RESEARCH_FILE
Rumina Billan
The Tallest Poppy Research Initiative, Canada
Known for:The Tallest Poppy research: documenting tall-poppy cutting among working women in Canada, identifying friends as the primary source and milestone-hiding as the dominant learned defense
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“I have to play small around them”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“A friendship that survives only when I'm diminished isn't a friendship—it's a job interview that never ends.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Write down a recent win or achievement in full detail, without softening language or luck disclaimers. Read it back to yourself. Notice what changes in how you feel about your own success.
Key findings
- 2022
Friends — not colleagues, bosses, or family members — are the single most common source of tall-poppy cutting for working women, a finding that contradicts the popular assumption that competitive professional environments are the primary arena for success-suppression. The Tallest Poppy Research ↗
- 2022
Milestone-hiding — actively concealing achievements and successes from social circles to preempt being cut down — is the dominant learned defense strategy documented among women experiencing tall-poppy dynamics, representing a self-silencing pattern with measurable wellbeing costs. The Tallest Poppy Research ↗