Ever feel like all your eggs are in one basket? Here's a rhyme for you ...

I was sitting at my computer thinking about the best way to describe this feeling of too many eggs in one basket and I couldn't help but hum the rhyme of Humpty Dumpty.

'Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again ... '

Bit of a grim story I agree, it is, however, appropriate for this post. Humpty Dumpty has appeared in various guises over time and has been a popular nursery rhyme since 1825, so he's been around for a little while. For the purpose of this blog, it's his character in the novel by Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass, and the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) that I'm interested in. 

In the story, Alice enters a fantastical world, by climbing through a mirror into a world that she can see beyond it. There she finds that, just like a reflection, everything is reversed, including logic (running helps you remain stationary, walking away from something brings you towards it, chessmen are alive, nursery rhyme characters exist, etc) 

Humpty Dumpty appears in the book and Alice's remark is he is "exactly like an egg" he finds this "very provoking"; Alice clarifies that she said he looks like an egg, not that he is one.

Humpty Dumpty and Alice. From Through the Looking-Glass. Illustration by John Tenniel.

They discuss semantics and pragmatics: Humpty Dumpty says, "my name means the shape I am"; and then later in the story they go on to discuss words ...

"I don't know what you mean by 'glory,' " Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't—till I tell you.

I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!' "

"But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-down argument'," Alice objected.

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all."

Alice was too much puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again.

"They've a temper, some of them—particularly verbs, they're the proudest—adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs—however, I can manage the whole lot!

Impenetrability! That's what I say!" 

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The thing I love about this story is the reminder that our words are powerful, our relationships are key to our success and our inquisitive nature is the thing that keeps us moving forward and learning new things. The thing to consider is that if we have all our eggs in one basket there are risks associated with this. 

In Humpty Dumpty's case, he never appreciated that his shell would crack if he fell off the wall and that he would need someone to catch him if he fell. This is true of each team member pulling together to form a cohesive unit that works well together, knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses and being willing to step up when required.

He was incredibly arrogant in the way he communicated with Alice as he was convinced that he alone could 'manage all the words', that he was 'the master' and that 'words would mean exactly what he said they would mean' all in a very scornful tone and yet she chose to listen to him. How many senior managers do we know who treat their team members like this? Perhaps because that's the way they have always done it. And how many team members just suck it up because they have all their eggs in one basket and feel trapped?

And so the cycle continues, project after project, we forgive team member differences because we have a job to do, we crack on with the roles we take on and do so to the best of our ability. The problems arise when we have a particularly difficult character to work with who twists everything in knots just to prove he is the master, and to top it all a challenging work culture to navigate.

Can you see the irony here?

What comes first ... is it the egg or the chicken? 

For me, this story resonates on so many levels.

The power of words and how we interpret them can very quickly lead to challenges in life and in business. Unless we are totally clear about the direction we are headed how can we expect to move forward?

As a team, in project delivery, in navigating systems or fulfilling our roles within a team in the culture we work in, how can we expect to function as a cohesive unit pulling in the same direction unless we have learned to trust each other, learned to rely on each other and know that we work as a unit?

The question is do you feel like all your eggs are in one basket? Are you sitting in that precarious position on top of the wall without anyone around to catch you if you fell? Are you the person listening to the scornful rhetoric and just sucking it up?

In Wonderland, Alice finds that, just like a reflection in the mirror, everything is reversed, running helps you remain stationary, walking away from something brings you towards it, chessmen are alive, nursery rhyme characters exist. At times I'm sure we have all experienced those brain boggling moments at work, where nothing seems to make any sense and what is expected of you seems impossible.

I knew the culture of my work environment was eating away at my sense of purpose, I was getting bogged down by the pressure of continually fighting to get things done, it was eating away at my resolve, I was feeling trapped inside that basket of eggs and getting more and more frustrated by the lack of support available. I was convinced that one or two were about to crack!

I felt like nothing made sense anymore and that no matter how much progress we made it was never enough, it was as though we were running but moving backwards. Numb at the end of every day and I started to question my reasons for being there. I could see how the environment was affecting those around me. No one wanted to help anymore. The joy had gone.

Something had to change.

Sound like something you've experienced?

I would love to hear more about your experiences and would like to invite you to complete my survey or message me with more details about your story.

Please CLICK HERE to complete my survey.

If you want to know a little more about it then please scroll down and read more below.

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN MY STUDY ON WORKPLACE CULTURE

I need your support, please. I am conducting a study for my book, Roar! How to tame the bully, and I would be very grateful if you would participate in my study.

In my eBook, you will have read about my own experience with workplace bullying and its toll on my relationships and my health (mentally and physically). That is why I am determined to help others recognise the signs of workplace bullying early on and to take action before it is too late.

If you have worked in a situation where you have been the Witness or Target of:

1. behaviour that is intentionally negative and malicious, whether physical or emotional, from one or more persons,
2. negative behaviour that is consistently aggressive and persistent, and
3. behaviour that is driven by another person’s desire to obtain control.

Then I would like to invite you to participate in this study.

This survey is being sent to individuals working in organisations across all industries worldwide. Your participation will help assure that the results generated present an accurate reflection of the prevalence of bullying behaviour in workplace cultures today.

TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY - CLICK HERE

The survey is anonymous and treated in the strictest confidence. You may refuse to answer any question or quit the survey at any time. It will take approximately 10-20 minutes to complete.

I’d love to get industry and country-specific analysis too, so the more responses I get, the better, so please feel free to send this link to your colleagues.

Thank you in advance,

Marilise de Villiers

TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY - CLICK HERE

PS: Although there may be no direct benefit to the participant, there are possible benefits to organisations and society as a whole. Leaders, managers, and human resource personnel may learn techniques for identifying, investigating, and managing workplace bullying. Potential benefits to employees would include improved mental, physical and emotional well-being. Raising awareness of workplace bullying could potentially benefit leaders and organisations by increasing employee engagement and productivity.