MSLD.634.3.4 The Harder They Fall

This post is for an assignment through ERAU in completion of my MBAA...

Using concepts from the Kramer (2003) article as a baseline, share your insights on dilemmas that happen in:

• in society
• at work
• and in your life

Kramer's article, The Harder They Fall, discusses the rise and fall of leaders in today's "sky is the limit" society.  In Greek mythology, Icarus' father built him wings by using wax to hold bird feathers together.  Icarus and his father flew on their wings to escape the island of Crete and Icarus flew too too close to the sun and he fell to the water and drowned when the heat from the sun melted the wax that held his wings together.  Icarus' father vowed never to fly again and built a temple to the sun God Apollo where he literally hung up his wings.    

We as a society hold up those people who we see as role models and heroes and glowing examples of success.  We love the idea that, the sky is the limit and anything is possible!  In my airshow career I would always say those exact words over the radio to audiences of thousands.  This is our dream and we love to see it come true for others in the hopes that it may also come true for us!  Why then, do we see so many of those that we held so high on their pedestal, come crashing down?  We are so quick to compliment and praise them when they are doing well, and then so quick to condemn them and look down on them when they fail.  Is this just human nature?  How can we be so duplicitous as a culture? When I step back and look, I see jealousy and self interest.  We hold these people up and want to be close to them in hopes that some of it might just rub off. When they are down, we hold them down and step on them hoping to lift ourselves up just a little bit.  If someone who could be so successful could find themselves in a place lower than me, then I must somehow be elevated by their failure.

Can we blame these stars for showing such uncharacteristic lapses in judgement and decision making when we have made them out to be seemingly untouchable?  The genius-to-folly-syndrome is something that we see so often as the risk-taking and rule-breaking behaviors that someone had to take to get to the top can also be the things that lead to their fall once they are in a position of power.  We praise these self-made and ambitious individuals who had the drive to take the risks to make it to the top, but when they lack the self-restraint to deal with their new found position of power, we are equally willing to watch them fall.  Many successes come on the platform of major sacrifice and this fact will make someone fight hard to keep their success in the same way they fought to get it in order to ensure that their sacrifices were not in vein.

No one is perfect and no one knows how they will respond to power and success.  Most lessons are learned the hard way or with hindsight and while we are all very quick to judge, we can't know how we will respond to a situation until we find ourselves in it.  Yes we can plan and say that we have a strong sense of morals and ethics and standards, but when the carrot is dangled and the risk versus reward scale is tipped, perhaps even the most 'moral' among us will find a way to adapt our perspective of what is 'right' more towards what is morally preferable.

Without going too far into personal details, I have experienced the rise and fall of success as a world champion, a US Team Member, a world record holder a team leader and now as a mom.  I now have the unique opportunity to be able to look back in hindsight at how I responded to my position of power and how my own perspective shifted with my newfound platform.  I can say that I made good decisions and I made bad decisions and in hindsight have both regrets and moments that make me proud.  Someday I will write a book and you can learn the details of my thoughts and my ups and downs, but let's just say that I never would have guessed ahead of time how the roller coaster of my career and life would have gone.  I have watched success and power change people around me for the better and for the worse, but mostly for the worse.  Power corrupts and if a person is able to gain power and success and come out better on the other end, well they have passed one of lives ultimate tests.  Would I say no to success and power if it was offered to me after my own experiences with being in the spotlight?  I honestly don't know the answer.  The temptation would be to say yes, give me the chance to shine and hope that I use it to make the world a better place; but, on the other hand, the idea of living simply may be the reward that I get on the other side of my roller coaster ride.  If I say yes to power and success, is it out of selfish ambition or is it coming from a place of sincerity? Perhaps it is a bit of both?  Ask me again in 20 years and hindsight will hopefully have led to more wisdom that I can then try to pass on to my children and grandchildren.

I welcome challenges and the chance to grow on my path towards enlightenment and I hope that the decisions that I have made and will make over the years will somehow make me a better person and help me to contribute to a healthier and happier World.  Not everyone will love me or even like me at the end, but I hope to at least feel good about who I am and what I have done.

The higher I have risen, the harder I have fallen and it has been one hell of a ride so far.  I strive not to fly too close to the sun, but my biggest fear would be to hang up my wings.  I suppose that ultimately finding balance is the goal to sustainable success.