Hector Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac was a royal personage who was born in Paris in 1619, he was a French writer who devoted himself to a military career until a wound suffered at the siege of Arras in 1641 forced him to renounce it, when he returned to his His hometown gave himself up to a life of excesses and inhibitions that generally exceeded his income, which is why he ended up seeking the protection of the Duke of Arpajon, who withdrew his trust after the premiere of his first play which contained a good anti-religious dose.
But it is not the historical content of Cyrano de Bergerec's life that motivates its study and typification as an administrative syndrome, but rather the characterization made some two hundred years after his death by Edmond Rostand (1897) who describes him as a romantic and adventurer in the tragicomedy that bears his name.
In this work, Cyrano is in love with his cousin Roxane, but considers himself unable to win her love by defining himself as not very handsome (due to his enormous nazal appendage) and decides to give his prose and verses to the young Christian so that he could conquer the heart of his loved, thus making an absurd sacrifice fueled by an almost non-existent self-esteem; or at least that's how Rostand puts it in his work.
Cyrano was a visionary man with gifts as a philosopher, physicist and astronomer, in fact it is said that he was the first to suggest that man could reach the moon mounted on a rocket, but his image is associated more with a swordsman with a poetic verb and crazy behavior.
It is this connection: a visionary and intelligent person combined with low self-esteem and little faith in personal success is what allows the Bergerac name to be associated with an administrative syndrome.
The Bergerac Syndrome is the opposite of the Anát Syndrome, because in this case it is the lack of confidence and the scant or distorted self-image that the subordinate has that motivates him to give up his ingenuity to third parties since he considers that only in that way Your ideas or proposals will be possible to materialize, otherwise they would go unnoticed.
This type of behavior is observed in subordinates of any level whose interest in making the work of their supervisors stand out hides a deep mistrust in themselves and little self-esteem, they are considered insignificant or unimportant imagining that their social condition, experience, level academic, economic situation, hierarchical position, and even the sum of all of them and others of a similar nature, disable him to propose improvements or changes… Who are they to be heard? However, they resort to immediate authority or to the person they consider to have the best characteristics, which they think are alien to them, to use it as a means of transmitting their message, totally and consciously renouncing the recognition of their creativity and ingenuity.
It usually happens in organizations, and those who manage are aware of it, that not all supervisors are inexhaustible sources of ideas and innovations, in some cases they appropriate the proposals of their supervisees to look good to their bosses (The syndrome de Anát) but on other occasions it is the subordinates who voluntarily offer them to them without expecting anything in return. These circumstances led to the understanding of Bergerac Syndrome at the beginning of the study as:
The deliberate and conscious conduct of an individual or group of them aimed at giving third parties their ideas, suggestions or any type of initiative, so that they present them as their own before their superiors, followers or a certain scenario, without waiting for any recognition.
However, when trying to locate historical antecedents of this fact, a singular example appeared that transformed the vision of the syndrome and with it its conceptualization. It is about Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790).
According to the writer Celso Cruz in his book "The Great Inventors", this American hero worked in a printing company that was owned by one of his older brothers who founded the newspaper The New England Courant, the author writes referring to the 21-year-old Franklin: “Although he felt like writing, he feared that he would be made fun of if he tried. On one occasion he wrote an article and threw it under the door.
They found it the next day and it was read and commented on by the newspaper's editors and it deserved high praise that the boy listened with joy, but in silence ”(p. 51).
Benjamin Franklin repeated this exercise several times until at the end he was recognized and received the corresponding honors.
In this example, the low self-confidence and low self-esteem are again evident, but the transfer of knowledge is not given to a particular third party but to a medium where there is no subordination, therefore it is worth saying that the Syndrome of Bergerac has an additional conception to the one already expressed, since it can also be understood as:
The deliberate and conscious conduct of an individual or group of them aimed at giving third parties their ideas, suggestions or any type of initiative, so that they promote, execute, validate or verify them, without waiting for any immediate recognition, but yes in the medium or long term.
Now, the Bergerac Syndrome has a peculiarity different from the other Syndromes exposed so far, such as the Cronus, Ganymede and Anát Syndrome; it is not a consequence of the application of a particular managerial style nor does it arise from the imposition of a line of thought, but it is fed and maintained by both administrative expressions.
It is unethical to achieve the recognition and good will of those who supervise by the exposure or execution of an idea of foreign origin even when it was transferred without having been requested, since it is the responsibility of the management to develop and guide the subordinate who presents competencies of innovation and ingenuity.
What can be expected of a supervisor who consistently accepts that their subordinates give them their ideas?
Accepting this type of assignment is to ignore the advances that have been made in terms of skills in recent decades, as well as an incorrect use of the talent that generates them.
Therefore, it is the responsibility of the supervisors of each area, unit and even of the entire company, to detect this type of behavior, to generate a climate and a conducive environment to capture the initiatives of their employees regardless of the level, status or condition that the himself, because if not, it helps to maintain resourceful personnel but low self-esteem in the workforce.
Now, how can a supervisor be responsible for the low self-esteem of his supervisor? The answer lies in the ability of the superior to use his experience to guide any of his supervisees to improve their self-image.
If it supports the behavior, it is sufficiently responsible for the appearance of the syndrome as well as the Bergerac Syndrome itself, because by doing so it validates the initial thought that the idea would not have penetrated if it was the author himself who expounded it. Otherwise if, making use of their supervisory skills, they serve as a link between the creator of the initiative and those responsible for considering it, as this allows to strengthen self-confidence and increases the motivation of the author of the idea.
Bergerac Syndrome can be present in any type of organization, hierarchical level or knowledge, without any distinction of race, creed, age or sex. It is an anomalous expression of genius that, although it may seem unusual, is more common than it appears and, in some cases, it is what causes the appearance and spread of the Anatomy Syndrome. However, it is more common in companies where they worship:
- The name of the institution from which the studies have been studied and the level of the studies Geographical location of the house, social environment or status quo Work history, years of experience, number of successes and their recognition A close relationship with the owners of the business.Other circumstantial elements of a high subjective level.
But when Bergerac Syndrome is adopted as part of a plan to achieve recognition in the medium or long term, the conditions outlined above can vary in infinite ways, because according to the scenario the carrier of the syndrome will have to overcome the successful experiences of their approach and at the same time accumulating enough evidence to demonstrate their authorship and creativity to be supplied at the moment when the situation warrants it, since there will be no shortage of those who claim authorship, even if it is alien to them.
Be it one way or another, Bergerec Syndrome is an administrative condition that does not add value to those who feed it, and even to those who suffer from it, since its existence denotes the lack of the skills of a professional today, where it capacity for innovation and creativity are and will be the main sources of distinction between talented people.
