The Myth! Incentives and Salary: Human Resources Management

It is often said " In tough times, you know your friends and foes both". All of us have been through a hell of a tough time, look around you! You will see the pain and gain of the people. Some are fighting to live and others fighting to die. Although I am neither a scholar nor I know the "much" about Human resources Management.

The questions which is bothering me for a quiet sometime now - Does the Increase in the salary/ incentives increase the overall engagement and happiness of an employee ? Many would agree and very less of you may think it doesn't? . An org can be big and rich in all means but still Employee's may not be happy/ Engaged! So what are we trying to achieve? Are we copying the so called "Stick and Carrot" model of Performance Management and creating absolute unhappy workforce? Time to Ponder!!

Many researchers have argued time and time again it doesn't ?.Happiness/ Engagement is always difficult to measure"?.... But it does give some insight about the kind of culture we are living in and our vision of creating a happy and healthy organization. As a leader - leading an organization, it is imperative that we are wise in analyzing our actions in the process of creating a happy and healthy organization. In this busy world we may not have enough time to debate but I m going to talk about two key ways in which you can create a Happy Organization.

Create Continues Learning Culture: Most out of HR or T & D leaders have great insight and they can talk about creating a great culture in length. Trust me my boy! I have never seen any with some learning culture!!. In my experience and opinion the word it-self makes them feel uncomfortable because it's a lot of hard-work.... which Ironically HR teams are not very well known for..... Sorry!

Meritocracy:  Well! Well! Well ! This is a daisy world and there are too many fishy things happening in the world of politics and in the org. When was the last you really promoted a skilled guy? I wonder, trust me 99% of orgs do not have a methodology where they promote skilled/competent people. But you got me with your values " Meritocracy" , honestly are you kidding!!

I guess that's all to start the year with a brand new smile! as they say - keeping sharing and learning.. Until next time - So long so....

Why Behavioral and Leadership Trainings Fail: Lesson for Training leaders and Practitioners

As they say, “The river which passes through many mountains has the purest of the water’s”.  I have been lucky enough to work with so many different leaders, in different organization. I have always wondered and pondered “Is there any Leader/ Practitioner who knows how to measure the effectiveness of Behavioral training”? and if so... what would he do differently and how much do one take to measure the effectiveness and derive ROI?

This has become Achilles heel in any organization, sometimes these so-called Training Managers and Leaders are so engrossed in design and deliver of the content they forget to arrive with the result. Let us explore and know how we can be far more productive and drive business result, which would help the organizations to develop apt competencies to take on the future.

We can consider broadly there are four reasons why this happens? here are those:

Culture:

Culture can be defined in many ways, there are Human resources Guru’s whom I have interacted with have no sense of what they trying to do. They are like those kites wandering wither and tither to the tunes of CEO’s of the organization. They create strategies which helps business not the people, they create culture where the results are more rewarded than the learning. Which makes it difficult for any learner to prove the real worth of learning. The most shocking part is that these training are tick mark activities rather than the result oriented. Over a period, the front-line managers, leaders and business heads think that “There is not a dime of learning in Learning and Development initiatives”.

Identifying the real need:

This is a laughing stock, I guess sometimes I ask my fellow intellectuals. Dude do you really know how do a TNI?  Firstly, most out of us do not understand the difference between TNA and TNI, and we use random old school methodologies to arrive with Training Needs. This creates more problems than the solution itself, we are conducting random trainings to fill our MIS and show our colorful dashboard. Which talks about man hours and number of participants. What a shame?

Implementing

Recently I had an instance where in one of the managers asked for training which he has identified as the problem for poor performance. L & D consultant did not even listen to problem complete but arrived at a solution with the oldest of the PPT he had in his drive. He conducted the training which was no use of anyone, they simply wasted the time, resource and money. While implementing any training programs although we have great information available online. We fail to do it; we do not understand whether it is a problem which can solved by training or any other interventions by management/ manager or fellow colleague.

Evaluating

This is a myth in most out of organization, I have almost worked in ten different organizations and not even one came close in evaluating behavioral training. Why does too many intellectuals cannot perform this efficiently? Here are the reason.

• They are simply not capable.
• They don’t know the methodologies.
• The manager and management think it’s a waste of time and money.
• Simply put no one cares!

I believe each one of us as Learning and Development consultant have a great responsibility in the organization and outside of it. It’s about creating a great learning team and a team of responsible individuals who can then contribute to the betterment of the society. 

Let me end this with a quote “What is the point of learning, when neither it sharpens your brain nor your personality” … May learning karma be with you all – until next time… So long so.

Religion – Lessons for Leaders and Organizations

Religion has been part of our lives from the time we open our eyes till we close, some chose another road to find happiness and some remain in the same path. If we read about the history of humanity and how few events have changed the way we live today has been fascinating. I was recently enlightened from a book by Karl Marx, although his theory about Economics and socialism was far from implementation of capitalists. His thought process about family, society and religion looks very familiar and does make lot of sense.

The religion is a great tool for some to unite people, manier times the religion is used to achieve self interest and the history is the proof. There could be lot of things one can learn to be more effective leader in the society. While I was pondering what makes religion so deep in our intellect and life I was able to list down these qualities which help us be to a far better leader.

Sell Happiness:

The basic motto of any religion is make man search for happiness, and it tells you the ultimate happiness lies in “Almighty/God”. Look at how any religion sells the happiness to people around which makes them believe so firmly. So, if you want to be a leader find what makes people happy and sell them, one of our CM’s did the same but he failed miserably to keep up the promise hence he is in absolute on decline. Organization all strive to be more innovative and create products which makes life easy and happy. But the product can be replaced but not the faith. And Faith is build over a period a time!

Empathy:

One of the key quality of any religion is Empathy – Empathy is hard to express because it takes both Emotional quotient and Intelligence quotient. A leader/ organization must practice empathy if and when the product (selling happiness) fails. Not to deviate from creating another product/ purpose to lead people in a different direction. Religion has never deviated from its main purpose of selling happiness.

Be Persistent:

There has been an immense growth which we have seen in some religion, the number of people who practice a religion has only increased (This can be your mantra to increase market share). The only reason this has happened that they were persistence in selling happiness not anything else.

To be a great leader/ build a great organization find about what is happiness, be empathetic when you lose the battle but be persistence in your approach. Never take two roads in the wood, because both may lead you to different destination.

Until we meet next time “May learning Karma be with you” …

Karnataka Election: Leadership lessons for All

The democracy has its own flavor, although I’m not a big fan of following the election and my political acumen is as bad any corporate employee. Interestingly, Karnataka election was far different than most! One can make a wonderful movie out of it, the results were divided among three parties, suddenly all the parties started playing their own cards. From the resort politics to hiding representatives in hotels to flying them to Hyderabad. 

Well there isn’t a thing left out to do, the so-called flower lovers flying down from all parts of India to the loyal fans of HAND making sure that they don’t lose their MLA’s to opposite party. Out of all these dramas one man made the most and lucky charm on his head shining bright and clear.

But what amazed me most, why people of Karnataka did not believe all the Bhagya’s which was offered by former Chief minister. why did Siddu did not hit Six this time around? Let us explore

To make sure that I’m not targeted by either flower followers or loyal hands I have specifically not mentioned any of the events. I am trying to be a politician and a diplomat here.

Humility:

We understand that power can make man arrogant (even a woman) but with power one must understand there comes lot of responsibility. What you say and how say it matters a lot? There were instances where our former chief minister behaved inappropriately. People who render you power can take away in blink of an eye. As a leader it is imperative and critical that you carry utmost Humility in the worst of the situations and control your emotions.

Purpose:

Leadership is all about taking people along walking with them and for them. The purpose for where and why you are walking becomes very critical, one must take firm stand when things impact people. As a leader you cannot solve all the problems but sometimes a listening ear and standing firm with the people makes all the difference. Most of the people in North Karnataka felt that they were never heard by our former CM. Organization fail to move towards a purpose and vision because there is a percentage of employees always feel left out.

Team :

When I say a team, I mean keeping people together as one and all. You cannot divide and rule, those were old tricks of the trade, but people are smart these days. They are far more educated, information is readily available on finger tips. The recent development in Karnataka pertaining to one caste was ridiculous and impacted many including others who are even part of it. Many of the organization can learn how incentive policy for one set of employees demotivates others. It also a classical example for those leaders who believe that only incentives and freebies motivate the employees.

One thing is very clear from this election that, giving free meals now a thing of a past. And leadership is not of giving free meals but empowering them with right skills and competencies to create and earn a better meal.  Signing off with the thought “leaders flourish in the worst situation and in the best”.

Tough Winds - A leadership Lesson

Tough winds make tough sailors, well you bet. I have worked with many leaders when they face the dance. It becomes invariably difficult for any leader to deal and sail through, some have lost their ground and searched for greener pastures. But very few of them stuck to the ground and its fascinating how they just flew like an eagle in the sky. Just so high and high with so much of spirit and motivation.

There are times when you as a leader has to achieve the unknown, the unknown is scary but you don’t have an option. You are bestowed with the leadership role and I’m honored to dedicate this blog to those leaders who taught how to sail in tough winds and fly high.

Understand people:

I was working in a reputed organization and the leadership structure was changed overnight without consulting people. Manier times when you have to achieve your business goals, you just don’t have time to consult people. The world as we see is very dynamic and can kill your business if you wait until the last minute. So one of the leaders who was moved to a new region was absolutely unknown to people and the geography.

He rigorously spent time with all his managers and people, understanding both people and geography. After spending a week, he alarmed “well we have bunch of fools”. That’s quite a statement!

Communicate Vision:

It is also imperative that you understand the market both the external and internal factors while you create a vision. As a leader “you must have a vision, and communicate to the people very clearly”. Never worry about what people have to say about the vision, it may look foolish to many. Stick to the vision, never change stay put and follow your vision. Vision statement is “what drives people towards the goal”. Find key change managers who are aligned with your vision and make them your brand ambassadors of communicating the vision.

A leader in an organization, who just took over new role had difficulty in communicating with people. This happens when you have too many layers in the organization, a leader must ensure that there is no communication gap. Interact directly with the all to understand the challenges and best qualities of people.

Align process & people:

Business leaders must understand the importance of creating a great process and aligning the people around the process. If the need of the hour requires firing poor performers and build a brand new team do that. No matter what you do “an unmotivated workforce will never achieve anything?”

Hope you have learned and enjoyed as much as I have while writing the blog, let me end this blog by saying “tough times never last but tough people will always”.

Cost VS Benefit – Training & Development: Leadership Lesson

I have been working in different organization since the time I was born. Well you might think it’s a joke! But it is not… Let me tell you why? When I was a small kid my dad used to pay my pocket money depending upon my performance in the school. And that could be the same story with you, we have been trained, educated, and nurtured by different people in different stages of our life.

Now have grown & working for a Reputed, established brand with almost 10 years of Experience in Training & Development or Learning & Development (A Fancy word!!). Some may even define the difference between both. But that’s not what I want to talk in my today’s blog.

The point I want to make relates back to my early days of learning, we had no fancy schools, the one which you usually see in Karan Johar’s movies (Quiet a thing to be seen in a remote village). I was inducted or rather forced to study in a government school. And I honestly want to tell people that Government school teachers are no fools at all! For me they were the best and the way they taught and motivated me throughout my school days has bought me where I am.

Why is that many organizations, even when they have the best resources in Training & Development cannot make a real difference like the one which my teachers were able to do.

Lack of Vision:

With my experience working with different Managers/ leaders, I believe the key to ensure Training and Development is not cost rather Benefit. Leaders/ Managers are unable list down the clear vision and what is that they want to achieve.

Let me give you an example “Many a times business leader’s re very busy in listing down sales as the Priority and they fail to understand that ensuring skilled workforce will eventually achieve the so called Sales. This happened in an organization and they were unable utilize the workforce which they had hired.

If you are leading a training team it is imperative that you first list down the vision and align the team towards the vision and mission of the company.

Lack of Role clarity:  

Some organizations have clear definition of what is expected out of a Trainer/ Training Team. When you start a Training team it is very important that you list down the expectation clearly and communicate the same with the team members.

If they are not clear about the role then they can hardly achieve anything. And you will be wasting your organizational resources for doing random things. Which will not help the organization to achieve its goal.

Be firm with your decisions:

Trainer or Training Team Managers being always nice to business will never help you to make a mark and presence. Over a Period of time, everyone will know the kind of Value which is been added by Training Team. It is important to stick to your vision, role and ensure you deliver the desired result in the organization.

Any leader/ Manager will succeed if you are able to follow the above mentioned three tips. Many organization are feeling the heat of getting the wrong guy as a leader of Training and Development. Hire the right guy!! To lead the Team, you are paying for every resource.

That’s all for today, hope you enjoy the reading the blog. May learning Karma be with you!!

Kaveri - Leadership Lessons from a River

In recent past, there has no river which has been controversial than the famous river of south India named as Kaveri. The River is originated at Talakaveri, Kodagu district in Karnataka.. The river was has been so famous that one of the Kannada movies was made on the same story line as how Tamilians and Kannadigas fight for the very water.

The river supplies water to almost 4 to 5 districts for all very good reasons in Karnataka. The silicon valley of Asia depends on the same water, one must also understand that as the city has grown so homongously that it drained out all the water and poor farmers are left with no options. Time and again stage protest against state government. Which also seems always sleeps around the corner.

The recent times development has shown people how ineffective the government of Karnataka been for years.. This could happen in any organization, one issue like Kaveri can either make or break the organization.

Today let’s take leaf out of what we can learn as leaders from this fiasco??

Leader should anticipate unfortunate situation:

It said in olden days that a battle is won in the board room not on the war zone. The Government of Karnataka may have not have expected such a short rainfall this season, having said that our Chief Minister was never prepared for such a worst situation to come..  And just because he never anticipated the unfortunate situation, he has lost the belief in his leadership.  Now congress government is in such a fix, they hardly can expect them to win again in years to come.

This could happen in any organization, a leader must always prepare for the worst. One unfortunate situation you tend you to lose out everything, your followers will surely start questioning your own ability to lead. What could you do if you are such a fix.. Here are some of the tips.

• Be proactive
• Anticipate unfortunate situations
• Create a team of people who works to handle this kind of situations more effectively and efficiently
• And most important measure and monitor the success!!

Never underestimate your competition:

The CM of Tamilnadu has been the most effective in terms of ensuring everything goes right when it comes to handling Kaveri Issue. Time and again she proved that why she is considered as “God”, she fought and ensured nothing goes as per Karnataka Government.

I think if I may recall how Nokia lost the charm and the ground against Samsung, I can think of the mistakes they made. They never anticipated a kick ass product to take over and kill the market them.

That’s all, a leader is a visionary who sees both the unfortunate situation and assess the competition so to ensure the people who follow him never gets affected. I can only sum up this blog with a wonderful statement “To lead by example is true treasure, the secret of leadership, in one simple measure”…