Autonomy, adaptability to help cos become successful
Allow Employees To Maximise Goals Via Their Creativity
Academicians, social thinkers and business speakers
are spending a lot of time in predicting the future. But is it really possible
to do so in this overwhelmingly changing environment?As a practitioner
responsible for leading a business of Rs 4,000 crore , I want to share a simple
hypothesis of creating a resilient organisation, which can acclimatise to the
ever-changing business environment. It consists of five elements, or the five
As.
The first is accountability. Michael Porter’s seminal
Harvard Business Review (HBR) article “What is Strategy?” starts with quoting
that operational effectiveness is not strategy. For the longest time, companies
have focused so much on efficiency, ease and effectiveness that it has left a
very complex organisational structure with poles and silos. In this process,
they have lost sight of accountability. Therefore, developing a culture where
accountability is an uncompromised ingredient is necessary.
The second is autonomy. Daniel Pink (an American
author) says, “Control leads to compliance, autonomy leads to engagement.” The
dance between control and autonomy is never easy. However, it’s important to
have faith in letting employees accomplish corporate objectives by maximising
their free rein of knowledge, skills, creativity and intuition under a broad
rubric of clearly defined goals and ethics. This creates a committed, confident
and consistent channel of innovation and growth.
Third — and I keep it right at the centre of this
framework — is adventure. Organisations without adventure lack soul, an
identity. The average age of an S&P 500 company is under 20 years, down
from 60 years in the 1950s, according to Credit Suisse. The fatality rate of
organisations is phenomenal, and whether you are a one-year-old startup or a 50-year-old
institution, the spirit of adventure should be alive. The most successful
enterprisers are those who treat their business as an adventure, and find joy
in exploring what lies beyond the horizon.
The fourth element and the most buzzing word of our
time is automation. We are intimidated by automation as a job-killer. But
essentially, it will create different kinds of jobs that will take people away
from repetitive to more productive work. At a broad philosophical level, it
aligns with the constant growth in human aspirations.
The final element is adaptability. A growth mindset
over a fixed one is at the heart of being an adaptable organisation. Keeping an
eye on possibilities and opportunities rather than bask in the glory of the
past success seeds the spirit of adaptability and helps organisations to be
sustainable and agile.
All of these five As have to be swaddled around the
culture of learning, technology and a strong sense of values — without which
the framework cannot sustain. We have moved from the time of IQ to EQ, to now
LQ (learnability quotient), where lifelong learning is a not an option but a
pre-requisite of a fulfilling life and a successful organisation. We have to
shift our learning and development (L&D) focus from training specific skills
to learning how to gain knowledge. Technology should not be considered as a
hashtag buzzword, it is the oxygen and hygiene factor around which
organisations should be built. We need to commit towards a set of values as it
supports vision, shapes the culture and reflects what an organisation values
and upholds at all times.
By Rituparna Chakraborty
The writer is co-founder &
EVP, TeamLease, & president, Indian Staffing Federation.
TAS 31OCT18
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