Organisational speed of response

Most Organizations like to describe themselves in terms of the inverted pyramid – with customers at the peak and managers at the bottom, signifying the primacy of the market place in the hierarchy of Organizational importance. There can be admittedly no business without customers and appropriate markets. This is also why presumably more Organizational muscle is concentrated at the interface where ‘the rubber hits the road.’ Longevity of managerial careers is also linked to intimate, first – hand knowledge of the market place and appropriately many successful managerial careers have begun at the marketplace. The rough and tumble of the marketplace and customer insights gained first – hand cannot be replaced by classroom and text books. All these are well – established and accepted facts.
The disconnect normally occurs after the Second passage in the managerial ladder when the Managerial brains trust gets cocooned in swanky air – conditioned, well – appointed offices and substitutes first hand market knowledge with an array of technology enabled gadgets and a burgeoning managerial hierarchy. The larger the organization the more it’s distance from the marketplace and often as much the distance from their foot – soldiers that manages it’s bunkers. All that comes in are masses and masses of reports that supposedly or allegedly serve as ‘decision – support’ systems.
The customers are hostage to a mass of poorly trained, poorly motivated and often badly selected foot soldiers who are themselves hostage to frustrations, resentments and a host of such negatives bred in the heated furnaces of poor inter – actions with their first – line managers who in turn..... the cycle can go a long way into the interiors of giant Organizations. While authentic market information still trickles in through paid professional market reports, no such reports are available about the front – line that actually influences perception and patronage. Most managements are smug about the mandatory annual ‘Organizational Climate Survey’ which in a true sense is just another compilation of group angst that gets transformed into colorful bar and pie – charts and are suitably dressed up to project the flavor of the season.
Such Organizations are characterized by the emergence and existence of a sub -section of management that operates with impunity under the title of ‘Local Management.’ The ‘Local Management’ in such Organizations is the filter and often the impenetrable wall through which nothing passes. A million stories of misinformation, mistreatment and missed opportunities remain distorted, hidden and even permanently interred.
Tragically Organizations coalesce into huge behemoths that are not aware of what happens in their backyards; like the legendary pachyderms they find themselves slow – witted and slow to respond when they should ideally be as nimble – footed as the cheetah in reactions and response – time. It is imperative that Organizations invent devices that unite the head and the tail into a seamless channel where information flow is unencumbered by history or hierarchy......
Pssst ...... has anybody noticed that when organizations plan for ‘Quantum Leap’ it is the cheetah or it’s ilk that’s chosen as the mascot .......not the elephant !!!

A most inspiring thought !

Recently reading a book ‘Positively Brilliant Self – mastery’ by Life Coach Peter J Reding, I came across a most inspiring quotation – ‘We are all spiritual beings, having a human experience’. It is a thought that can life – changing consequences for anybody in authority positions – whether parent, teacher, manager, coach, or trainer....anybody holding the reins of power and authority over other humans.
Imagine how life and inter – personal relationships would change if everybody in authority sincerely believed this and behaved with the consequent sagacity and empathy such a thought process evoked and necessarily entailed.
Could a parent then indulge in assault – whether verbal or physical against a child or for that matter could a teacher ? What about a manager ? Is not the thought process of all of us being spiritual beings something of a double – edged sword demanding on the one hand that one treat all humans beings one encounters, not necessarily only subordinates, as worthy of the treatment deserving of a God and on the other edge does it not demand a superior, more value – based, more moral and ethical standard of behavior from all managers. Something akin to a ‘walk the talk’ –‘ if I am a spiritual being am I not supposed to behave like one. ‘
Come to think of it this is not so alien or as other- worldly as it sounds, after all it is well enunciated that positions of authority are a delegation of the authority of the Divine, vested in persons for divine purposes. What can be more divine that the growth, development, and happiness of human beings whether young or old, rich or poor, privileged or underprivileged, advantaged or disadvantaged ?
The boundaries of Human behavior have always been circumscribed by at least three principal qualities : Respect, Restraint, and Responsibility.
Respect for everyone we meet in this life – for the person, his intellect, his capacity, his legitimate needs and desires
Restraint over ourselves, our egos, our needs, our greeds, our needs for power and pelf and our needs to dominate, to direct, to defeat
Responsibility – above all the ability to comprehend the infinite, inestimable dimensions of the authority role and it’s possible impact on society and the world.
We are all spiritual beings...... let’s then experience and help permeate an authentic human experience!

Appreciation - The key

Let’s accept one basic fact – not one of us is impervious to appreciation. Right from the moment we learned to walk and talk, it is appreciation that has oiled our wheels and kept us going. Why then do we forget this basic lesson in handling other human beings ? Who does not love appreciation ?
If attitude is described as a locked door to which only the attitude – holder holds the key, the surest way to open that lock is to use the ‘key’ of appreciation. Appreciation has an effect akin to one the sun has on a field of sunflowers, imagine this – you appreciate someone and watch as that person opens out like a sunflower under the sun!
In fact the one way to inculcate desired behaviors is to appreciate the behavior and preferably in public. Conversely, being critical of undesired behavior is the surest way to enforce and get it repeated. An old saying goes : ‘What you focus on grows!’
Canny managements and managers are sure to first develop ‘Reward and Recognition’ programs on priority. Even in the absence of an effective ‘R & R’ policy smart individual managers can develop their own ‘appreciation’ policies. The happy part is that it does not require much financial outlay, since appreciation can be by way of a letter, a bar of chocolate, a very public assignment, a delegated task, a handshake – even just a pat on the back. An old quote from the days when the milder forms of corporal punishment were still considered effective goes : ‘A pat on the back, administered hard enough and low enough builds character !’ In modern times one can safely leave out the ‘low enough’ bit ! It might be a good idea for a good manager to actually work out an ‘Appreciation Plan’ for his team along with his beginning of the month sales plans, recovery plans and other business plans.
If this is such an easily understood philosophy why is it not utilized more often ? One principal reason could be a general reluctance to appreciate or honor other human beings – many of us actually imagine that by appreciating another we are actually weakening our own position! Nothing could be further from the truth – remember ‘only human beings can help human beings to succeed.’ The more happy and satisfied human beings we have around us, the more we are likely to succeed. The other reason could very well be that we are still reliving our ‘school’ experience of having our work marked through with a red pencil ! We could be suffering from the backlash of a ‘red pencil’ mentality !
Appreciation can as well be a self – transformational tool; when one constantly strives to look at the positive side of people, one can only gain by steadily developing powerful human insights and consequent empathy.
‘Catch people doing the right things’ is the way of the great leader; signifying not just the quality of the leadership but also the quality of the followership - and no prizes for guessing why.
Appreciation can be a powerful transformational tool, if used wisely and well ! Appreciation can make the world go round !!

The Power of Inclusion

One of the first and most important lessons one should learn when beginning one's ascent up the managerial ladder is the Power of Inclusion. The success story you yearn to build could be as ephemeral as a sand castle unless one learns to widen his or her circle of influence to include as many people as possible. A true and sustainable success story is never about a loner’s lament but is more likely to be a multi – starrer block bluster . The more people in the story the more successful the story. The managerial road map to achievement is built around the principle of : The more the hands that contribute to scripting the story the more enduring the story.
This realization is easier said than understood more so because most managers enter or graduate to the managerial ranks from institutions or positions that demand personal and individual excellence and the concept of shared success eludes most perhaps till it is too late. Surprising, really since most aspiring managers understand the marketing principles of ‘buy – in’ and ‘what’s in it for me.’ Dealing in the adult world without understanding these principles is akin to entering the swimming pool without knowing how to swim. More difficult than that actually - since this is a swimming pool that is also populated by crocodiles who are not as somnambulent as they seem.
The team worker concept, the team delivery concept, the team celebration concept are critical to success. One of the wisest quotations on managerial careers speaks about the true manager being one who when he ascends to the ‘top’ being generous enough to send the elevator down to pick up new managers. If role clarity occurs from that stage, invariably managers succeed in managing great managerial careers.
At most stages in a well – managed managerial career there is scope and strength in ‘team inclusion’ strategies. Rarely does a manager need to go it alone even if he is the occupant of the ‘corner office’.
Organizations that foster and encourage this thought process through the ranks are invariably growing, thriving organizations, with strong managerial pipelines. After all it is rare to have an organization built on individual’s competence alone, even in the most autocratic of set – ups. It is truly said : “Only people can help people succeed.”
The bottom line is ‘Shared success is infinitely more consistent with the dynamics of organizations, is by definition developmental, and definitely more durable.

Manager versus Leader

Decidedly, the 3 most powerful words in the Leadership lexicon are : Openness, Inclusion and Control.
At most Leadership Workshops, when participants are asked to list the most desired qualities of their leaders, they invariably come up with synonyms of the above. The 3words are like a ‘mantra’ – everybody knows them and relates to them in some form or the other but very rarely do most people have a handle on it and so the words become a series of watch words to be recited as often as possible.
Let’s deal with ‘Openness.’ Some call it transparency. It is the quality of a manager who is unfraid to share information, feedback and other relevant data on an ‘as is, what is basis’ without embellishments with his teammates, especially in areas that directly concern them. Most often, to my mind the reason why a manager does not share is not because he is afraid to share, but more because he is on an ego trip – a kind of ‘one – up man ship’ because the manager believes that the information he has been passed on is by virtue of his designation and ‘power’ in the organization and therefore to be used sparingly and covertly with his team. The practice harks back to the hoary traditions of the now long dead concept of Personnel Management, which thrived and maintained it’s stranglehold on organizational thought processes by over usage of the dreaded word ‘Confidential.’
In organizations still trapped in this mindset or where managers are still prisoners of this mindset, managers dole out selective dollops of information heavily laced with the spin of the moment. It is a mere power game and is meant to emphasize the so – called supremacy of the ‘Boss’. The subordinate, who often times is more canny and intimately co habits with the office grape vine, waits and responds in the only manner he knows to respond – by withholding information in his control. At every level of such dysfunctional organizations therefore is nurtured a cesspool of distorted truths and rumour- spinning ‘news bits.’ The real truth is often choked in various gullets and metaphorically the insides of such an organization could resemble the ‘ruminant stomach’ of a cow, with varied processes on at the ends and a churning process in the vulnerable middle.

Real purpose of Training

The real purpose of behavioural training
An oft repeated quotation goes : “You can’t be a good employee unless you are a good human being.” That perhaps is the real reason why companies invest so much of the perennial scarce resources on Training and Development; or Learning and Development programs.
Take the most popular development program – Leadership Development. The common pedagogical content is around subjects such as Coaching, Delegation, Development Plans, Managing Conflict, Motivation and so on. Carefully examined,each of these subjects is really about adding value to the lives of people around us – in a narrow perspective about adding value to the lives of our direct reports at work, but, not missing the larger perspective - it is also about adding value to the people we come into contact with daily whether at work or at life.
Are trainers and trainees then missing the context ? We must be – given, that most of these program bring very little significant change in the trainee or in his immediate circle of influence. In fact most often the trainer himself seems untouched by the experience of teaching such life – changing concepts and makes no effort to ‘walk the talk’. In fact such program quickly degenerate to ‘subject teaching’ such as employed in schools and is delivered by rote, or at ‘best’ by power point assistance. Not a wonder then that the trainees walk away from the program unmoved by the experience. The whole intervention is comparable to enjoying an all-expenses paid holiday with an official ‘cocktail dinner’, invariably thrown in as a motivational bonus !
It should be wake – up time for everyone in the training community – it’s time all those involved agonised a lot more on what is delivered and what is learnt and more critically what is carried forward into real life.
The world desperately awaits our enlightenment !

The purpose of Training

The real purpose of Training and Development

Surely the real purpose of all developmental activity is to ensure the continued evolution of the Human Race. All developmental activities right from education to training to learning has the growth and development and ameliorisation of the human race as a underlying motif. Therefore those among us who have the privilege to access developmental initiatives of any manner should be very conscious of our onerous responsibilities.

To treat developmental opportunities as a way to acquire an additional degree or certificate or add another medal to the breast pocket or worse as just an office routine is a criminal waste of an opportunity given the problems of the world, most of which are man – made and hence can only be unravelled by human kind.

To take the ubiquitious training programmes that are offered across the board by sundry bodies including in – house programmes offered by Organisations; don’t they quickly degenerate into mere powerpoint and paper and populism ? Given the fact that rarely do such programmes result in any tangible benefits to society at large, have we ever pondered at the sheer waste of the initiative ? Unfortunately neither trainer nor trainee sees the subtle meaning underlying the whole excercise !

If you take a training programme to upgrade technical skills for example ...... is it not meant to upgrade technical skills so as to provide as an outcome cheaper, efficient, better, more convenient and so on products, services and ideas to mankind ? The ideal thought process behind such an initiative is surely not banal profit but the benefit of the society and environment, outside the narrow confines of the work space or the classroom ..... because that is the real world where significant impact is expected! Because that is your world and, my world and the world of our succeeding generations ! Reader Comments
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Power games

Leadership, is perhaps the most defined and perhaps also the most agitated term in the annals of management. Tomes and tomes are written on the subject. Organisations small and big, across the world, spend small fortunes on demystifying the concept to their managers. A near mandatory exercise is to make the audience differentiate between the concepts of ‘Management’ and ‘Leadership’. Everyone is finally made clear as to what ‘Leadership’ entails – one critical requisite being the essentiality of managers to have followers. The true ‘walk on water’ test of a follower being to go through the proverbial ‘hell or high water’ in the footsteps of his leader.
However, most managers are poor leaders because the concept of followers is never really understood. Most managers imagine they become leaders the day they are designated managers. Followership is automatically assumed. But the bane of true leadership is ironically the designation of ‘manager’ and the way it is employed. A designation can therefore become a millstone round the neck of aspiring managers. Designations are misconstrued, misunderstood and misused and managers believe they transcend to the ‘Leadership League’ in the same way and in the same measure as they progress – whether logically or erratically - in their managerial careers. Nothing can be further from the truth. The romance of designations is the greatest barrier to the mindset changes that a Leadership position warrants.
Given that embellishments are a natural part of human nature, newly appointed managers tend to embellish their positions and persona with virtues and auras that are unwarranted. Overnight a managerial designation confers qualities such as superiority, invincibility and infallibility. Nothing can drive away discerning followers more than these three behaviourial additions , acquired virtually overnight.
It might be hove all managers to realise the sad truth – Designations are concocted in the minds of clever men; leadership is bestowed from the hearts of ordinary mortals.
We ought to celebrate our designations by finding ways to add value to the lives of others rather than use our designations to dominate and direct the lives of others. Therein lies the path to attract true ‘Followership’ and the natural route to have ‘Leadership’ conferred on us.

A drive for perfection

India is changing – that’s a line one hears often. The perception is further strengthened by the reality of the changing skyline. Infrastructure creation and building at a furious pace, to make up for lost time is transforming cities both old and new. One can’t but laud the initiative of governments both State and Central in this massive task – Highways, Bridges, Flyovers, Subways, Metro and Mono Rails and so on.
But on the evidence of a city like Mumbai, what is lacking is the desire for finesse, for perfection. Most things we build seem to be ‘hammer and tong’ jobs, built with sporadic bursts of speed replete with design errors and imperfection of elements. Notice how quickly the gleam of newness disappears and rust and creeping ruin quickly begin to spread it’s tentacles over the structure even a few months after the glitzy inauguration ?
New side walk tiles, as a small example - never set well in the first place, are ripped up, dug into or else simply disappear, leaving gaping holes; inter – locking grids laid on main arterial roads sink and form huge craters; flyovers are inaugurated and within the week provide new nesting grounds for mini slums and impromptu garages for broken down vehicles; rags flutter from railings of new pedestrian bridges; railings themselves simply disappear leaving gaping holes in the perimeter and so on. To a discerning eye the list is endless.
There is a dire need for a ‘review and oversight’ body that would monitor all public works for atleast a year after it’s inauguration to monitor execution, maintenance and repair.
Provision of new public utilities are praiseworthy but the challenge is to execute and maintain them in pristine condition. Or else we may be in danger of replacing old junk with new junk !
After all, ‘Perfection is the soul of enterprise.’

Leadership - reading the subtext

An effective leader of men is one who can empathetically listen and read the subtext. When one effectively engages another human, it is vital to listen keenly to what the other is saying. Listening itself is a skill that requires a true spirit of self–negation – the capacity to disregard the tapes that play in one’s own mind and listen to the tapes in another’s mind. Most people when effectively engaged reveal their innermost concerns, fears, desires, and dreams. These may not be immediately evident or overtly expressed but they are invariably expressed through the subtext which forms the underpinnings to what they actually say. The subtext is often about their needs in terms of affection, love, recognition, reinforcement – even the need for power. The wise and perceptive leader who can tap into these needs quickly builds an army of supportive and loyal followers – often powerful enough to move seemingly intractable mountains.

Leadership

Leadership
Tomes and tomes have been written on leadership and the word has been the most widely used in every forum of inter – personal transaction. Despite this it could be the least understood word in management lexicon.
An old story is told of a dying King preparing his son to take over the throne after him. Part of the young Prince’s preparation is to spend time in an isolated place surrounded by elements of nature. The Prince is quizzed about what he heard in the seeming stillness of the night. The Prince’s test ends when he is able to answer that he hears the quietly shed tears of the wounded tiger, the silent pangs of hunger that gnaws the belly of the aged lion, the agony of the parched grass as it awaits the first drop of rain......... The ability to hear, see, smell, sense the needs and desires of the faceless majority.
Several of today’s leaders would be unable to sense a need in a faithful follower even if it was gift – wrapped and swung on a yo – yo below their noses.
Contrast this with the Leadership of Jesus Christ. The Bible recounts the tale of a woman who suffered from an ailment for several years and in pure faith she reaches out from behind Him to touch the hem of His cloak. Though engulfed by crowds Jesus still feels the touch at the hem of His garment, the transfer of His healing power and turns around to ask “Who touched my garment ?.” The frightened woman falls at His feet and is instantly forgiven.
How many leaders of today would be as sensitive, intuitive or as empathetic ? If the Leader is not engaged with his people, he cannot influence them. Only engaged hearts can move machines or mountains.

The Teacher

Teaching is far more effective than preaching because teaching is about empathy - empathy for the learner and his lack of knowledge and understanding; sometimes for reasons of lack of intellectual capacity but more often because of a lack of knowledge of where to seek it. Therefore the true teacher points out to his student a direction, kindles purpose and curiosity and then leaves him to find the destination for himself. Purpose and curiosity then sparks desire and passion.
Jesus Christ is and was the role model Teacher – gentle, empathetic, directional. Conveying His simple life messages by parables and personal example. No wonder His teachings are timeless and still hold the power to change millions of lives.
It’s time to understand that Teaching works, Preaching does not, because Preaching seems to be increasingly about histrionics, hysteria, harangue or hyperbole. All of which are about the personality of the Preacher and less about the ‘personality’ of the message. Histrionics, hysteria, harangue or hyperbole can raise various emotions - awe, fear, disgust or admiration- but rarely emotions like desire, direction and passion. Preaching, thus, appeals to the transient ‘emotion of the moment’ and leaves the heart unmoved and untouched.

Developing the intellectual dimension

Developing the intellectual dimension
When one asks a question, to a classroom full of young, eager faces – what do they do for their self – development, one usually gets a response – Where’s the time ? And yet all of us have sufficient time to feed our physical selves and our vicarious cravings. This is plainly because our physical side is capable of strongly and sometimes vocally capable of expressing it’s needs. The intellectual capabilities housed in the mind have no such outlet of expression – no rumblings, or explicit cravings- and so can easily be ignored. My audiences often use the excuse of time spent in travel and daily chores to explain away the imbalance in attention paid to the intellectual dimension as opposed to the physical. My take – when the body is hurtling forward in time and space, is the mind travelling backward in time and space ? How sensible is that ? What am I thinking just now, might be a good litmus test to determine where I am mentally. Often we are trapped in our past – a past that invariably dredges up old defeats, disappointments, failures, hurts and so on – and consequently fail to think happily, creatively or futuristically ! This can over a period of time only sap our energies and slow down our capacity for vital action.

Self care

Taking care of oneself

Taking care of one’s health and physical appearance is more than just vanity. In fact, it could be a pre – requisite to spirituality. A healthy mind in a healthy body is a truism. Taking care of oneself is to treat the physicality God gifted us with due respect and responsibility. So exercise, meditate, dress decently, avoid overindulgence in destructive habits – even when life’s problems weigh you down. God does not seem to appreciate those who don sackcloth and ashes and go down the path of neglect, indifference, indulgent laziness or self – ruin.

Meaning and Power of Prayer

Meaning and Power of Prayer
The power of prayer is much misunderstood because it is seen through the prism of it’s manifestation. Most of us pray for things we do not have and our prayers are aspirational based on what we currently experience and what we desire different from our current experience. The Almighty by virtue of being what He is grants us favours based on His knowledge of our future. Thus it most often happens that when God works His subtle ways we fail to notice the subtle changes or appreciate the changes because our frameworks for experiencing the changes are faulty. If we look insightfully at our circumstances we would not fail to see the several seemingly small miracles that dot the landscape of our lives.