Why big jobs matter early
Isn't it a common
perception that big jobs are what we work towards? And so, professional careers
are all about preparing ourselves for the destination `big role' or the corner
office. Maybe so. In reality, great leaders do not land big jobs, great leaders
are created by big jobs.
The hypothesis is very
simple: 70:20:10. Nearly 70% of our development happens on the job, 20% happens
through coaching and mentoring, and 10% happens through formal classroom
lessons or training. Hence, the job (in itself) is a very critical part of
building great leadership. The sequence of roles a person goes through defines
a set of skill sets and life experiences that shape the kind of leader she
becomes.
What's central is how early
these roles come our way .Importantly , this is also about how much can we
shape our roles to be bigger and more impactful between when we got into a role
and when we move out of the role.
Early big jobs help in at
least seven important ways: They define our core value system which is the
bedrock of strong leadership. The earlier we do big roles, the more we come to
crossroads in terms of what's the right thing to do. This helps us calibrate
our value system to determine our true North faster and in a variety of
situations.
Early big jobs help us
understand our resilience and ability to handle a variety of different
pressures -an essential in an increasingly VUCA (volatility, uncertainty,
complexity and ambiguity) world.They help us understand what we can handle and
when to ask for help, how hard is `hard work' and how dirty is `dirtying your
hands'.
They help us see the full
picture or the wood for the trees. So, while we become operationally brilliant,
early big jobs are important to see how it all comes together.
Early big jobs hardwire
what it means to lead people. To learn from people. To create purpose so that
people can be led by what we aspire to reach. Leadership is too important a
field to let people `arrive' at it, but must be a privilege that is experienced
from the first day onwards.
They create an appetite for
impact and a desire to extend beyond the organisation's boundaries. What's good
for the country must be good for the company , will be good for the team and
then is certainly good for me.
Jobs are life experiences
that shape you as a person. We should make diverse choices and on the edge of
our comfort zone. These roles will change us holistically . Whether it's
working in a difficult location, and then in a foreign country or in a
difficult team or even with a challenging customer. Life is a patchwork of
experiences and the richer the experience, the brighter and stronger the
tapestry .
They make us more secure,
personally . The sooner we do big roles, the less worried we are about external
stimuli or recognitions and the faster we are able to inspire ourselves.Doing
bigger roles means spending more time to create bigger impact. The impact
becomes less personal and more about the organisation.
I often think about what
the great artist and sculptor Michelangelo said, “Every block of stone has a
statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.“ So true
indeed for our jobs. The sooner we realise this, the sooner we will grow. The
sooner our people have the space to realise this, the greater our collective
prosperity
B P Biddappa
The writer is executive director (human resources), Hindustan Unilever.
TA 2AUG17
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