Corporate work and Stockholm Syndrome - Breaking free ....maybe?!

I'm going be vulnerable with you for a minute, just in case it helps someone else out there.

I am paid very well to do work that values a very specific, yet small fraction of who I am, and what I am able to bring (at least by the main organisation that I work with today which is a multi-billion corporation).

That's sales, business development, contract closure, laced with a heavy dose of authentic relationship building. Not bad skills to have right?

However, I have over a decade of culture, learning & development, and organisational training with a fair bit of ad-hoc/project-based application, yet this 'part of me' is massively under-valued, and under-utilised.

The said corporate organisation could have for FREE all of the culture, L&D, and leadership experience, yet they don't take it.

I wonder why?

Why do you think, with just this limited contextual understanding?

Now I know that 'who they recruited' in Feb 2009 is a wildly different person to who I am today in July 2025, but I find it fascinating just how difficult exec leaders find it for people to burst out of pre-defined boxes.

Even if the value could be huge.

I've got some data to back this up.

Between 2014 and 2018 I offered to lead a team cultural change project (see in comments) which was agreed to by my line manager, who is pretty open, and this led to an incremental increase in sales by over Euro 6m and over Euro 2m in gross margin with similar market dynamics and variables over that period. Never easy to equate fully like for like, but the evidence is clear.

Going further, I leveraged some industry connections and had London Business School write 90% of a MBA case study on this change, yet it failed at the last hurdle.

Why?

Because the senior leaders at the corporation would not allow any failures or mistakes to be shown in the report/case study.

Maybe I have found the answer to my original question by writing this post.

People that are curious, creative, and willing to look at things differently, beyond the conditioning, beyond the 'normal' system, are ostracised.

Indeed, I have been called 'evangelical' in the past, such is the diversity of perspective and bold reimagining that I am now able to play with due to a whole host of amazing humans, and learning experiences, in my world.

It's interesting, as I re-read this post before hitting publish, I have some aspects of trauma.

Really I do !

#StockholmSyndrome in real-time. Being paid so well (being looked after) by my captor (corporation) who doesn't really care about me.

Whoof! Does this resonate with you at all?

I said I would be vulnerable with this post, just wasn't fully sure how much until now.

I am increasingly clear that my role, whilst I have how ever many years left (having had testicular cancer 5 years ago sharpens this) of life left, is to "create honest spaces where people drop their masks and face reality together without fear."

I hope that this blog is one such space for you.

garry.turner@radicality.co.uk

Radicality.co.uk