Welcome to the first piece in a six-part series on The Ambition Recession. We’ll move from New Zealand to the wider world, exploring culture, politics, economics, history, and philosophy.
Insofar as Pākehā NZ is concerned, I put it down to our colonial forebears: they were largely working-class, escaping poverty and oppression by the class system of "home" (England), or having been pushed out of their homes by the landed classes (Scotland), or fleeing the hardship of famine or the struggle for independence (Ireland) - etc. Sure, there were "toffs" here, but somehow colonial NZ was founded on more egalitarian principles than home.
As a result, I feel we embrace successful people who aren't over the top, brash, arrogant and showy with their wealth and success. We resonate with those who give back. Consider the treatment the Mowbrays, John Key and other toxically successful people get - well deserved.
It's possible to be affluent or talented or successful without being an ar*ehole, and we admire those who manage it.
The Tall Poppy Syndrome is also alive and well in Australia. After spending 5 years in NZ (yes, one of the 2%), I feel reasonably safe saying Kiwis are typically non-confrontational but their face will say you're a dick if you don't play the game of putting yourself down. Aussies just say it out loud (if not to your face, then face-adjacent so you'll get the message).
As Archives Rock outlines in their comment, I believe our past is also to blame. As an oppressed group of convicts literally shipped off to a floating prison, to want to "rise above" would be akin to joining the ranks of the oppressors and therefore not something to be encouraged - a cultural "survival skill", if you will.
Because those roots run so deep, I'm not sure how you overcome it. Perhaps more conversations like this that bring it to the surface and gives us the space to question if it truly serves us anymore are the starting point?
As a kiwi who left after graduating, I do not think there is much to fix apart from national insecurity. A lot of millennial kiwis treat younger generations poorly. When you weigh it up - bad pay, bad recognition, slow progression vs actual progress. Simple answer. Leave.
The thing that gets me… Is that I grew up (32y) knowing about our “tall poppy” problem from a young age.. and yet, there were no solutions or encouragements presented!
This has now been soo confusing as I go along the path to greatness and unlearn the false humility that doesn’t serve my dreams to help more people.. to have something so widely acknowledged yet not shifted or deeply addressed… it’s an odd, hidden in plain sight phenomen.
You know you’re making progress when your mums comment that “they’ll start you on the bottom” [of that pay scale]
Stuns you into silence. Silence so long that she herself heard her words and retracted them.
They started me on the top of the scale without negotiation needed. So my energy in the interview clearly communicated my self belief 😉
Insofar as Pākehā NZ is concerned, I put it down to our colonial forebears: they were largely working-class, escaping poverty and oppression by the class system of "home" (England), or having been pushed out of their homes by the landed classes (Scotland), or fleeing the hardship of famine or the struggle for independence (Ireland) - etc. Sure, there were "toffs" here, but somehow colonial NZ was founded on more egalitarian principles than home.
As a result, I feel we embrace successful people who aren't over the top, brash, arrogant and showy with their wealth and success. We resonate with those who give back. Consider the treatment the Mowbrays, John Key and other toxically successful people get - well deserved.
It's possible to be affluent or talented or successful without being an ar*ehole, and we admire those who manage it.
More of those, please.
The Tall Poppy Syndrome is also alive and well in Australia. After spending 5 years in NZ (yes, one of the 2%), I feel reasonably safe saying Kiwis are typically non-confrontational but their face will say you're a dick if you don't play the game of putting yourself down. Aussies just say it out loud (if not to your face, then face-adjacent so you'll get the message).
As Archives Rock outlines in their comment, I believe our past is also to blame. As an oppressed group of convicts literally shipped off to a floating prison, to want to "rise above" would be akin to joining the ranks of the oppressors and therefore not something to be encouraged - a cultural "survival skill", if you will.
Because those roots run so deep, I'm not sure how you overcome it. Perhaps more conversations like this that bring it to the surface and gives us the space to question if it truly serves us anymore are the starting point?
As a kiwi who left after graduating, I do not think there is much to fix apart from national insecurity. A lot of millennial kiwis treat younger generations poorly. When you weigh it up - bad pay, bad recognition, slow progression vs actual progress. Simple answer. Leave.
The thing that gets me… Is that I grew up (32y) knowing about our “tall poppy” problem from a young age.. and yet, there were no solutions or encouragements presented!
This has now been soo confusing as I go along the path to greatness and unlearn the false humility that doesn’t serve my dreams to help more people.. to have something so widely acknowledged yet not shifted or deeply addressed… it’s an odd, hidden in plain sight phenomen.
You know you’re making progress when your mums comment that “they’ll start you on the bottom” [of that pay scale]
Stuns you into silence. Silence so long that she herself heard her words and retracted them.
They started me on the top of the scale without negotiation needed. So my energy in the interview clearly communicated my self belief 😉
Love your work!