Researcher – X Factor for ugly people?

Skilled and specialized within your field of research or splendid communicator, facilitator with the ability to make your results and points seem important while talking on direct flow-TV?

Are the best researchers in today’s society the ones that are capable of being it all?

As almost done with my PhD thesis I am fascinated with the discourse that are being used about what being a scientist in, what Bauman would call, The fluent modernity, is all about. Are the best and most qualified researchers the ones, which shouts the loudest and who understands how to promote their personal profile through several kinds of social media platforms? Should we as researchers accept being part of, what the Danish minister, Søren Pind would call; X factor for ugly people?

We become our projects

I personally do not have the answer but my findings after doing several years of organizational fieldwork in the Danish public sector shows, that postmodern organizations have the tendency to leave classical organizational structures to decentral in what Danish philosopher Fogh Jensen calls: A project society.

Employees are becoming small, decentered satellites within the organization – their own complete organization within the organization. The individual are now responsible for creating an interesting career profile, a sustainable and interesting personal network, meaningful work relations – it becomes increasingly important that you as an individual understands how to promote and brand yourself, your work and potential findings on various social platforms.

Organizational consequences

My field study consists of working 3 years as project manager in the public sector and my findings shows an organizational vulnerability within the public sectors tendency to move towards a project society where there yet exists no sustainable game plan. When people become their projects then the projects travel and in a certain way belong to the individual. The employees that understands that becomes the ones with the upper hand and the public sector are not quite sure what to do with all the knowledge, the network and the resources that constantly are leaving the institutions and departments. Studies shows that Danish managers looks for future employees, that changes job functions or organization approximately every fifth year but the organizations, here the public sector, are not yet qualified to ensure that important knowledge and contacts stays in the departments when people leave to create stronger and more impressive career profiles.