From: Marion.Kee@a.nl.cs.cmu.EDU
Subject: Being aware that one is doing Peerage-quality work
Organization: The Internet
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 21:24:00 GMT

Greeting to all from Marian Greenleaf,

I think that people who are doing work *generally* comparable to those
who have received Peerages for similar efforts, tend to be aware of it,
whatever area of endeavor they are pursuing.  This is a generalization
which certainly may not apply to certain individuals.  While it may
*appear* that it's easier to rank your work, using that of others as a
yardstick, if you are a fighter or an artisan as opposed to an
administrator, I think the characteristic also holds for most service-oriented
people who are at, or approaching, the Pelican level.  One hallmark of
being good at running things, tends to be having good instincts for how
well things are going, and what needs to be done to keep them going
smoothly.  Many such folks are good at tasks involving organizing.  These
are qualities that tend to keep one quite well-informed of how well one
is doing whatever one's chosen jobs are.  After all, one NEEDS to know
how well things are turning out at any given moment.  Then there are
also some more "objective" measures of qualifications for a Pelican, as
Justin points out--mostly involved in comparing the length of one's
service and the kind of jobs one has been performing, etc., to the 
same characteristics in those who have received Pelicans.

However, like anyone who starts to think about getting an award, we
service types can also practice self-delusion, or at least be conscious
of a nagging thought that perhaps we don't have enough objectivity
about our own efforts to know if we are REALLY up to snuff, or not.
Still, given some time, it does tend to become more clear if we are
functioning on a level that often leads to a Peerage.

It might be instructive to give some thought to what happens when
someone reasonable, competent and committed becomes aware, over a
period of time, that they have done Peerage-level work but have not
received the recognition for it.  This is often a very embittering
experience.  I think those who are likely to become Royalty (and they
often know who they are, too!), as well as those already members of
Peerage orders, need to make a real effort if they are to be objective
in this regard.  It's easy, and emotionally rewarding, to recognize
those who are popular.  It's not difficult to know what someone has
been doing when they blow their own horn, or at least are able and
willing to be very open about their work.  What's harder is to notice
the work of people who are self-effacing, or just quiet, or so crabby
that few others enjoy their company, or those who live far from the
"bright center" of the Kingdom, or those who have done a great job with
a task that, by its nature, tends to get overlooked, even though it
may require a lot of effort to perform.  (There is also such a thing as
an office that by its very nature subjects its incumbent to
controversy; for example, certain major offices associated with the Pennsic 
War.  Often people who are willing to take on such an office are those
who know that controversy won't kill them (because they are already
familiar with it.)  This tends to further complicate a path to a
Peerage that already was none too broad and smooth; yet one thing that
tends to get agreed on at Pelican meeting time is that such a person 
has worked very hard.)  Whatever Peerage is in question, it's hard on 
anyone to have an accurate notion that, by the available measures of
judgement, she or he deserves that recognition--in the LONG term--and
yet does not have it.

(It would be prudent at this point for me to add that I received my own
Pelican right about the time I started to feel that I deserved it, and
thus was spared the process I have just described.  However, I have
seen others go through it, and it does not tend to be a constructive
experience.)

I thank you for your indulgence, and I believe that I have said enough.

--Marian Greenleaf, O.P.
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