Motivating People...

People working in corporate sector must have heard of the phrase used quite often among the peers, ascribed to the management strategy of motivating employees rather associates (I wonder if that boosts their morale) - "Showing the carrot" or in plain Hindi - "Gajar Dikhana". Contemporary advertisements have also quite fabulously picturized and popularized the plight of these frustrated "associates". Remember "Hari Sadu" or the "working for peanuts" ads.

Well, my short stint on this corporate maze has made me realize and experience the situation first hand. Earlier, we in the family used to take pity on my diligent elder cousin whose name's literal meaning in English is peace but I wonder if he had found any solace during his epic "vanvasa" of now around 14 years in this corporate jungle. But, now it seems as if I have worn his shoes and now I am the pity figure of discussion.

Coming back to the main agenda of discussion -"Motivating People". Well, I admit that each one has its own perception of reward attaining which he may feel satisfied, but if I am judging it right then the ultimate goal of corporations to pursue such policies are motivating their workforce to perform better and whole heartedly (and believe me that is the key). They understand the value of the human resource. At least the thriving service sector of the booming Indian economy can comprehend the observation very well.

But I can't come to the terms of practice of grading persons individually - categorizing and compartmentalizing their talent. "Curve Fitting" the term they use over here in my company as if they have got a bunch of misfits for whom this senate - a group of wise men and women is shouldering the noble responsibility of smoothening out their (misfits') zeal for achieving something worthwhile in their life. And, the argument they put forward is also quite elusive that each one in the team can't be equal in his/her dedication so they can't have equal share in the project's success (or the disaster as sometimes they prove to be). But, there lies the glitch. They fail to realize the importance of team dynamics or even if they credit this aspect by incorporating some modules based on it in the initial training of their associates, they fail to actually implement that at the ground level. And, this team dynamics is quite often blamed for the misjudgments and is itself the worst affected aspect of such a policy.

A team is like a crew of a ship marching ahead towards its goal or is like a battalion in the battlefield facing a fierce enemy. The thing which is very clear in their (crew members' or soldiers') minds is that if they win then its going to be a team's win and each one will be equal contributor towards the team's success and equally clear is the fact to them that if they loose the ship will sink or the soldiers will be annihilated to death and the death would be collective (not including the cowards who prefer to show their backs to the enemy as if they have got it tattooed from a French maestro and run away from the field at the speed that even P. T. Usha will wonder). In either case the success is team's success and the failure is team's failure. Each member of the team shares the joy, the fun of being together even in the most trying circumstances. And, each member realizes his/her responsibility in the team. Just think for a while what would have been the situation of the Blue Brigade - Indian Cricket Team on its Caribbean adventure if this policy of performance based incentives is applied by the BCCI. I thank God that He hasn't put any such notion in their heads and a disclaimer that even I am opposed to it (with a warning to BCCI that don't ever try it). Batting first, Sehwag would have got out early (just bad luck buddy!) and then while fielding he might have preferred not to give his hundred percent as he has already been declared a looser or has analyzed himself as one and with this goes the Indian dream of repeating the history of 1987. Each person has a role to play in the team. I mean, if Sachin gets a five wicket haul or bhajji strikes a century then that’s a bonus but Sachin knows well that he is their to bat and bat well and likewise bhajji knows that he is their to victimize the opposition batsmen with his doosra and teesra. And they are trying hard to attain perfection in their core competencies. So, we can conclude that role and responsibilities play important parts in the complete adventure.

Of equal significance is the task of assigning roles and responsibilities. The should-be case is that the talent and capabilities be first analyzed and then comes the role assignment. But the situation in prevalence is that the roles are assigned first and the talent and capabilities are analyzed later (and that too if you are lucky otherwise be prepared to be the victim of the blame game that happens after each fateful project meets it fate).

I would like to explain the importance of the roles and responsibilities by the example of human hand. As we all know a normal human hand has five fingers or four fingers and thumb if you want to be more specific. Each has its own significance in whatever task this hand is up to. The thumb provides the grip, forms the base. Its importance can be well understood be remembering the point in the great epic of "Mahabharata" where Guru Dronacharya asked for the right hand's thumb of his dedicated and talented but abandoned disciple Eklavya as the offering to the teacher - "Guru Dakshina". Not going into the cause and proceedings of the story then comes the index finger, the one using which you can point, can highlight, can search for opportunities, can tickle your brain and make it work, can taste the mom cooked delicacies, can itch the parts and make yourself comfortable. Then comes the big finger. The bigger it is more elegance it provides to the hand. It adds to the charm of your hand. Additionally, it reflects the attitude in you. Don't believe me! Just try showing this big finger of yours to someone. OK, then come the ring finger at which you can proudly flaunt (or may be regret) your adorable wedding ring. It symbolizes collaborations, associations and commitments you make. And lastly, you have your little finger which you use quite often to reach the unreachable, right! And don't you signal the emergencies at times by raising this finger.

So, each finger has its own significance and is used for varying purposes, but when it comes to a bout they all join up to give strength to your fist. And, don't forget that they all equally share the joy of you holding a trophy. Likewise team members play different roles in a team and try accomplishing the task. The only difference is that each member has got his/her own brain and his/her little ego which at time might interfere with the expected proceedings. But inculcating right kind of attitude to work in a team and bringing in the synergy can help overcome such obstacles. But the strategy of rewarding individuals may benefit the individual but in any case doesn't strengthen the team spirit rather quite often it acts oppositely, especially in the situations where the stakes are high and individual aspirations are still higher.

In the end, I would like to appeal if owners and propagators of such policies can think of modifying the existing practice (or malpractice if you may agree with me) and stop fitting individuals in the company's growth curve as they are already fit in their respective psyche and physique (or have an illusion of... ). Instead try fitting projects in the curve fitting exercise so that a team working on a specific project can work in unison to ride high on the curve. Additionally, it will bring a sense of belongingness and attachment to the work they are assigned to. Even it sounds more sensible if we think that actually the projects are owned by the companies not the individuals (as long as you refer to them as associates) and so they have every right to fit the projects wherever they like. With this, I proceed ahead to enjoy my forthcoming corporate mock tails (sorry! I am a teetotaller).