Wolsey oh Wolsey !

Thomas Wolsey ( 1473 – 1530 ) was an English political figure and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. When Henry VIII became king of England in 1509, Wolsey became the King's almoner. It was to Wolsey’s advantage that Henry VII had introduced measures to curb the power of the nobility and was prepared to favor those from more humble backgrounds. With his strong drive for power and the ability to build a strong rapport with the King, in 1509 Henry VIII appointed him a position in the Privy Council.

Here is where it got very interesting. During his fourteen years of chancellorship, Cardinal Wolsey had more power than any other Crown servant in English history. As long as he was in the King’s favor, he had a large amount of freedom and had his hand in nearly every aspect of its ruling. It is no wonder he manage to raised nearly £200,000 in 1522. That’s a lot of money during that time !!!

And of course, with the money comes the great houses of Cardinal Wolsey which includes Hampton Court, Westminster and Oxford. Would you believe he even planned a magnificent tomb at Windsor. But, he was buried later at a Park ( without a monument ).

Him being in power solely relied on his good relationship with Henry VIII, of course when that fails, he failed miserably too.

So, let’s move back to today .....

Someone who is good in building rapport or shall I say strong PR skills, driven by a strong desire to be in power and remained in his / her position solely due to the good relation with the boss could perhaps have some similarity to Cardinal Wolsey, right ?
Yes, there is someone just like that. Is this person clever, smart or intelligent? Well, I beg to differ. The better words to describe would be cunning, opportunist and sneaky!

On a bright morning, in the meeting room, ‘Cardinal Wolsey’ aka the-one-who-should-not-be-named aka Exhibit A , puts the entire blame of non completion of the team’s strategy and goals on his @ her ex boss !

“ Oh dear... I have no clue this was done; this thing just fell onto my laps; I can’t do much about it; my ex boss wanted it to be that way, “ said Exhibit A. This person then goes around spreading rumor to the entire planet! Grrrrr ....

Exhibit A: Boss, here are the names to replace my ex boss. I think these guys are fantastic. Good strategist.

Boss: Good strategist huh ? I don’t think they are good enough.
Exhibit A: Oh.... on 2^nd thought, maybe you are right. I didn’t feel that strongly about them too...
Boss: Hmmm... but maybe they could be better at something else
Exhibit A: Oh yes, yes.... I totally agree. They could be better at operations maybe.
Boss: Actually... now that I look at the names, I don’t think they are up to expectation
Exhibit A: Yeah, exactly ! That’s what I told my staff. But they won’t listen, they keep suggesting these names!

See how he flips flops ALL the DAMN TIME! Trying to  maintain that rapport. He just goes along with the Boss. And how long did I last with Exhibit A? Hmmm .... well, let’s just say I escape before I go bonkers !