A few years ago, I filled in another tedious form for an insurance company (can’t remember what it was for). When asked to state my ‘Profession’ I wanted to break away from ‘consultant’ or facilitator, neither of which describes my work at all. So I answered ‘Corporate Cage –Rattler’ – a term I often use to describe my work. My husband shook his head sagely (having more experience than I of bureaucrats) ‘They won’t see the joke – they never do’. Sure enough, my application came back with unusual speed (for bureaucrats who normally take at least 5 working days), my answer crossed through with a red pen. I reluctantly wrote ‘consultant’ and my application went through.
Why is it that people who are good at tedious detail seem to have no ability to deal with anything ‘out-of-the-box’? I hate being boxed. In other application forms (I have filled in quite a few as no doubt you have) the consequences of not following the normal rules can wreak the sort of havoc that only an Al Quaeda terrorist could raise. I am speaking, of course, about customs forms at the airport. The slip of a humorous line there will tie you up for at least a few hours in a back room, and in severe cases (say, using a disrespectful tone of voice when defending your choice of words to the customs officer), an interesting experience with a rubber glove. My husband warns me of this every time we travel – and for good reason.
The point is I am tired of having to define myself as a one dimensional person. Where there are multi choice answers it is almost worse. I usually have a choice of: consultant, trainer, manger, facilitator, HR specialist etc. The trouble is what if you work in all of those areas? Where is the opportunity to tick several boxes? What if you would rather think of yourself as working in a totally different area that isn’t even mentioned (like ‘cage-rattler’ or ‘Grummitter’)?
I suspect that by now, you will have noticed that it is little things that don’t matter to most people (like how you define yourself) that drive me mad. However, it’s more than that. It is the insistence by people in powerful positions that we conform and ‘fit in’ to standard boxes. I am trying to subvert the system, but in the meantime, I am behaving, if only for my husband’s sake!
Escaping from the box
A few years ago, I filled in another tedious form for an insurance company (can’t remember what it was for). When asked to state my ‘Profession’ I wanted to break away from ‘consultant’ or facilitator, neither of which describes my work at all. So I answered ‘Corporate Cage –Rattler’ – a term I often use to describe my work. My husband shook his head sagely (having more experience than I of bureaucrats) ‘They won’t see the joke – they never do’. Sure enough, my application came back with unusual speed (for bureaucrats who normally take at least 5 working days), my answer crossed through with a red pen. I reluctantly wrote ‘consultant’ and my application went through.
Why is it that people who are good at tedious detail seem to have no ability to deal with anything ‘out-of-the-box’? I hate being boxed. In other application forms (I have filled in quite a few as no doubt you have) the consequences of not following the normal rules can wreak the sort of havoc that only an Al Quaeda terrorist could raise. I am speaking, of course, about customs forms at the airport. The slip of a humorous line there will tie you up for at least a few hours in a back room, and in severe cases (say, using a disrespectful tone of voice when defending your choice of words to the customs officer), an interesting experience with a rubber glove. My husband warns me of this every time we travel – and for good reason.
The point is I am tired of having to define myself as a one dimensional person. Where there are multi choice answers it is almost worse. I usually have a choice of: consultant, trainer, manger, facilitator, HR specialist etc. The trouble is what if you work in all of those areas? Where is the opportunity to tick several boxes? What if you would rather think of yourself as working in a totally different area that isn’t even mentioned (like ‘cage-rattler’ or ‘Grummitter’)?
I suspect that by now, you will have noticed that it is little things that don’t matter to most people (like how you define yourself) that drive me mad. However, it’s more than that. It is the insistence by people in powerful positions that we conform and ‘fit in’ to standard boxes. I am trying to subvert the system, but in the meantime, I am behaving, if only for my husband’s sake!
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