EP 442: When The Voice In Your Head Whispers... Meritocracy

Today’s episode is a sneak peek of Work In Practice, my new 12-week training program for guides of all kinds. This program offers a toolkit for identifying the beliefs and stories that make a more sustainable relationship with work possible. If you’re a coach, consultant, manager, or trainer who works with people rethinking how they work, this is for you.

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"Anyone can succeed if they work hard and apply themselves!" That's the voice of meritocracy.

Unfortunately, that sweet, encouraging voice can easily turn to "If anyone can succeed if they work hard and apply themselves, why aren't you working harder?!"

Meritocracy sounds great when you're on the side of opportunity. However, personal setbacks and systemic oppression can easily turn meritocracy into the voice of failure.

Footnotes:

• Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard in Slate's Juris Prudence and on 5-4
• Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom
• "Leaving the Cult of Never Enough with Manisha Thakor" on What Works
• "What is Capitalism Realism?" on What Works
• The Meritocracy Trap by Daniel Markovits
• "'The Meritocracy Trap,' Explained" by Roge Karma
• Psychopolitics by Byung-Chul Han

Every episode of What Works is also published in essay form and delivered in my newsletter: whatworks.fyi

Work with me: I’m teaching a 12-week training program for coaches, managers, consultants, and guides of all kinds starting in September. The program is called Work In Practice, and it’s a deep dive into the social, political, and economic systems that impact what we believe about work.

Love What Works? Support the show and help me reach more people with assumption-busting ideas about work, business, and culture by becoming a Premium Subscriber. For just $7 per month, you get access to bonus episodes, full-length interviews, and quarterly workshops

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What is What Works?

Work is central to the human experience. It helps us shape our identities, care for those we love, and contribute to our communities. Work can be a source of power and a catalyst for change. Unfortunately, that's not how most of us experience work—even those who work for themselves. Our labor and creative spirit are used to enrich others and maintain the status quo. It's time for an intervention. What Works is a show about rethinking work, business, and leadership for the 21st-century economy. Host Tara McMullin covers money, management, culture, media, philosophy, and more to figure out what's working (and what's not) today. Tara offers a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to deep-dive analysis of how we work and how work shapes us.