The Hindu Business Line : Multiple perspectives

It was a session at a management training centre in Pune where senior executives from Singapore were being exposed to the new India. The idea was to get them to appreciate the fact that India has changed over the last 15 or so years and that it is continuing to change for the better.

One of the participants asked the inevitable question: “Is this really true at the ground level where we still face a lot of delays and bureaucracy?” Many international surveys have pointed out that India ranks very low down on the list of investment-friendly destinations. Many of us probably need no reminder of this fact as we face this reality many a time in our interactions with various governmental agencies. In my mind, the typical Government servant is like a minor deity with many arms, each one armed with a rubber stamp of varying geometric proportions. These rubber stamps are seldom used unless many, many queries are satisfactorily answered ; it is also a given that these queries are never raised in a logical sequence. It is as if each of these worthies has a board hanging on their back which proclaims: “Come to me with your solutions and I will give you an appropriate problem!”

While the above scenario is largely true of our governmental interactions, it is only fair to ask if things are very different in the private sector. My quick response is that they may be slightly better, but in many cases probably not by much. The main problem is the classical auditory mindset which is prevalent at all levels in the hierarchy.

We feel that we have a democratic right, nay duty, to query everything whether the issue falls within the ambit of our mandate or not. In all this what is forgotten is the fact that auditors typically start their career as accountants! It is also a fact that in our working life, based on the context, we don the role of an ‘accountant’ sometimes and that of an ‘auditor’ some other times. In essence, we are required to have a dual personality.

Dual perSonality

When we deal with an issue it is also necessary to remember that while we may don the role of a questioner when dealing with peers/subordinates, we may need to quickly switch roles and become the one being questioned when dealing with our superiors.

In a way, it will work best if we approach any issue that we deal with as a committed insider would , analyse the best way forward and then, perhaps, subject it to an outsider’s unbiased review before taking action. This duality will be very crucial in not just taking well-informed and non-emotive decisions, but also in conveying this essential fairness to others who are likely to be impacted by these decisions. As they say, it is not enough to act in a fair manner, it is equally important to be seen to be acting in a fair manner. This requires the cultivation of what I would term a ‘solution-oriented mindset’ as opposed to a ‘problem-oriented mindset’. It will help if we approach every issue with a view to looking at potential solutions to the issue and not confine ourselves to merely identifying the many associated problems.

Problem-solving

We constantly hear senior managers bemoaning the fact that while they empower their people, the responsiveness to such empowerment is not adequate. The ability to analyse and pinpoint a problem is only half the journey; the other half, which is equally critical, is to be able to think about possible solutions as well. When this is done, it sets up a platform for useful and positive discussions with the others in the decision-making cycle and makes the eventual solution a co-created one. This will also help in internalising the solution and makes it easy to implement it. When the message goes out that the stress is on solutions-oriented thinking, it forces people at all levels to think their way to offering potential solutions and not focus on only listing the problem areas. Empowerment and responsibility are two sides of the same coin; using the solutions approach, it will be possible to ensure that empowerment is matched by the assumption of responsibility.

There will also be positive spin-offs in the form of communications getting more focused on resolution rather than explicit and implicit finger pointing. In one stroke, the effects of the deadly disease called ‘CCitis’ which afflicts all e-mail users can be sharply contained! At the end of the day, the pollution levels in the eco system will come down, leading to a more productive environment.

I feel that this dual personality must be encouraged and nurtured in companies. However, the senior management has to make sure that starting with themselves, people do not start displaying symptoms of multiple personality disorder!

(The writer is advisor to the Manipal Education & Medical Group, 3i Infotech and Blue River Capital. He can be reached at mcshekaran@gmail.com)