Tall Poppy Syndrome

Tall Poppy Syndrome

Monwabisi Park, C-Section

“Tall Poppy Syndrome” is a term used in psychology to describe the social phenomenon whereby a successful individual is regarded as sticking out too far from the norm, like a tall poppy, and should be cut down (Peeters, 2004). The term is used in Australia and among some in South Africa, and we apply it here to refer to experiences we have encountered involving community jealousy directed at certain individuals or groups.

When we first arrived, we learned that a new group of Monwabisi Park community members had been formed in order to aid in the redevelopment process and interactions with the city. That group was resentful of the Indlovu Project and reluctant to include them in any group decisions or meetings. We learned that this resentment was primarily directed at one individual who had a lot of power and responsibility in the project. They felt that she was hiring only her own friends and family and was not looking out for the community as a whole.

This raised the issue of how to hire anyone without having the process tainted with the appearance of favouritism or nepotism. The economy team brainstormed some methods, such as a hiring committee, that would keep any individual from being perceived as having too much power in these kinds of decisions. It is also important, when making hiring decisions, to explicitly include people from all four sections. For example, if eight positions need to be filled, we have heard from several people in the community that two people should be hired from each section.

Since we had four initial co-researcher slots, we intended to have one co-researcher hired from each section of the park. However, about a week into the project, we found out that there had been some miscommunication in the hiring process, and three out of the four co-researchers were actually from C-section. As our projects progressed, we began doing some skills training with these co-researchers that opened up opportunities for them that would not have necessarily been available if they had not been hired. Because of this, the initial hiring mistake had real, long-term consequences and may have made the Indlovu Project appear to be favouring C-section.

At one point in their project, the communications team gathered some community members together to take a college assessment exam at the nearby False Bay College. Unknown to them, there was already a separate list of individuals who had said they should be contacted first if any opportunity like this were to arise. When the people on the original list found out that others had been taken to the college, they were quite upset. The communications team then took a few of these people to the college another day, but there were not enough open slots for everyone on the original list. This incident may not have been an example of Tall Poppy Syndrome per say, but it illustrates the tension in the community when deciding who gets to take advantage of certain opportunities.

Tall Poppy Syndrome and similar tensions and jealousies are an unfortunate reality in the community, and we must always be mindful of this when we try bring in new opportunities for residents.