Well said, Mr. Slade, albeit, my experience is different than yours, for I have encountered hazing—from mild to criminal—continuously since childhood. As an adult, I've found it in every profession I've served in, from the military, in corrections, in law enforcement, in the private sector, and now as a government IT contractor. Many of these jobs require a tremendous amount of skill, and, in my opinion, are very important.
(I left home as a teenager and never went college, so I have no personal experience with college hazing, although I understand it to be common.)
In my experience, the new person is invariably given some impossible task, subjected to some degrading situation, deeply embarrassed, or harmed in some other way. And harm it is. As you pointed out, it is never justifiable, nor is it productive; quite the opposite in fact. In my view I don’t see much difference between hazing and bullying; it is bullying, plain and simple.
Since the first time I was beat up by the school-yard bully in first or second grade, I learned how to fight back. I have always had what is known as a “zero tolerance policy” on this, although a few were a bit slow to understand that. I know that some can’t or won’t fight back, and although my childhood was what you might call “a bit rough,” I don’t advocate violence as a “solution” because sometimes it creates more problems than it solves.
In recent years it's manifested for me when younger coworkers want to haze or bully the old man (me) that has suddenly appeared in their domain. It's easy to stop it before it gets off the ground, when I bring everyone together and point out that "ism" motivated behavior will not be tolerated whether it's toward me or anyone else. (Sexism, racism, ageism, and so on.). Sometimes one or two of the denser folks don't get the message, but their immediate termination reinforces my message for everyone else.
I see it everywhere, as noted, and I find it unfortunate that people who are otherwise looked upon favorably for their intellect engage in such behavior. Admittedly, it's not always obvious, and it's underreported, as are sex crimes and domestic violence, so you have to know what signs to look for in behavior and mannerisms, but I was surprised to read your statement "Come to think of it, I've never really seen hazing in the tech field, as such."
It appears that you and I have worked in very different environments.
I'm also curious about your comments on ITIL and the PMP. I hold both certifications, and haven't found that assessing a person's knowledge is a challenge. The ITIL library is pretty comprehensive, yet it’s easy to understand how to apply it. I'm only certified in the Foundations, but since it's a requirement to implement the entire library at most U.S. government agencies, I've become intimately familiar with every component and found nothing confusing about it, or difficult in its execution.
Admittedly, the first time I was tasked with implementing the ITIL Framework at a federal agency, it did take me nearly a year. However, I take the blame for that; my relative ignorance made it more arduous than it should have been. In those days I didn’t understand how simple it was to coordinate it with CMMI practices and cybersecurity. I learned a lot.
I can say the same about the PMP. It's easy enough to verify a person's mastery of the PMBoK, and validate their experience. While my focus in recent years has been to move agencies away from rigidity (as expressed in an SDLC) and toward agility (by whatever the most appropriate methods are for them), the processes and knowledge areas in the PMBoK are straightforward.
Lloyd Diernisse
ISC2 Authorized Instructor and Learning Tree International Certified Instructor
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt | CISSP-ISSMP | CCSP | CGRC | PMP | TBM | CSM | CMMI-A | ITIL-Fv3
