Pep pills and steroids

I am often asked as to what it is that I do as an advisor and as best as I try, my responses always sound inadequate. Perhaps, the best description was given by my son when he was in his early teens. I overheard him telling one of his friends “My dad goes to office for half a day, makes lots of phone calls, shouts at people, drinks lots of coffee and comes back home!” Clearly, not far from the truth either!

In an increasingly complex world it is but natural to bring in specialists from outside the company to help management teams look at crucial issues where internal expertise may be felt to be inadequate. Essentially, the viewpoint being the fact that outsiders will bring in not just their expertise but also a level of objectivity that can dispel the fog of subjectivity that shrouds many issues in companies. This is relatively straightforward when it comes to seeking help on technical matters but matters get rather more complicated when it involves sensitive, people-related matters. In order to make a success of such interventions, the following pointers may be of help.

Identify the problem: Before setting out on this journey, the first and most important thing is to make sure that the problem identification is correct. Many a time the mandate given to an external specialist focuses on addressing the symptoms rather than on delving deep to identify the real problem. Symptomatic cure may bring temporary relief but the underlying malaise is left untreated. All that happens is that there is a temporary bounce in spirits but the malady reasserts itself soon.

Communicate effectively: Given the confidential nature of many such initiatives, the internal communication delineating the need and the benefits of such an exercise should be clear and should be sensitively framed. Many a time errors are made in the positioning and this single factor can colour the entire exercise and lead to poor results. Even before the intervention can start, resistance builds up in the system. Rumour and gossip vitiate the atmosphere and the effort is doomed from the word go.

Moderation is a great virtue: It is important to make sure that external help and facilitation is only sought after all internal efforts have proved inadequate and ineffective. The importance of an organic cure cannot be overemphasised. Over-reliance on imported expertise can lead to serious consequences such as the perception of abdication of responsibility by those in senior positions to tackle critical issues on their own and the consequent loss of respect. Over a period of time, external interventions will become an addiction and typically, addicts lose control over their domain and ability to influence the future.

Dependency like this can also lead to the consultants taking control of setting the direction for the company, albeit, indirectly. Reputed consultants are thorough professionals but even such people will see this situation as a way to legitimately maximise their involvement with the company and, of course, maximise their revenues. Can you blame them? Here, I am reminded of a story about old-style car mechanics, who would always leave something unattended to in a car so that pretty soon the customer comes back asking for that problem to be fixed!

Avoid the side-effects: Clearly, a toxic side-effect of over-dependency will be the inability to challenge oneself and surmount difficulties through effective internal interventions. Loss of the ability to lead by example by the seniors will impact the ability to grow people into leadership positions and this cycle will perpetuate the tendency to seek miracle cures from external sources. It will not be long before this attitude seeps into all levels of the organisation. Yatha Raja, Tatha Praja — As the king, so the people.

Implementation is the key: Once the decision is taken to seek expert help, it must be clearly understood that the post-diagnostic implementation is still the mandate of the team and not of the experts. Yes, the consultants and advisors can help to an extent, but the heavy lifting has to be done internally. Many a time this is not carried out effectively and the efforts of the experts in identifying the problem and suggesting remedial action goes waste. Nothing changes in the system. Over a period of time resistance and cynicism build up in the system in much the same way the body gets resistant to antibiotics being used indiscriminately to treat ailments. It is important to time and execute these initiatives right the first time around so that people can see and feel the benefits and they are ready to cooperate the next time any such intervention is planned.

Define desired outcomes and set boundaries: Whenever such interventions are planned, it will be best to be clear about the outcomes sought and set the boundary conditions right so that one external intervention does not presage the inevitability of more to follow.

Organisational pep pills are good for introducing temporary buoyancy, but they cannot be a substitute for a long-term cure of the ills that debilitate the system.

Even more dangerous are organisational steroids that give instant results but cause long-term damage through persistent usage.

External facilitation clearly has much to recommend it. However, it is good to heed the usage warning sign that says, “Use in moderation and only when absolutely necessary.”

Pep pills and steroids have their uses but they can never be a substitute for inner strength.

(The writer is corporate advisor to 3i Infotech and Manipal Education and Medical Group. He can be reached at >mcshekaran@gmail.com)

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