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CROSSROADS

RAJIB KUMAR

Reflections on a Strategic Conversation

Reflecting on a Strategic Learning Experience

Backdrop The following is a brief reflection on two hours of an intellectually challenging engagement in a “Strategic Conversation” on “Building a Talent and Leadership Pipeline” steered by the renowned Prof Hayagreeva “Huggy” Rao, Atholl McBean Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human, Resources, Stanford Graduate School of Business. The conversation was held late last month and participants included the likes of Ambuja supremo Harsha Vardhan Neotia, Tractors India CEO, Sumit Mazumder; Satish Pradhan, Executive Vice President, Group HR, Tata Sons, National HRD Network National President, N S Rajan, Sourav Daspatnaik, Director-HRD & Strategy, Apeejay Surrendra Group, Sujoy Banerjee, VP-Human Resources, Eveready Industries Ltd. to name a few.

Challenges of Building Talent and Leadership Pipeline

Negative information being often viewed as diagnostic was one of the greatest challenges of building talent and building leadership pipeline. Negative information welds better than the positive. As an example, the otherwise “clean” politician’s one off corruption charges enjoy better recall value in the mind of the public. There is a “fundamental attribution error” in how we view people in life and work. As an example, teachers often facilitate the success of high performers and reinforce low performance of others.

OOOffffffllliiinnneee……… Engaging Journaling

The Material World Manag-Ezine Volume-5, No-10, November 2010

Also on our blogs: http://materialworldind.blogspot.com http://materialworldknowledge.blogspot.com

EGO ISSUE

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Examples:

1. “Only Rajesh seems to be interested in

this class.” 2. “Obviously this was expected from you,

Anil.” While the above is a case of stereotyping by others, interestingly, “self stereotyping” also happens: The very term “Athletic Test” is expected to be in the comfort zone on the mind of the black applicant in the United States just like “Intelligence Test” is expected to be one for the White. Conventional notions go on to shape self-stereotyping. Stereotyping is also fuelled by Power. “Powerful” people are seen to have less of empathy and modesty. Ironically, in order to sustain power one needs to have exactly those two traits but that then is another story. Way Out: Talent Builders should look for talent that’s smart and conscientious. It is important to have the relevant intelligence to perform in the position as well as the dedication and sincerity to comply.

The fourth in the "big five" or the "five factor" theory is conscientiousness. This parallels closely with Jung's judging-perceiving. People who score high on conscientiousness are orderly, get their work done, arrive on time, and care about doing things right. Score low on conscientiousness and that probably means you tend to slack off on your work, rarely worry about deadlines or neatness, and are more interested in taking it easy. Much of the problem could be avoided if we look for point blank for entrepreneurial talent. Those enterprising are always expected to fit the bill either way. Interesting Case Studies: Cisco: A game of poker helps to find out how you deal with emotions- based on how players respond to losses. “Once a year, all TESCO directors and a thousand of its managers spend a week working back in one of its stores, stacking shelves, working on the tills, serving customers, reminding themselves of what they all do for a living.” (http://www.the-chiefexecutive.com/features/feature255/) Companies like TESCO are using “Reverse Mentoring”- getting younger persons to mentor. Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s book “Evolve” is an interesting read on this. Crime and Business: We took up the case of “Pirate Ships” wherein two sets of talent pipeline were required to sustain the model. One, those who would ensure compliance and discipline to laid down norms and then there would be the more “coveted” talent- risk takers. An uncanny resemblance with how business works as well.

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Osho on Ego The controversial and the most popular godman’s views on Ego make

interesting reading

The "ego" like its correlative "non-ego", is the product of the body, mind etc. The only proof of the existence of the real Self is realisation. – Swami Vivekananda

The easiest is the most difficult; the difficult is not so difficult. The ego is always ready to do the difficult because by doing the difficult the ego is enhanced; it feels good. It looks like a challenge, and the ego is ready to fight with the challenge. It is provoked out of its lethargy by the challenge. It fights back, it tries to conquer, it becomes aggressive. The greater the difficulty, the more aggressive the ego becomes. Aggression is its food. That's why the simple is the most difficult. The ego does not feel interested in it. The ego feels a kind of death through it. The ego cannot lose control because in losing control it will lose itself. The ego cannot lose tenseness because tenseness is its very existence. If you are non-tense, if you are relaxed, the ego simply evaporates. It cannot exist in a relaxed state of consciousness; it is no more needed. It is your disease, and you have to be alert about it. Unless your ego falls into pieces, is shattered, completely shattered, so utterly shattered that you cannot put it together again -- like humpty-dumpty it falls from the wall and nobody can put it together again -- only then will your real life start; only then will you be real. Otherwise you will remain unreal . . . and with unreality there is misery. Only the real person can be happy; only the real

can be celebrated. With the real is festivity. With the unreal there is only dark, dismal depression. With the unreal we are in hell. Hell is not a reality; it is a nightmare created by the ego. I wanted to see whether you could do it or not. It is good that you did not pretend -- that part is good. Sometimes it happens, when I say to relax, even if you don't feel like relaxing you just fall. So the bad news is that you have a very very controlled ego. The good news is that you are not a pretender, that you are not a hypocrite. Through that there is hope. That very sincerity will be helpful. We will use that sincerity as a key. We exist by a deep agreement. When we agree with the divine, we exist. Whenever we don't agree with the divine, we start dying. Our life is in being harmonious with the whole. That is the meaning of the word 'health': to be in harmony with the whole. And that is the meaning of the word 'holy' too: to be in harmony with the whole. Health is of the physical and holiness is of the spiritual, but the secret is the same: to be in agreement with the whole. The ego is always in disagreement; it wants to say no. It is very hard for the ego to say yes; it doesn't come. No comes easily; no is simply there, always ready. You will have to learn to say yes more and you will have to drop your no more and more. Be more conscious so that the no is no more supported, and support the yes more. And soon you will be able to see: whenever you say yes whole-heatedly to existence there will be a silence that comes out of it, a well-being and a kind of new quality to your being that you have never experienced before. It is just as if one has lived for years in a dark dungeon and then one day one is released and comes outside and for the first time sees the sun and the moon and the stars

and the trees and the flowers and the birds. Exactly like that, when you are in agreement with the whole you will be in the open. When you are in disagreement with the whole you will be imprisoned within the ego . . . and the ego is a very very small dark cell. Learn to be in agreement with the whole.

The harder part is death. Birth is very simple; it happens on its own accord. So do everything that you can do to die, to disappear, and then suddenly one day, absolutely unawares, you are for the first time; the new, the utterly new is born into you. Nothing has to be done for that. We have only to make way for it, and that's what I mean by dying. So don't go on holding and don't go on controlling yourself; don't go on protecting yourself.

Relax and be!

(Courtesy: Chitra Jha, Life Skills Coach)

Youngistan Ego Speak: An exaggerated sense of pride in

oneself that immediately controls thought and behavior – Suman Datta (HR Manager, DQ Entertainment Ltd)

To my understanding Ego is the outcome of ones self image he/she likes to portray. Everybody likes to pose a impression in the outer atmosphere so he/she deliberately reacts towards stimuli many times forbidding his own spontaneous reaction. so in simple words EGO is the logical reaction towards a stimuli for creating a specific and desired impression of the person reacting.... Subhra Bag (Budding Public Relations/Marketing Professional)

IN THE LIGHTER VEIN

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authors. Editor: Rajib Kumar