Mother Sparrow

This morning, Mother Sparrow is trying her best to block out the deafening chorus of chirps while she takes a moment to rest her wings. She peers down at the various people bustling around in the village and sitting on the benches below. One day soon, these little nestlings will be big enough to stretch their wings and tackle this descent, but until then, Mother must continue to bring them their frequent and seemingly endless supply of meals.

Snappy once again is protesting more than the others. She has a large appetite and a loud chirp, but one thing she doesn’t have is the patience to wait between feeds, at least not for her own turn.

“Me, me, me first!” Snappy screeches at every feed. She is beginning to use aggression to get what she …show more content…
Even the people inside the church, attending a wedding, can hear the …show more content…
“If you peck me with that little beak one more time, you’ll go to bed with no dinner again! Understand?” says Mother Sparrow firmly. Snappy nods gratefully; she is weak and hungry, but at least she has learned a valuable lesson.

Imagine for a moment that the carefully constructed nest is your department, and Mother Sparrow is your manager. She has invested much of her time, effort, and energy into building the organization, and she is helping you by giving you a foundation from which to build your career.

Mother Sparrow has worked tirelessly to provide her growing young team with everything that it requires. To bite the hand that feeds you—or in this case, to peck the beak that feeds you—would be damaging to your career and disrespectful to your manager. It also represents the breakdown of all the associated support that your department may provide you.

Pushing for preferential treatment, especially by means of aggression or bullying, will very often result in a setback of any progress you have made so far. Preferential treatment only comes to those with preferable skills and a polite and professional