The Shark rises quickly at first, but the debris they leave behind eventually catches up. The Tortoise keeps the peace, but peace often keeps them small.
Exactly. Thank you for sharing your experience. When you first come across them, it can be difficult to understand why they act the way they do and as humans we tend to reflect the behavior on ourselves "Maybe we are not to be trusted with certain tasks" or "Maybe we haven't done enough to ask for promotion, bonuses etc.". It's difficult to see the situation in hindsight and understand these characters.
The cool thing about the animal archetypes is once you see it this way, you won't unsee and over time you can get better at identifying and dealing with them. This hopefully makes the Corporate Jungle less of a mystery as you learn to counter when you come across and if you see traits of yourself in them, you can understand what's happening and what to do about it.
I really like the way you’ve framed this and pointed out that they are tendencies.
You aren’t a shark or a tortoise. In fact, there will be bits and pieces of them both in you. That’s why it’s so important to do self examination required to understand yourself.
If you don’t you’ll end up embodying the worst of both.
Thank you Christopher, exactly this! We have natural behaviors and also shadow behaviors we fall into when we are under pressure. Knowing them helps us manage them, that's growth.
Loved it. While reading I was searching for a middle ground and soon found it down the piece. As a student in a university, this helped allot . Great work 👏🏻
Thank you so much Preeti, the cool thing is once you see it, you won't unsee. You will just get better at recognising patterns and learning counter tactics to deal with these characters
Great article, Victoria! I've oscillated between both of these in my career, more as a tortoise. For me, it was hard to find that sweet spot of assertiveness because any challenge was perceived as "not falling in line." You lay out a great plan here. Wish I had known 15 years ago. 🙂
Thank you for your feedback M J, I think it is hard for the majority. We are not taught any of this, just expected to do well as we progress up the org.
Totally agree with the Shark/Tortoise analogy...I've seen versions of this playout in corporate settings...now we just need to identify the animal name for the strategic assertive type!!
Victoria, since you used the example of the Tortoise and the Shark, I’ll stick to that. From my experience, it’s usually more appropriate to move like a Tortoise, cautious and steady. Advancing unnecessarily with overconfidence or trying to show off efficiency can sometimes backfire. But the moment a real opportunity arises, shedding the Tortoise’s shell and striking like a Shark can be highly advantageous...though still avoiding overconfidence.
A balance needs to be struck to achieve the best success
Oh! This is a great explanation of shark and tortoise kind of corporate employees.
I have encountered this kind of personality and have observed similar consequences.
Difficult for each of them to imbibe a part of other's characteristics.
But the one who has, have grown leaps and bounds.
Exactly. Thank you for sharing your experience. When you first come across them, it can be difficult to understand why they act the way they do and as humans we tend to reflect the behavior on ourselves "Maybe we are not to be trusted with certain tasks" or "Maybe we haven't done enough to ask for promotion, bonuses etc.". It's difficult to see the situation in hindsight and understand these characters.
The cool thing about the animal archetypes is once you see it this way, you won't unsee and over time you can get better at identifying and dealing with them. This hopefully makes the Corporate Jungle less of a mystery as you learn to counter when you come across and if you see traits of yourself in them, you can understand what's happening and what to do about it.
Will love to read more and understand. This is Gold. Thanks for writing.
I really like the way you’ve framed this and pointed out that they are tendencies.
You aren’t a shark or a tortoise. In fact, there will be bits and pieces of them both in you. That’s why it’s so important to do self examination required to understand yourself.
If you don’t you’ll end up embodying the worst of both.
Thank you Christopher, exactly this! We have natural behaviors and also shadow behaviors we fall into when we are under pressure. Knowing them helps us manage them, that's growth.
Loved it. While reading I was searching for a middle ground and soon found it down the piece. As a student in a university, this helped allot . Great work 👏🏻
Thank you so much Preeti, the cool thing is once you see it, you won't unsee. You will just get better at recognising patterns and learning counter tactics to deal with these characters
Great article, Victoria! I've oscillated between both of these in my career, more as a tortoise. For me, it was hard to find that sweet spot of assertiveness because any challenge was perceived as "not falling in line." You lay out a great plan here. Wish I had known 15 years ago. 🙂
Thank you for your feedback M J, I think it is hard for the majority. We are not taught any of this, just expected to do well as we progress up the org.
Totally agree with the Shark/Tortoise analogy...I've seen versions of this playout in corporate settings...now we just need to identify the animal name for the strategic assertive type!!
The Strategic Assertive type is a Chameleon <3
Thank you for reading and happy it resonated!
Yes!!! Chameleon love that
Thank you 🤗
Victoria, since you used the example of the Tortoise and the Shark, I’ll stick to that. From my experience, it’s usually more appropriate to move like a Tortoise, cautious and steady. Advancing unnecessarily with overconfidence or trying to show off efficiency can sometimes backfire. But the moment a real opportunity arises, shedding the Tortoise’s shell and striking like a Shark can be highly advantageous...though still avoiding overconfidence.
Nicely summarized. Learning to not go through extremes, adapting to situations is key. Be a Chameleon!