The Hindu Business Line : The empire builder

Year after year Samaresh delivers growth and profitability. He’s developed strong networks that support him and indeed look up to him; he’s even built up personal loyalties of colleagues, subordinates, vendors, channel partners and custome rs. He’s succeeded in convincing everyone that he’s indispensable. Even a hint of a change of people, products, processes or portfolio brings out the beast in him! And with Samaresh, the beast is never far from the surface. His abrasive, arrogant behaviour doesn’t win him many admirers outside his empire.

A privileged lot

Every year Samaresh corners the lion’s share of supply chain allocations. His people dominate the awards list and enjoy benefits that others don’t. For example, they travel business class while their colleagues in other departments and SBUs (strategic business units) travel economy class. The entire organisation has come to realise that Samaresh’s department is privileged. People in other departments are quite simply, second class citizens in the company.

The sales and profit contribution that the empire builder guarantees is very seductive. No one can ignore the share of the company’s overall business that he commands. For all intents and purposes, Samaresh is a key mover and shaker in the organisation. Anything that upsets Samaresh destabilises his business area and endangers the company’s results in a big way.

Larger than the company?

For every CEO this is a nightmare scenario.

How important really is Samaresh to the organisation? Does his contribution to sales and profitability override the deleterious effects that swirl in his wake? The prima donna effect conveys extremely negative messages across the organisation.

Everyone is crystal clear that there is one standard for Samaresh and another for everyone else. That is a recipe for guaranteeing the precipitous erosion of motivation and morale. If people feel that a level-playing field does not exist productivity and results will become as ephemeral as a mirage in the dessert.

Can anyone guarantee that Samaresh will not be afflicted by ill-health or worse? Will he continue to work in the company forever? If something were to happen to him how would his department function? Would the same high level of sales and profitability prevail automatically?

The answers to every one of these questions are undoubtedly a definite no! If that is so, isn’t the company exposed to serious risk? If the CEO is not alive to this risk and hasn’t mitigated it with contingency plans he’d be guilty of dereliction of duty!

Prepare for eventualities

In such a scenario, the onus is on the CEO to bite the bullet and prepare for all eventualities. On the one hand, he has to ensure that Samaresh’s team develops capabilities to deliver results under all conditions; this can be done by exposing them to new ideas, training programmes and experiences in different parts of the business. Cross-pollination is important too: people need to be rotated through various departments, including Samaresh’s.

On the other hand, the CEO will need to arrest the erosion of organisational morale and motivation by harmonising rules, policies and entitlements. Connecting rewards to results is the simplest way to communicate the creation of a level-playing field: whoever delivers results can expect the same kinds of rewards.

Furthermore, while Samaresh will certainly need to be encouraged and supported to grow his business, the CEO will need to focus a lot of his energy to grow other parts of the business even faster; that way, even when Samaresh grows his business, the share of the company’s overall business that he contributes will either remain constant or decline.

Counselling needed

But the mother of all the risk mitigation strategies would however revolve around Samaresh himself. The CEO has the tough task of counselling Samaresh about the need to loosen up and look at another area of responsibility over a period of time. This is in fact critical to his career growth and expanding his own managerial and leadership bandwidth.

It is also necessary to identify a successor to Samaresh, with Samaresh’s involvement, and groom him to take over. Career growth can then occur not just for the successor but also for Samaresh and indeed the entire department. The imperative of achieving short-term results can thus be reconciled perfectly with the larger, longer term organisational good.

The CEO must develop courage to confront such tough people and situations and make considered, balanced decisions that advance the organisation’s welfare while doing the right thing by individuals. That way the CEO will not only be fair but also be seen to be fair. He will then cross the line from being good to great as a leader.

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