being clear about whether or not the steps taken to realize extra standing on this space are literally aligned with why you’re awarding standing within the first place (is it serving to you get the job achieved?). And at last, both altering the programs that award standing or offering assist and encouragement to individuals who refuse to create hurt by single-mindedly pursuing metrics on the expense of the work to be achieved.

December 7, 2025