No! It is not about Sachin Tendulkar! :). Neither is it about the other N number of achievers the world has seen till now.
It was an odd day at office and I was just browsing through one of my friends’ blogs. He had a very interesting write on the perception of the bottom of the pyramid on the top (specifically about their Project Managers). This triggered my senses and I came across the principle Dr. Laurence J. Peter has put in front of the world (For details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
A thought was running at the back of my mind. To my surprise, I was actually was able to relate to whatever I was seeing in my professional life! Especially in a country like India, the professionals expect a faster growth when compared to other nations. People thrive to get into a mode of “not working” early in their careers. The perception of the ground level jobs turns ugly! This is to some extent true to the other western countries as well. But the advantage there is the work culture which doesn’t restrict a person to always stick on to the stream he/she initially chooses to be with. Hence, one can find a person on the top having a good number of years of experience before reaching there. This is not the case with India though.
Especially in SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises), the growth potential is very high as the employees count in the organization is limited. It is a very valid argument that if one is capable; he/she will definitely get opportunities to grow. But, the parameter of industry standards doesn’t play a factor here. This puts the person who grows fast in a very uncomfortable situation. He/she will neither find a suitable place to switch nor will they be able to continue their jobs (thanks to the limited hierarchy in the SMEs). So, the only option left is to grow horizontally after they reach a certain level (provided there is scope for that).
Coming back to the Peters principle, these guys who grow big initially are forced to stick-on due to situational factors. Though they are incompetent (a few of them), the insecurity factors forces them to stay at the position they are in. This has adverse effect on both the organization as well as the individual. It is growth imperative for both of them. This is when the term “politics” plays a very important role in the organization. The people at the top who do not deserve to be there will have to stay back. Hence they find reasons in others who impair their stay. Though they sweetly term it as loyalty, in many cases the reason behind it is the fact that they are not competent enough to be accepted by the market. They would have become the big daddies of the organization and hence will have their own say.
There is also a ripple effect seen in the SMEs. In the name of exposure, the people at the top pass the work to the people below them. At times it will be more of a “delivery act” unlike a mutual agreement. The people at the bottom are again made to go through the same where they are not fit to face the market.
This was definitely not written out of frustration, but just a thought process as an output of my own experience in the professional world. After getting a hang of the problem, let me just throw some light on the solution to this as well. Again this is another thought which went by and not a proven methodology.
The concept of grooming individuals is definitely good! But, as a responsible top management, one has to identify the person who has to be groomed. For this, the first step is to identify the top notch who should be involved in this process of grooming. This has to be a top down approach coupled with a few external factors like HR interfacing and feedback from the bottom. The top need not be restricted to the PMO. It is definitely an advantage if the grooming individual is the person whom one is immediately reporting. This will not be the case always. Hence a process has to be designed for the implementation of the entire concept.
Upon the formation of the top notch, the bottom has to be hand-picked with consideration of various parameters. There has to be enough space created for the hand-picked individuals to perform. This stage should provide a controlled freedom and an environment of mentor-ship has to be created. This has to be coupled with a proper growth path for the individual who is being groomed (this is why interfacing with the HR team makes sense). This will ensure that proper leaders are built within the organization and helps in reduction of ego once they reach the top.
A very valid comment here is – “What if this individual being groomed quits the organization one day?” Well, this case will depend on the person who has been picked. A matured, growth oriented professional will never do that :).
