ENTITLEMENT MINDSET (Part 3)

DANGERS OF AN ENTITLEMENT MINDSET

Have you ever lost something of great value because of something else that probably matters less?

Simi Odunmi, popularly called Boss Lady is a branch manager at Vetcom Solutions, a cooperation she joined barely a year ago. From childhood, Simi had always gotten whatever she wanted, in any way possible; so, scaling to the top of the ladder in such a short time was not surprising to folks who knew Simi.

Simi is the perfect definition of bossy and whenever she wanted something, she went for it and got it. Although, this attitude is the major reason behind her success, but you know what they say 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely'. Simi did not notice that her attitude was damaging to her personality. This made it difficult for people to stay around, and as such she did not have any friends.

Simi was the head of a branch with a 9 man team. She paid little or no attention to the needs and suggestions of her team, since she felt that she had it all figured out. All she wanted was for things to be done according to her perception, without objections. Any attempt to make suggestions resulted in being lashed by her.

In the first week of the month of February, the General manager of Vetcom Solutions had sent a notice of his bi-monthly inspection to Simi's branch. As such, every staff had to make sure that their unit reports were ready. Simi insisted on presenting all the reports, as against the former method of individual team members making their presentations. Thus, she ordered that all final documents be sent to her flash drive.

James, her secretary observed that some of the staff had a virus infested flash, hence, he suggested to Simi that a scan be done through all the drives and clean ups be made before the transfer into her personal device. However, Simi would not listen to anyone. She wanted things done fast, so she would have enough time to prepare for The Big Day.

"Do what you are asked to do," she fired at him, while he was still speaking.

On the 26th day of February 2018, the General Manager arrived at the branch and was warmly ushered in. Simi was gorgeously dressed. She barely wore make up, however, on that day she had contracted the service of a make up artiste.

The conference room was already well prepared. Simi wasted no time in taking her position beside the projector screen, beaming with smiles. But suddenly, there was a drop dead silence in the room and everyone's countenance changed, as they anticipated Simi's reaction.

"You should be ashamed of yourself,", she thundered at James, who tried in vain to defend himself. To the rest of the staff, she turned to them and called them "Incompetent".

Simi walked towards the General Manager and said "Sir, I  suppose you understand that this is not my fault, these people are incompetent".

"I deeply apologize for this mess caused by my team members, we will have to reschedule this meeting." She concluded.

Two days after the meeting, Simi is lying on her bed at about 10:00am, with a weary look seated on her face. Although, he did not mention a word, but the General Manager was not pleased with the incident that transpired in the conference room; thus he carried out a secret survey as regards Simi's behavior.

The survey turned out to be against Simi, since all of the 9 team members had several complaints about her. She was then placed on an indefinite suspension and asked to stay off the company premises.

All these happened because when the flash drive was slotted into the PC, the projector displayed 'error, can't find files'. The flash had been corrupted by the virus, and all documents wiped away. She could not control herself because her high expectations were dashed. And funnily, she destroyed them by herself.

She had to go through this tough period alone, as it was just the previous week she had a fight with Ajoke, her last friend standing.

Danger Analysis 

Exude ill feelings: Simi's hostility to her staff triggered the General Manager to carry out his secret survey, which led to her suspension. A person with the mindset of entitlement often times exudes an aura of hostility. Because of the quest to always get what they want, they often times give into and express ill feelings like strife, hostility, revenge and conflict.

Inability to lead or team play: Working as a team member or leading a team is quite difficult for entitlement thinkers, as they reason only for themselves. As heads, they don't consider their subordinate and as team members, they always feel like they are in competition with other team members. Simi was a boss and not a leader, this was the reason why none of the members of the 9-man team had anything good to say about her. If you have the attitude of wanting things done your way, you will always put your selfish interest first, even to the extent of sabotaging general plans.

Jealousy and hatred: These people always reason "If I don't have it, no one should". They feel they alone are worth having the good things; so, they will do all they can to be noticed. Each member was supposed to present their work, but Simi felt that she alone deserved recognition and applaud from the top visitor. Entitlement thinkers tend to hate those who do better than them. Thus, rather than learn, they will find ways to pull down those that are ahead of them.

Loneliness: Often times  people with the entitlement mentality are seen to be bullies, both emotionally, mentally and even physically. And since nobody likes to be bullied, people tend to stay far from them. Simi had a terrible relationship with everyone and as such, she had no friends. They also tend to use people around them to get things done for themselves. If you have an entitlement mindset and act according to  there is high tendency that you will lose valuable personal and business relationships and will end up being lonely.

Depression: The Ultimate danger of the entitlement mindset is depression, which may lead to suicidal thoughts. This depression may arise from expectations being cut short, anxiety, worry, hate and loneliness. In the long run, the person with an entitlement sense is almost never at peace. Simi, after her suspension, fell under severe depression. It would take a whole lot to get her rescued.

How This Article Can Help You

👉 Refer to the previous post on Self-Check

👉 Take note of these traits and notice whether or not they are present in your attitude.

👉 If you find yourself in a mess, will the people around you be genuinely interested in helping you?

👉 Have a discussion with a friend or colleague on this topic.

👉 Don't forget to SHARE this POST