Periagoge
Scenario

When government colleagues bond over shared frustration but avoid taking action

The three of us who started in city planning at the same time have watched our department become increasingly dysfunctional over five years and we've started meeting for coffee to vent about it, but those conversations always end with us feeling helpless rather than figuring out what we might actually do. We care about the work and we care about each other but I think our commiseration has become a way of avoiding the harder question of whether we should stay and fight or just leave.

More people experience this than they realize.

What we've seen

Mutual support has become a substitute for collective agency in the face of institutional dysfunction.

Your guide for this
Aurelius
Aurelius works with people navigating exactly this kind of situation.
Ideas that help explain it
Worth thinking about

“Where Are You with Government — Public Administration?”

Peri

Peri can explain why this happens, help you decide if this is the right situation for you, and point toward the right journey or coach.

If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.