The Hindu Business Line : The dangers of `Buggin's Turn'

The danger of following the principle of seniority is that it not only saps normal motivation in most human beings but also eliminates the possibility that anyone will actually make a reasonable impact within the system because of the short tenure in a leadership position.

The appointment of Mr Shiv Shankar Menon, a 1972 batch IFS officer, as Foreign Secretary last year triggered resignations by a number of officers who felt slighted, as they were higher on the seniority list.

Unfortunately, most overlooked the fact that Mr Menon had come to that post after 34 years in the IFS, at the age of 57, and after having held several senior ambassadorships to countries critical for India such as Israel, China and Pakistan. That is quite a ripe old age to be Foreign Secretary. His grandfather was 50 when he got that job.

I am not a fan of bureaucratic politics but on one aspect I do hold a strong view. It is that the person best suited to the job should be appointed. If that also happens to be the best job for the person, in terms of career aspirations, then so be it. If it happens that the catapulting process eliminates some aspirants, then that is the price paid for the vicissitudes of a competitive market for talent.

Waiting in Turn

The use of "Buggin's Turn," a term borrowed from the Yes Minister series, or absolute seniority, has repressed motivation among a whole generation of civil servants. These individuals have no hope of holding the top positions in their cadres, despite even stellar performances, because they happen to have been born a year earlier than another not-so-stellar but slightly more senior colleague or have joined the system a year later.

At most, many see themselves being a Secretary to a Department or holding an equivalent post for a year or two. In rare cases someone may hold a position of criticality for three or more years.

The question of impact is most important. The danger of following the principle of seniority is that it not only saps normal motivation in most human beings but also eliminates the possibility that anyone will actually make a reasonable impact within the system or on society because of the short tenure in a leadership position. After thirty odd years of being a system operator, very few would start a life of enterprise at the fag end of one's career.

The implications of following the seniority principle are dysfunctional for the individual and society. Mediocrity is commoditised. There are no incentives to display one's mettle as one's likelihood to make it to the top job is known by one's position on the list and one's age. Why bother with initiative and hard work, for the sake of society, at the age of 40, when one knows what one's position is likely to be at 50 or 60?

Creating a system of individuals who might have been stalwarts once, but have lost their edge has serious implications in a country like India where new thinking, totally outside the box, is required in policy making. There is absolutely no point, for the sake of India's future, in the commoditisation of mediocrity.

Lessons from History

In fact, India's administrative history is replete with cases where persons were appointed Secretaries to the Government at a relatively young age. Before Independence, it was almost the norm to be appointed to a Secretary's post in one's late forties. By that time it was pretty much known what an individual was likely to be in his late fifties.

Possibly 25 years of a person's career will provide an indication of that person's abilities to lead a major government department in matters of policy and administration. Identification of abilities started early. It led to excellent appointments later, and the benefits were enjoyed by the government of the day.

Sir Atul Chatterjee of the ICS, the first Indian to be a Secretary to the Government of India, was 45 when he achieved that position in 1919. Sir Girja Shankar Bajpai was 37 when he achieved that distinction. His position was in no way diminished by what one would consider, today, his extreme youth. Almost all pre-Independence Indian ICS officers who reached the rank of Secretary to the Government of India were in their late forties when they were so appointed.

The Way Forward

A way forward is to look back and borrow the approach used for the identification of wisdom. This process clearly has to be institutionalised to create a stream of future policy leaders.

By the time an officer is in his or her early to mid-forties, substantial administrative experience will have been gained. It is also clear by then whether the top jobs can be held by that person in terms of being able to look at the broad policy picture and deal simultaneously with the details without resorting to micro-management. By the time an officer has put in 25 years of service, if truly destined for the top he or she should be so earmarked. Two or three batches of these officers could be formed into rolling "zones of consideration," and appointments made based on fitting the person for the job, so that by their early fifties most would be appointed to the highest government jobs in the country.

In this approach, the country will get the benefits of the talents of the best persons available, for a decent period, and those truly motivated to serve would not lose steam in middle age and sink into mediocre obscurity. Neither would there be a regression to

If the right person is younger or less senior, then it does not matter as long as there is ability to deliver the goods in the long run, and this ability would have been shown through earlier career successes. No doubt, age is correlated with wisdom. But performance can and should be used as an indicator of future success.

(The author is Professor of Technology Strategy, University of Texas at Dallas. He can be contacted at majumdar@utdallas.edu)

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