When we say chocolate cake is popular, we mean that
many people like it. When we say that
someone is popular in high school, we mean that an individual because of their
attributes or accomplishments is well liked.
When we say that a certain manager is popular, we mean the same. There is an obvious difference from being
popular and being famous or infamous.
Again, popularity attests to approval.
And, in terms of a manager, approval need not mean total agreement with
the manager in all their decisions. The
staff can understand that there are hard decisions to make and some outcomes may
go against their preferences. These same
individuals however can continue to like the manager—to approve of his
attributes or accomplishments. Indeed
that is a fundamental requirement of a good manager—to be able to make
unpopular decision yet remain popular.
I think back to when we had the bathroom redone in
our house. The company did a
good job and we strongly approved of their work. But part of doing a good job was invading our
home with equipment, noise, and inconvenience.
If they had not done these things, they could not have done a good job
and they would not have earned our approval.
In short, though we did not like the invasion of our home, we knew it
was necessary given the nature of the situation.
I think most people would like to be popular in this
sense. Not superficially so, where it is
based on being unbelievably sweet, nice, and indulgent. But by doing a good job and all that
entails. The analogies in this regard
are many. For example, we don’t like the
idea of having our body cut open, however if necessary we know that this is
essential for a surgeon to receive our accolades and approval.
Only
politics seems to be the exception. We
like indulgent political leaders and will vote them out of office if they
require any sort of sacrifice (other than, of course, going to war). We will bear any burden so long as it does
not jeopardize our theater-size flat screen TV with surround sound. This gives to politics an eerie cast, a
bizarre glimmer of a dreamscape filled with row upon row of one-dimensional
standing promises. Consider what it
would do to the manager mentioned in the opening paragraph if he had to study
every decision in the light of getting reelected by staff. Not only would it affect his decisions but
also the inclinations of staff. The
fantasy world through mutual collusion could thus threaten to subsume reality. The answer comes down to an inveterate preference
for practical common sense (good results require tolerance of some
unpleasantness) similar to our uncompromising dealing with reality in everyday
life.
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