Wednesday, December 1, 2021

FIVE LEVERS WITH TODAY'S MANAGERS AND LEADERS

 Who does not want happy people?  Who does not want a motivated team?  Who does not want to see and celebrate successful performances? 

With so many distractions,  disruptions, chaotic situations, upswings, declining trends,  competitive slugfest, and demands for constant change on today's leaders and managers the levers that are most effective in order to keep up motivation levels and enable a strong performance culture are just five simple levers as I call them.   These are based on what successful and engaging managers and leaders do in organizations large and small.  



One needs to constantly think and reflect on how each of these levers manifests in the workplace. This also makes sense in our professional lives beyond just routine work environments. 


Sunday, November 14, 2021

Quote , Unquote !!!

"He who chooses the beginning of a road, also chooses its outcome." -  Unknown

So true, they say well begun is half done.  That's the other way to look at it. You start off on the wrong track and have to reverse the road travelled already.  Also it is good to remember that  the roughest roads make the best drivers, so you need not look at the rough one as the wrong road   


"Keep trying, It's only from the valley that the mountain seems high."  Zig Ziglar

So very true, its all about perspective. Raise your self above the problem and you see it in a different light.  That's the way it looks from the valley... all insurmountable, but once your reach somewhere at the top you feel you have conquered it all.   


"There is no limit to what can be achieved, when no one cares who gets the credit". - John Wooden, Coach

The team is sometimes the enemy of the goal.   So true that you have a goal and everyone understands it but in the quest to get name and credit the goal is side tracked.  You can always identify such people.  They will be playing ball on the sides,  send separate emails without including others who are relevant,  try calling out and dropping names and often the one's who try to take credit for others outputs.  These are missing in action but fully present at reward time. 


"Before we can properly handle a problem we must know all of the problem" - 

Einstein, once said, a problem can't be solved at the same level of understanding as that at which it was created.... he means you need a higher level of understanding.   That's why we say "Experience is the best teacher"  You can get to see various turns (understand the problem better or more in detail when you have experience.   Also it is about being wise with the worldly experiences and therefore able to handle problems as they say with grace and confidence.










Wednesday, November 3, 2021

The Quest for Delivering Lasting Change?

There is a saying that goes like this.... "Put a Changed Man Into an Unchanged Context and he eventually goes back to his old ways of doing things".  
 This is a paradox for trainers.  General quest for trainers is to see change come about. Their role is that of a change agent.  However the lasting change does not come by because of the above.   Which means... The trainers should understand the context from which the trainee (who you expected to change) came from and eventually went back to.  

Understanding the context and seeing that in light of the training is very important.  Therefore the role of the trainer is also to collaborate with the owner of the context (here it is the line manager)  to understand stumbling blocks as well as enablers for the desired change.  

For e.g. you wanted to make people more proactive through a training program.  However the situation on the ground once the trainee went back (here it is say one of the operations floor for customer X) was one where any hint at addressing something which was not raised as an issue by the client or any other stakeholder is not welcome and looked at with suspicion is a sure shot recipe for the trainee going back to old ways.   Why rake up issues, why search for embers to burn your feet... these are the kind of manifestations of feedback.

So what do you do?  Trainers can pass the baton to designers and say the context should be taken care of during design.  Yes but the product you create is what gets back to action in the context... (in example above it is the operations for Customer X) and it is in the trainers interest to work with the managers or leaders in the floor of operations for Customer X to see how people are encourage for being proactive.   The managers need to be sensitized that one has to encourage, reward, cajole people to be proactive just in case they have been so used to not being proactive and waiting for fires to be doused.

Operationally using Kurt Lewins - Force Field Analysis helps in identifying barriers to change and resisting forces and as a group the Trainers can work with leaders to eliminate the opposing forces.   Thereby it becomes a much easier task for trainers to achieve their goals of bringing about lasting change once the context issues have been addressed to facilitate changed behaviors. 


Sunday, October 17, 2021

How do You Handle Costly... Mistakes...

"My action resulted in the department finding itself in boiled water".   This was not a statement made out of fashion but was a real lament of one of the young graduate trainees at a well known company who just managed to blow up a transformer and resulting in damages running to several hundred thousand rupees.  This was only the tip of the ice berg.  The resultant loss in productivity and material added another factor of ten to the losses. 

What was the reaction of the Unit Head of the Department.   "Guys'  this was a mistake, and I want each of you to learn from it"  He further added "As long as none of you will ever repeat the same mistake next time it is a price I am willing to pay and take up the ownership for this"
The engineer in question was relieved but there was a sense of guilt that lasted days after the incident.   However the tide ebbed when things were back to normal two months later and the whole lapse in process was documented back into the process.   No one told the engineer to do this but the person thought it was his / her responsibility to create a shared understanding of the problem. 

When I thought back on the leaders action my first assessment was more like... that he was being lenient.   Why did the manager at least not give any kind of penalty like a fine or a warning memo or a suspension.  But when you step back and look at it there was sense in what he did.  The process mistake that was committed was not part of the documented procedure so it fit the bill of some unknown step being used and therefore the lapse.  It was important that this lapse get documented so that people become conscious of the procedure the next time.

Today the Leader Heads a Large Organization and the engineer is a budding leader of one of the most exuberant team you can find.   

What are some of the things you can think of when it comes to grave mistakes.

Understand the context?  Was it carelessness,  non adherence to documented process?  was there a fail proof process that was given the go by ?  Such conditions warrant strict action like a disciplinary procedure or a  reprimand,  a monetary deduction or the like depending on the severity of the impact and the category of the error.  If it was a disciplinary issue then handle it like one, otherwise assess the context... The reaction by the managers to the mistake and how it was handled will have an impact on the morale of the other members of the team or other teams too.

Communicate the action and consequence:  Often I find that when such a thing happens,  it gets discussed secretly.  You need to share such grave mistakes with others (may be with confidentiality)  so that grape vine does not get stoked in corridors.   Also communicate the remedial action and if it was a disciplinary issue others also get a shared understanding.  That is why a periodic sharing of the errors and mistakes that happened are important.  How may remember the last time your organization shared a grave mistake synopsis and what can be done to prevent it.  


Don't Make the one who committed it.. a Victim :   At times it may seem it was a genuine mistake, something committed inadvertently.   Take care that the one who committed the mistake has a psychological support.  Else it leads to downward spiral on the individual's feeling of comfort and can be quite emotionally taxing.   Speak to the individual and get a pulse within day or two after the issue was discussed and the outcome or resolution completed.   


Never Cover Up A Grave Mistake:   When you cover up it means others never learn.  Also you are then you slowly build up a culture of complacency and disregard for responsible actions.  In fact always encourage and try to put at ease those who own up their mistake proactively and come to you with not just the facts but also the understanding and even perhaps and solution.  These instances can lead to a lot of good in later periods.    

Here is something interesting that was quoted in the context of committing mistakes...

“You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember that’s where you’ll find success; on the far side.” – Thomas Watson



Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Inspiration, Not Control is the Key to Realizing Potential

This is a brief discussion on how and why some of of the most popular quests (phrases) related to individual success often runs into a wall....  and more specifically in organizational contexts.   We hear of catchy phrases  like "Give wings to dreams",   "Realize Your Potential",  "You Can, If You Will",  "Discover your hidden power"    and so on. 

The common belief among line managers and HR fraternity is that achieving this objective is a self driven phenomenon. One has to reflect, understand what he or she can do / cannot do and work deliberately and can achieve much much more than what was possibly thought he / she could achieve.   Maybe put them in front of some achievers who have "been there, done that" kinds and there will be some kind of osmosis of inspiration to the listeners.  

Reality is that in order to enable employees achieve beyond what they think they can,  for them to realize their potential we need a whole lot of inspiration coming from the managers in organizations.   Control freaks who are there to stifle creativity and show their teams how to align with them (the manager) are doing very little to create that environment.   

Instead of showing the team how to align with the mission of the company and drive excellence in the delivery of the services or of the product,  instead of  helping overcome obstacles that impede the successful execution of  organizations goals,  instead of  working along side with them to solve problems,  they are expecting the employees to align with their stifling ways.   Align with me and you'll be successful.   Does this statement ring a bell? Familiar ??  Most often it is not explicitly stated but rather an implicit coming forth as clear message to the team led by such managers.

So the need for managers is to inspire the teams to align with the organization, to inspire them to see how their job is contributing to success,  to inspire them to understand how their job / work is relevant to customers needs,  to inspire them to go beyond and connect the dots and to enable them to work without fear.....only then we can really set an environment where everyone can realize his or her potential.   

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Differentiate or Depart !!! Matter of Choice

It is not the form that your HR systems and processes take that makes the difference and lets them stand apart rather it is the substance behind the form that does so". 

If the above statement were untrue then every organization would metamorphosize into a similar kind of entity.  Within industries there is so much movement across organizations that people can take with them the knowledge of processes and systems and implement them elsewhere.   

However reality is that there can be only one Amazon.Com or one Apple or one Unilever.   Trying to clone your organizations by merely copying you can succeed only as far as lawns, buildings and security systems installed. 

Beyond that when it comes to your product, service, offerings and other capabilities it is context specific, it is a cultural thing.  Someone just can't photo copy it.  Take all my assets except the employees and you still can't replicate my success.  

So remember you can tell your competitor everything about what your latest Performance Management system has but they still can't really implement what you could.  If that was the case then our human capital systems would be like paint on the wall that you can chose from dozens of  brands and finishes available in the market.

You need to find your own differentiators and build on them.  If your product or service is new you have the first mover advantage however over time you need to have unique differentiators and a configuration of people approaches and attitudes combined with the differentiated services that makes your winning proposition stay unmatched. 

The question then is why so many organizations fail after a while and slip away into oblivion.  It has all got to do with someone else creating additional differentiation.  This can come only when you have innovative ideas and a thrust on adopting new ways and means to differentiate your product or service offering.   That's why they say innovation is the silent weapon you have to succeed in the global battlefield. 

Thursday, July 1, 2021

HOPE To Kindle OUR Lives !!!

There are optimists and there are others.  While one group sees it as light at the end of the tunnel and the other considers it as tunnel vision.  
 
The quotes below capture aspects that have to do with light at the end of the tunnel.
 
 
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.
- Albert Einstein
 
When we stop questioning learning stops and so does development. Imagine what would happen when a drug company stops asking questions about pain. Questions lead to answers and progress.
 
 
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. 
-Martin Luther King Jr. 
 
All the pools of disappointment will only dry away but the lake of hope is infinitely deep and wide.  You will always find if you look for it. 
 
 
Hope is a Talent Like Any Other !!
- Storm Jameson.
 
Might seem Strange but true, talent is something that helps us achieve and so does hope. Keeps the fires burning
 
Where there is no vision there is no hope
-George Washington
 
As this of any team that was dejected, that was lost, that was drifting and they had probably lost sight of their vision.
 
I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.
-Benjamin Disraeli
 
 
After all who does not want the BEST.  But Yet, Keep Your Plan B in Mind.

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Lessons on Flexibility: Observing Plants and their Reponses

My interest in plants started in January 2021 and since then I have been watching them for few minutes every day and is so refreshing an activity to see them grow and see some flowers bloom. Discussed below is something I learned during the past few months of observing the potted plants.

Closely look at the three pictures below



The tub holding the plants was kept near the balcony grill. I observed that it grew in a manner such that the leaves were pointing face upwards and towards the open and bright direction of the balcony.  This was helping the leaves to get exposed and best absorb the sunlight to produce the required nutrients as part of their respiration (photosynthesis) process.

Day1:  I turned the tub by 180 degrees and lo, all the leaves were positioned towards the darker side of the balcony with their face inwards rather than towards the sunlight. Immediately some alerts would have been triggered in the plant's internal sensory mechanism that told them that the light was lesser than needed.  We need to do something.

Day2:  It can be seen within 24 hours or so the stems were bent towards the sun and the face of the leaves in some cases even turned direction. Notice closely that except fr the lowest hanging stems, the others even twisted to enable the leaves to get maximum exposure to the sunlight. 

Day4: By the time it was day 4 or less than about 100 hours almost all leaves had their face pointing towards the bright side of the balcony so that their respiratory process was not inhibited as it would be if they were facing the darker inward side of the balcony. 

The race towards survival was possible only because the stems were flexible and could easily curl towards the opposite side and help the leaves face the bright sunny side with ease.   See the pictures of how flexible the stem was and you can clearly see the bend. 



Imagine for a moment that the stem was rigid.   What would have happened? How would the plant have survived if this sudden twist by  180 degrees was made as shown on Day 1?   It would have been impossible to achieve a dramatic shift in less than four days and very difficult for the plant to have survived without the kind of quick sensitive response.  The leaves would have perhaps wilted away and eventually shed and plant life would have been affected.  This is what I had observed in another plant with a rigid stem that was moved to a less bright part of the balcony some weeks before. 

There are few lessons for us to learn from this simple observation of how a plant tries to survive when faced with an adverse (in the case of the plant it was turning away from light by 180 degrees)  condition in our life.  If we need to confront any tough situations we need to adapt according to the need and it's true many a time.  Unless we are flexible (in the change of attitude or outlook)  it would be difficult t adapt.  If hold our horses and don't allow a change of attitude or outlook it would prevent course correction or shifting of tracks that may be much needed to overcome a difficulty or challenge.

Often managers and leaders need to consider changing their management style to suit the situation. Also, when change is at times sudden and drastic, the response has to be fast and immediate (less the less than 100 hours to change in our observation of the plant) else there would damage done due to delay.

When I speak to some of the managers and leaders who had derailments in their careers it turns out that their failure to change was the root cause. 

Expecting change and maneuvering would be better than being caught unawares, and then facing some tough consequences.  All these raise a few questions on what is the difference between reacting to change and responding to change, and of course between anticipatory response and reactive response and ways and means to be flexible and respond smartly to situations demanding change.  I will address these in subsequent posts.


Meanwhile, enjoy the below blogs on a contemporary topic gaining importance in these days of the pandemic with fears of millions of job losses.  Both blog posts below were written a couple of years back and address these points very pertinently.


Decluttering the Hype Around Job Losses


Job Shifts: The Road Ahead


Automation Tiger: Reality Or Hype

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

On Being Relevant as a Manager !!

The Oxford Dictionaries defines relevant as "closely connected or appropriate to the matter in hand".

So what does it mean when it comes to a manager engaging with his / her team in work organizations?

If you are to be accepted as a leader manager you have to be relevant in today's context. The expectations, needs, desires and general view of life changes with generations.   Today's young people at work in their early twenties may never  realize that work was once done without email,  without digital systems, with type writers,  with ammonia duplication machines.  There were no scanners, no internet and also fewer cars on the road to the workplace.  Majority of companies did not provide a pick up and drop facility from and to office / workplace  in earlier decade.

This whole digital age, when things are done at the click of a mouse or on pressing ENTER on a key board has resulted in a expectation osmosis towards forming a more generalized view for everything to happen even at work in a jiffy, therefore the need for quick resolution, quick feedback, instant gratification and so on.   Which means that managers need to be fast in all of these aspects- giving feedback,  providing responses, decision making and so on. 


The new generation of employees are tuned to their mobiles all of the time,  familiar with digital technology and more comfortable if there is a reciprocal response from managers. While a manager may ask "Why should I be the one to change"  the simple response is today you as a manager may be in a minority in organizations as there are several companies with over 50% Gen Y employees.   World wide the workforce may have about 36% of millennial generation in the workforce but in countries like India it is higher and in some sectors like the IT/ ITeS it is much higher.  Remember the old saying  :  "While in Rome, do as the Roman's Do." 

Today is the age of fast and not so lasting change, people expect and are so used to change happening all of the time so it is important for managers to also change and reinvent themselves.  You can always lean back on the fact that "It always happened this way.... here"  but not for long as your team will find their managers are not relevant.  Meetings and the way they are organized should keep changing now and then otherwise they become drab, boring, seen that before kind of rituals.

Today you can send and receive as many emails back and forth in a single day to close your communication... so more frequent connects are the order of the day when it comes to work. Which means you need to connect back with your teams more often than what you did in the past decade.  In short influences on the social side of personal lives need to spill over into the workplace.

Adopt latest technologies,  speed up things even in people management, bring more variety and flavors in your meetings,  connect more often, give more feedback,  get more frequently into connect session with your team(s) and keep giving them a thumbs up for good things happening every now and then.

Sunday, May 2, 2021

Egotism? From the Zen Learnings

The minister of The Tang Dynasty was known to be  a great leader and statesman.  However in spite of all this he considered himself humble and devout Buddhist.   He would often spend the weekend visiting the Zen Master to study and learn from him and both seemed to get along well.  The fact that he was minister did not affect his relationship with the Zen Master and they struck it off well like a diligent student and discerning master.

One weekend the minister asked the master "Sir, what is egotism according to you".  The master's fumed an in a very insulting and reverberating tone he sad "What kind of stupid question is that"

This kind of reply shocked the minister and he was angry and annoyed.  The Zen Master then smiled and said "This Your Excellency, is egotism"

The lesson for us is that experience is the father of explanation and you imbibe more by just experience rather than someone telling or showing.  It was however possible that the minister would not have sensed what the master wanted him to experience and that's one key reason why learning fails.  We put our own walls of egotism and scaling those walls is a huge task.

If you want to really achieve then you need to break those walls of egotism and keep the mind open to learning.  This is similar to the "Empty Cup" phenomenon in the other story we discussed.

Leaders too have to shed their obsession of self importance and start thinking about how the others can grow, benefit, learn, improve and so on. Egotistic leaders are only concerned about their own position, how they will grow, how they will move up the pecking order.... without much worry about the larger team.   You will find them organizing "durbars" or "mini courts" with participants singing praises in a sense.  


Other Lessons from Stories

The Archers Lesson

Learning from Stories

Monday, January 4, 2021

Creativity in Organization- Driving Focus from Future to Present.

Today's organizations are challenged by  a very volatile environment.  Change today seems faster than what it ever was in the past.  But didn't every generation since the middle of the last century say the same thing. 

However what we observe is that  today's world requires us to grow, improve, become better even if other factors remain same or decline.  e.g.  produce more with less people,  get more returns on same capital employed. To this we need to perform better and better.

Interestingly it is found that motivation and performance don't go along all the way.  Post a period of  positive relationship between motivation and performance it is found that performance dips and therefore beyond a point extrinsic motivation does not hold much promise.  The reason for this is that the obsession for the goal and some future "reward" drain away focus from present to future. (Read more about Yerke-Dodson's Law)


Rather the better approach for organizations would be to try and shift focus onto the creative side of the human.  When work demands creative approach or when work requires creative minds there is stronger relationship with performance. Also the outcome and motivation link gets strengthened when intrinsic motivation is the reason.and focus shifts from future to the present.  Hence organizations need to spend time to invest more in creativity and drive up the performance. 



However given the patterning slant of the human mind it is important that organizations spend deliberate attempts to drive up creative thinking and this can be done through use of tools, techniques and various frameworks that help the mind move out of the patterned and linear way of thinking.   More on this in a later post.

Blog Archive