The master-key of Mindfulness

We all agree that the “golden key to success” depends not only on our commitment, passion, courage and expertise, but also on how well we rewire our neural networks to ensure resilience and happiness. This golden key, or rather the master-key is the art of “mindfulness” which is about focussing on the present rather than ruminating over the past or worrying about what is in store in the future.

For me, mindfulness is a way of life and needs to be consciously cultivated upon before it becomes a part of our sub-conscious reality. Research has proven that practicing mindfulness significantly increases the empathy and self-compassion quotient thus generating a positive impact.

A decade ago, it was a rare sight to spot morning joggers and cyclists. Today, roads are overflowing with folks who don their sports gear and take their fitness regimes seriously. Not only in the brisk walking, running and cycling quadrants, there are yoga & meditation centers and zumba classes practically at every nook and corner of the street. The scientific advantage of regular physical activity beyond just boosting muscle strength and oxygen supply is now acknowledged to positive energy and mental endurance. Maybe just like the focus on physical exercise has increased, in the coming decade, we will have meditation as a way of life and thus the corresponding side-effect of increased compassion, empathy, self-awareness and happiness.

Coming to the office context, in today’s times, the definition of workplace and work timings have got significantly altered. Work has knowingly or unknowingly crept into our lives full-time with the dominance of 24X7 emails, whatsapp and social media. Holistic well-being programs to build mindfulness have thus become a preferred offering as a part of the total rewards proposition. As managers and leaders, to enable our teams to thrive, we play an integral part in building a mindful organisation. This can be done by blending the professional ethos with emotional intelligence.

Mindfulness at work has the following benefits:

1. Build a collaborative culture by increasing emotional intelligence and thus reducing conflict.
2. Improve productivity by reducing an adversial mindset and thus decreasing stress related illnesses and absenteeism.
3. Increase creativity and innovation and thus speeden up the decision making process.

While mindfulness has it’s advantages, one cannot dismiss the fact that work pressure and stress have become sticky buddies to many people. It is common to have difficult conversations, be it in office or personal space. Mindfulness helps you to listen to the other person and arrive at a solution rather than a win-loose argument.

There is one scientific tool that I try to use in most of the stressful scenarios. It’s called “cognitive reappraisal” or “cognitive reframing”. This is the restructuring of a negative reaction to a situation into a positive reaction. Let me decode the tool with a common scenario at work:
“I have been assigned a big task to complete in the next 2 months. This work pressure is definitely going to sabotage my holiday plans”. Instead of this negative emotion, cognitive reframing will modulate our thoughts in a positive direction “My boss has assigned me a big task to complete before my holidays. He / she definitely has a lot of trust in me to finish with speed and quality.”

The famous Auschwitz survivor, Viktor Frankl has beautifully explained this. He says “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Just by changing the lens, we change the thinking and the associated behavioural dynamics. The positive feelings generated will bring more harmony and reduce tensions. What gets practiced regularly becomes our second nature. In the similar way, if we continue to practice cognitive reframing, positive thinking flows naturally and becomes a way of life. Imagine the advantages at work: we will have reduced work tensions between teams, lower number of job stress elements, improved collaboration and a caring and respectful culture.

Mindfulness requires practice. While one may not become proficient overnight, here is a 2 step mantra to build the positive lens:

1. Finding the trigger: It is important to know what is the core reason for the stress and distinguish between the actual and the perceived problem.
2. Eliminate the issue: Once the right trigger is identified, it becomes pertinent to develop the alternate courses of action.

There is also a wonderful technique called “S.T.O.P” to make mindfulness a habit:

1. Stop to take a momentary pause, no matter what you are doing,
2. Take a deep breath and sense you own breathing pattern to bring you to the present moment.
3. Observe and acknowledge what is happening around you and even inside you.
4. Proceed with your activity that you were doing before you took the pause.

As an extrovert, being alone used to make me anxious and I used to get into a FOMO state. Now with baby steps around embracing mindfulness, I enjoy my me-time and find power in silent moments of introspection and being with myself. Finding joys in simple pleasures of life, cycling and taking deep breathes have been my commonly used tools in the recent times. While I hope to reach an auto-pilot mode in positively managing my emotions and actions, I now savor my freshly brewed coffee with more delight. I pause to acknowledge the cup’s warmth, enjoy the aroma and then relish the taste of coffee with my first and subsequent sips. Like Mother Teresa said “Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more”.

Human versus Machine: Can a Robot be our new best friend @ work?

Visualise this!

Scenario 1: At your company’s annual recognition event, your CEO is announces the “most productive employee of the year”. Guess who bags the award? It’s none other than the Robot!

Scenario 2: Job advertisements explicitly stating “Humans need not apply” as the application eligibility criteria.

Over the last few months, I have been humouring myself picturing these interesting times where the robots nail their wins!

Let me share an interesting trivia: the word “robot” has it’s origin from the Czech word “robota” which means “forced labour”. It was introduced in 1921 by the famous Czech playwright, novelist and journalist Karel Capek, during his superhit play “R.U.R- Rossum’s Universal Robots”.

When I first read about “Amelia”, the digital employee, I was fascinated with the future possibility of robots taking over humans at the workplace. Then I recollected how I was awed when “NASA’s Robonaut” assisted the astronauts and how “Deep Blue- the IBM beast” defeated the chess legend, Garry Kasparov in a six-game match. All this undoubtedly boasts of the phenomenal stuff robotics can do in today’s age.
Robots were once key players at the assembly lines in the manufacturing sector, but today when the world is at the cusp of the robotic age, robots have created their niche even at workplaces through the wonder of Artificial Intelligence. Today we have robots analyzing data and taking decisions. At the world famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology Business School, people come to meetings accompanied by a robot.

Imagine how workplace dynamics would change with a robot manager tracking our performance!
There is some anxiety around the possibility of robot employees replacing human employees. If we look around our workplace, we can list all the radical transformations that have revolutionized our ways of working. Not many decades ago, during the onset of the industrial revolution, everyone was scared that machines would sabotage manual labour. Apprehension crept in when the world opened itself to computers and people kept wondering how long would it be for them to lose their job to a computer. Needless to say, the machine age and the world-wide-web only brought about transformational game changers and innovations. Instead of looking at Artificial Intelligence as an “enemy behind the lines” we need to look forward to the opportunities it brings to the table.

Some of the well debated pros and cons around this onrushing wave of robotics and artificial intelligence are:

Pros:
1. Robots have a competitive cost advantage and provide a better return on investment due to their speed.
2. Robots don’t experience fatigue, boredom or disengagement and can work within a blink of an eye for tasks which otherwise may take hours/ days to complete. Robots can work 24 x 7 with better precision, accuracy and error-free output than it’s human counterparts.
3. There is a huge value in deploying robots to locations like chemical spills, nuclear plants etc where human safety is a concern.

Cons:
1. While robots/ AI can be utilized for mostly monotonous tasks, today’s workplace is characterized by uncertainty and calls need to be taken basis situations rather than standard operating procedures (SOPs) alone. Robots have no emotion and lack empathy which is a key pre-requisite while dealing with internal as well as external customers, hence the element of delight may get compromised. Humans are more efficient when it comes to handling difficult situations & conversations, brainstorming, and generally bringing empathy at work.
2. Where a robot is much more accurate and saves times, on the other hand in case of a malfunction or a bug, the business operations will suffer as fixing a technical glitch may throw the business operations and TAT into a tornado situation.
3. Robots still need human employees to operate and maintain them and these come with additional costs.

From the above, in my view, given our current business context, for the next 4-5 decades, automated future at the workplace cannot replace the human touch that “real employees” bring.

If we stay plugged in with this “new employee set” as a means to empowering our economy, our “human bots” will get time to focus on other tasks that are creative and more vital for the businesses to prosper and grow.

The “reverse” gear of mentoring

Almost everyone knows how Jack Welch’s “Vitality Curve” stormed the industry and got adopted by most companies as a part of their performance management philosophy. Recently, I discovered that it was Jack Welch who was the brand ambassador for the Reverse Mentoring concept too. In 1999, at GE, he paired around 500 of his seasoned managers with the company’s tech-savy young staff to drive down the internet learning philosophy and earn his competitive edge.

Sometimes when I go down the memory lane, I fondly remember the coaxing conversations, or was it coercion 🙂 with my parents to purchase their first mobile handset. Though it took them time to treat their new possession beyond just being a “call device”, once they got latched on, there was no turning back. They had discovered a new way to keep themselves updated on what was happening, not only in the country or the world, but more importantly in the lives of their loved ones and friend circles.

Today, my twins educate me on the latest trends in almost everything…be it technology, music, travel, fashion or food. This technology orientation for my parents, and what my kids continue to update me on, is a classic example of reverse mentoring at home.

Coming to the corporate space, the makeup of tomorrow’s workforce may seem daunting as it is undergoing a seismic shift. By the end of this decade, we all know that the Millennials and Generation Z may account for more than 50% of employee strength.

Every employee, regardless of their age, gender or experience has unique things that the others can learn from & that’s where the two-way street of reverse mentoring comes into play. As managers and leaders, we need to find avenues to provide development opportunities to this younger cohort. We must also get them to teach the old horse some new tricks. Understanding latest trends from the generation which grew up with “smartphones-in-their-hands” is a big enabler to bridge the generational gap too.

The benefits of Reverse Mentoring which flips the traditional methodology of veterans taking the youth under their wings are multi-fold.

The Organization: Organizations which practice reverse mentoring are seen to be progressive and makes them a talent magnet for younger talent who is seeking out fresh doors to share their expertise. While reverse mentoring is a contrast to the conventional mentoring, workplace hierarchies slowly disappear thus creating a culture of diversity of thoughts. Reduced employee turnover is an added benefit as the young, ambitious employees start to feel valued for the exposure and feel recognized for their knowledge and insights.

The veteran employee: Reverse mentoring helps the senior folks sharpen the saw and keep it sharp by staying updated of the latest trends (predominantly in the technology space). It also sensitizes them to tune in with the younger lot as the interactions give a better understanding of what it’s like to be a millennial and helps uncover the unconsidered perspective. Upward training makes conversations more effective and businesses see newer ideas and perspectives as an outcome of these mentoring relationships.

The young mentor:The young mentor gets a closer access to leaders and thus benefits from the lessons through “shadow-training” at a very early stage of his/ her career. Needless to say, these young mentors now see things differently and get to see the bigger picture and garner a better perspective around the ways of working. Understanding macro-level management scenarios reduces conflicts and helps to reduce the “us-versus-them’ mindset.

Though reducing the generational stereotype by combining years of experience and wisdom with digital transformation is a dominant space for reverse mentoring, there are other key areas wrt gender/ LGBTQ/ differently-abled diversity groups, where the concept may bring out substantial benefits for the under-represented communities.

Today, in most companies, there is minimal representation of these cohorts and hence organizations struggle to appreciate problems or devise support systems to enable their performance. Conversations in this space through the reverse mentoring format may help appreciate the unconscious bias and suggest ways on how to confront the pre-existing stereotypes.

While the advantages of reverse mentoring far outweigh the disadvantages around time, cost, sustainability etc, one important watch-out area is to prevent the leader from taking the dominant position. The junior employee needs to feel comfortable in “speaking truth to power” and hence the rules of the mentoring relationship need to be clear and on the same plane for both the parties.

The beauty behind reverse mentoring lies its conceptual design and execution. The more solid the bond, the more likely will be the exponential change derived from this non-traditional way of mentoring. Greater insights, challenging the status quo through out of the box ideas develop when both- the mentor and the mentee appreciate the value of the mentoring conversations.

The key to success of a successful reverse mentoring relationship lies in how well the barriers of status, power and position are dissolved. A culture where reverse mentoring is valued shifts the “elitist” approach of mentoring as it’s no longer an experienced senior taking someone under their wing, but it is a relationship with the sole objective of skill sharing. Hence to create the right win-win, it’s not only important to start the ball rolling, but equally important to let the “switching of roles” sustain.

Self-fulfilling prophecies and the Pygmalion effect

In ancient Greece there is a myth about a talented sculptor who carved the statue of a woman and fell in love with her, and this eventually brought her to life!
George Bernard Shaw, the famous literary genius, possibly borrowed inspiration from this mythical story. The plot of his famous play “Pygmalion”, which was then adapted for the blockbuster movie “My Fair Lady“, has the protagonist Eliza Doolittle (played by the ever beautiful Audrey Hepburn) transform herself with Professor Higgins’ help from a mere flower-girl to a fine aristocratic lady.

The pygmalion concept has always intrigued me and hence drawn me to research and understand it’s practical application at the workplace and in my personal space & relationships too. The one that I find very relevant, maybe because the mother in me always takes a front-seat, is the proven research with regards to how a teacher’s expectations around his/ her students become self-fulfilling prophecies. If a teacher believes one of the kids in the class is brilliant, that kid (conciously or unconciously) picks up on that vibe and ends up fulfilling it. Sadly, the same applies to the child whom the teacher believes to be slow.

The Pygmalion effect at work is an equally fascinating cultural phenomenon which extends its tentacles to the Line Manager’s perception about their employees’ potential and delivery patterns. The way the manager treats his/ her team members is subtly influenced by what the manager believes and expects. If the perception and confidence is around high performance, the job output is most likely to be great and vice versa.

There is also another angle to the pygmalion effect, though the cues here are generally subtle. What managers believe about themselves also influences what they believe about their own teams and this then translates into their behavior. A top performing managers’ success and confidence in his/ her ability provides the team a dramatic boost on the credibility angle. This power of high performance expectation and success makes the team go beyond the scope of their KPIs and overachieve the targets, thus continuing the fast-track journey.

Unfortunately, the Pygmalion Effect has an evil twin- the “Golem effect”, which is about the negative impressions and confidence around performance. When the manager expects low performance, his/ her expectations fuel a negative and downward spiral. It is often said that low performers get used to achieving their minimal levels predominantly because they are stigmatized and nothing more is expected of them.

If you expect the best, you may get the best. If you expect the worst, you will definitely get the worst. So, how can one then leverage the power of the pygmalion effect? Here are some simple tricks and tips that I have picked up in the last couple of years:

# Provide opportunities for challenging assignments and co-own the team member’s success at every milestone. This will help harness the power of the employee’s self-expectations.

# Have frequent 1:1 coaching conversations which focus on the plan for improving strengths and development areas.

# Make it a point to have multiple genuine positive verbal interactions which communicates your and the ecosystem’s belief in the employee’s ability to perform.

# Raise the visibility charts with other supervisors and leaders.

# Reconsider relationships with the team and replace negative comments (can be present for a few low performers) with a positive “can-do” approach.

It is beyond doubt that a leader influences the team to “achieve the seemingly unattainable” through motivation and “can do” trust.

The super-hit movie “300” is a classic example where the plot revolves around King Leonidas who leads a mere number of 300 Spartans into the battle against the Persian King Xerxes and his huge army of 3 lakh soldiers and wins the battle.

Closer to home, the inspirational true story of the Battle of Saragarhi also depicts how the brave Hawildar Ishar Singh led his bunch of 21 soldiers from the 36th Sikh regiment of the British Indian Army against the merciless 10000+ Afridi & Orakzai Pashtun tribesmen to ensure that the critical checkpost is not captured.

As managers and leaders, we can provide a great value add if we effectively communicate positive labels about our teams. When a manager actually believes and vocalizes the team member’s / team’s positive contribution to the work deliverables, the message gets teleported- either consciously or unconsciously, in a geometric progression scale.

While the equation is not so simplistic and improved performance has many other variables apart from just an encouraging manager, we can safely say that we need to create an environment where the manager assumes the role of the Greek sculptor and brings his lady (..or gentleman) to life.

Rethinking Employee Retention

Am tempted to start my blog with a provocative question: while many of us beat our drums around the “war for external talent”, are we missing out on addressing the “elephant in the room” with regards to employee retention at the workplace?

It is no surprise that attrition discussions top the people agenda given the statistics associated with the leaking funnel. The fact that the loss ranges from an employee’s one month salary to even six month’s salary makes the entire equation scarier. 

Most performing team members rarely resign on an impulsive whim or because the canteen menu doesn’t serve their favorite sandwich or the fact that the vending machine doesn’t serve their favourite brew. They also do not quit because they lack gratitude or loyalty. Most of the times, their switch goes off when they are not able to find purpose or see their contributions in the larger scheme of things. As the consolidated costs of replacement get astronomical and complex, at the foundation of every “retention design” lies a segmented strategy basis employee life cycle and motivation anchors. While we would all agree that there is a full suite of solutions and a wide buffet available, sometimes, the practical tips to avoid employees from jumping ship are surprisingly simple!

Here are four simple design principles that have worked for me:

Principle # 1: To improve retention, we need to pay people more……pay more attention!

Punchy statement indeed! And a very impactful one! The focus on harnessing efforts for top talent comes naturally to everybody. Apart from this cohort, I also focus on the “hidden gems” and “solid citizens”. Counter-intuitive as it may sound to linear thinkers, quitting the job is not always a direct function of money in hand. A “one-size-fits-all” retention strategy which is tilted towards compensation corrections, in my view, is generally unsuccessful in persuading employees to stay for the long term. Though coughing up the cash may assume priority for certain segments who are at the lower compensation thresholds and at a wealth- accumulation life stage, the glue that makes all employees stick is “purpose and respect”. As managers and leaders, we are the architects of the work environment and experiences for our teams. If you truly trust, care and connect with our teams to build a larger purpose and meaning to their work, they will willingly march with you at double energy and speed. 

Principle # 2: Retention is the new…… Acquisition!

The rules of the game and of the talent battlefield have made a drastic shift. Companies are moving away from their traditional focus of engagement and development to realigning what is “actually” meant by these two words. Being a talent magnet is no longer about attracting external talent but also about retaining your best ones. We need to think of retention as “re-recruiting our employees real time” and in a continuous state while they are in our organisation. This paradigm shift is needed to erase the blurred line between the two-way street of the “push” and “pull” factors. Regrettably, a few managers unwittingly create circumstances for employees to walk out-of-the-door because they view everyone as easily replaceable cogs in a wheel. While I echo their sentiments that no one is indispensable, the hidden costs of replacements at times create a momentary derailment in the race to the summit. 

Principle # 3: Make your employees more… employable!

There have been two schools of thought on this. The orthodox thinkers calculate the monetary loss if the employee leaves after his/ her training. The progressive managers evaluate the loss, that moves up in geometric progression, if one doesn’t invest the time and money in developing their teams. Imagine the damage and paralysis that can be caused by a set of untrained/ stagnated team members if they continue in the company. I have been fortunate to work with some leaders who effortlessly orchestrate opportunities and bring out the meaningful balance of developing not only their team member’s professional skills but also provide unwavering support in their personal growth and thus attach a meaningful tone to the entire gamut of building careers. 

Principle # 4: Churn has it’s positive stroke…. don’t carry the cost of non-performance!

While it is necessary to beat all odds and keep our good ones, it is equally pertinent to move up the value chain around the “talent refresh” agenda. It is never a good idea to pursue unrealistic low turnover rates which gets counterproductive to business growth and innovation. While employee churn is a tough pill to swallow, allowing to carry the cost of non-performance is the killer of growth and it’s momentum. Designed churn is the necessary antidote.

As an ending note, would like to put forth a powerful message that I stumbled upon a few years ago: “It is strange that SWORD and WORDS have the same letters. Even more, strange is that they have the same effect if not handled properly.” This anagram has continued to stay etched in my mind and I firmly believe that it is upto us whether we want our words and behaviour to serve as a springboard and enhance our team’s performance and engagement or we want our interactions to become the unfortunate springs to push the employee out in search of greener pastures.

Adjusting the sails in the stormy Covid-19 seas: Managing remote teams effectively.

A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor!

Let me start by being honest: With 7+ months into the Covid-19 pandemic, my daily rituals have become increasingly complex. There are times when I scramble to get my official and personal tasks completed whilst sharing close quarters with my “semi locked-in” husband and “completely locked-down” twins. It will be a fair measure to assume that many working professionals find themselves in my “boat” and grapple to find the right balance between work and home.

Today’s work reality is not an easy one for any of us. As managers and leaders, we need a more refined game plan to enable our remote teams to focus and deliver their best. We need to be conscious of the fundamental shift in everyone’s lives to sensitively alter some of our old working styles and be more empathetic.

While many companies have pressed the ignition button on their “return to office” journey, over the last few months, I have been inspired by a few leaders and colleagues who seem to have mastered the art of getting the best out of their widely spread remote teams. Though there is no play-book on how to convert a co-located team to an effective virtual one, here is a summary compilation of what I think are some of their best practices:

They master their meetings: Simple as it may sound, but effective leaders ensure that their meetings start and end on time. Sticking to the agenda (unless the last minute discussion is an urgent and important one) avoids falling prey to the trap of discussing non-essential non-agenda items and stretch meetings beyond their original schedule.

They enable by providing clarity: Setting an appropriate cadence for reviews / calls helps set clear expectations on delivery and accountability. It establishes ground rules for monitoring progress to avoid confusion or shocks later on. A few inclusive leaders even specify the expected response time for urgent and not-so-urgent things wrt emails and texts, especially the ones sent post office hours or on holidays.

They are respectful and lead by example: Inspiring leaders take extra measures to build trust, connection and a shared purpose (this is not only limited to the current covid times only). Being respectful, through actions and words needs to be consistent though. There are times when non-performance has to be dealt with. While it is extremely important to call out poor performance, shouting, screaming or using unparliamentary or condescending language is not the solution. Leaders who excel in the “respect” space are assertive and clear in communicating even performance lapses while maintaining professional respect and courtesy.

They praise in public and reprimand in private: I know a few leaders who are trend setters in this space. They so effortlessly use the concept of positive energy to channelize their teams to be the best version of themselves. Instant genuine appreciation and pat on the back can do wonders to heightening the team’s sense of belongingness. Just be careful not to fall prey to being appreciative just for the heck of it; else the side-effect gets disastrous in the long term.

They connect and encourage communication: With the absence of face-to-face meetings, while video based calls are the closest surrogate, one loses the most important ingredient of communication: body language and facial expressions. Hence, it’s very important to be extra mindful of the language and tone while connecting on phone or on emails or whatsapps. Words, if misunderstood, can spiral our team members to a different orbit and create fractures in the relation.

They unite the professional and personal frontiers: With everybody operating on limited support systems, a small gesture of respecting the personal space and being sensitive by allowing time-off to your teams to complete some pressing household chores goes a long way. Encouraging your team to tell you in advance about such time-off windows is an effective way to building this new frontier of flexibility at work. There is one more invisible “covid times trap” which one needs to be cognizant of. Given that each one of us is available 24*7 digitally, at times, unconciously, we take our teams’ personal life and post-office hours for granted. It’s important to allow people the joy of equally spending time with their families or friends post office hours.

They spark impromptu interactions: Who says “small talk” is unproductive? Give formal conversations a break once in a while with a little dose of informal and off-the-shelf conversation. I have seen some leaders beautifully leverage the power of personal details and create small moments of fun and personal bonding time with their teams. It can be a simple “know your colleague” or “how was your weekend” activity on whatsapp with all the members answering and exploring and sharing some cool personal traits / information. It may feel awkward the first time..but as the informal connects increase, everyone starts feeling comfortable.

Picture this: a synchronous online “chai party” to “raise a toast” to your top performing champions. Not difficult at all!
What do you think is the impact? We would all agree that it’s a lot more than we all can imagine!

If I were to paint a metaphor to the Covid-19 pandemic, my mind gets drawn to the “Great Flood” in the classic story Noah’s Ark. Noah’s ability to build the ark and survive the 371 day flood was due to his conviction and belief that he could make a difference. Drawing symbolic reference to this story, can we as leaders of our teams, take the extra effort and be the change-makers in our work community to build a respectful, engaging and productive work environment?

Noah took the warning and prepared for the storm.
Can we be “Noah” and prepare for the long haul?
Can we be “Noah” and “build our ark” of happy teams and “sail together” by providing them with great careers?

Reach out to the Modern Workforce: The Millennials have taken over

Much is spoken, written and abundantly analysed about the “Millennial takeover” which has become the buzzword of today’s times. This enigmatic demographic cohort has taken the workplace by storm; predominantly due to their intense use of technology, unconventional consumption habits and motivational needs.

A few of my coffee conversations with my business teams have tilted around the imperative to accommodate the needs of this “Generation of Connection & Connectivity”. It’s here where I draw them to the predictions of the future workforce which has projected that by 2025, the great divide between Gen X and Gen Y shall emerge…. & Millennials will comprise of approx 70% of the global workforce.

As a species from the other generation, I refer to the“Scrabble board game v/s Online Word Cookies” analogy to embrace the multi-generational nuances. When I played Scrabble during my childhood days, the physical board and the plastic chips were the key ingredients….today the online Word Cookies app takes the centre-stage & the game is played at a touch of the button.  

Here is my shortlist pick of the “super-six” characteristics about this dynamic set for their gainful engagement:

1.     Electronic literates :“BYOD: Bring-your-own-device” is a phenomenon that rings in every Millennial’s lifestyle. This generation is founded through the social media movement & it would not be an exaggeration to say they “eat-breathe-sleep” technology and lead the way of the digital future. At the workplace, it is thus critical to capitalise on the high online quotient of these “digital natives”. As they are hardwired with their smartphones, a technology-enabled ecosystem that includes social networking, instant messaging, videos-on-demand, sharepoint sites, internal blogs etc. would be most effective. With these platforms, they can easily switch gears and connect their two worlds: one real and one virtual & thus capitalise this unique ability to network and leverage social media which is not just restricted to mere status updates as perceived by many.

2.     Birds who like to flock together : Millennials also gravitate towards networking and collaborative work style as they believe that they can accomplish more when they work together as a cohesive team. It thus becomes imperative to leverage their comfort level of the “group-psyche” and put them in charge of cross functional, cross- border project teams. Another contrast that I have experienced from a culture point of view is that Millennials are also more likely to listen to their “friends-at-work” and rely more on grapevine than the classic corporate mouth-pieces like policies and announcements.

3.     Like to be heard: This cohort has been raised & schooled where the decision process is joint. With this at the backdrop, they expect a similar pattern to continue at their workplaces where they need to feel valued, heard and actively involved.

4.     Multi-task with ease: Multiplicity of tasks coupled with too many priorities doesn’t phase out a Millennial. He/ she enjoys the stretch and if motivated, can multi-task on a scale that has not been experienced earlier. They can produce quality output whilst jabbering on the phone with their best friend and simultaneously sending an official email and also planning the evening dinner in parallel on their i-pad. This is their way of life and the trick is to provide them this “organised chaos” through innovative parallel assignments to avoid disengagement due to boredom which may eventually affect delivery and retention.

5.     Appreciate Total Rewards: In my humble experience, contrary to the popular belief, money isn’t of the utmost importance in the need-hierarchy chart but Total Rewards definitely is. Millennials are not interested in getting plain annual increments and promotions as per the company-defined career velocity grid. They are not keen on merely punching the attendance record or a long service award, but are keen to build skills and competencies on-the-go.They have grown up with a host of information available at their finger-tips to satiate their need for learning through Google and YouTube and hence are always on the look-out for satisfying their hunger for professional & personal development in a stimulating working environment. The other aspect that ties along is their wanderlust for garnering diverse experience. Continuous learning, appeasing to their strong appetite for different geography stints, creative reward and benefits strategies are the key aspects that need to be looked into while designing the total rewards proposition.

6.      Work-life balance and CSR: The key mantra around work & life for this generation is “Balance”. Millennials don’t cling to a fixed working time or a fixed workplace. The lines between work and home is becoming increasingly blurred due to their high reliance on technology. This group works best when offered flexible schedules, tele-commuting and their much-deserved travel vacations. Another glue that binds Millennials is being with the Organisation that champions the values they hold. Corporate Social Responsibility is one such key value that moves the needle for Organisations to be seen as progressive by this “ I want to make the world a better place” talent group. 

In a nutshell, simply put, the “corner office” is no longer a status symbol….but  “Pride of Association” is the most coveted badge. As employers, the key to getting the deal right in attracting & engaging with this generation is to provide a compelling answer to this key question: “Why do I want to work here?”. Attachment to work increases when their work has a relevance to the larger picture and they are able to give back to the world. It’s important to feel proud to be associated with the brand – not only as employees but also as consumers.….and if we as Employers & Leaders can manage to crack this code, then the associated superlative rewards also await us in this new era of the workforce.

Positive Protest v/s Poison Pen: the saga of anonymous complaints

Positive Protest v/s Poison Pen: the saga of anonymous complaints

Let’s start with a scenario: You are the Business leader of the Company and you receive an anonymous complaint alleging wrong-doings by one of your functional managers, who also happens to be a top performer? What will you do?

·         Will you inform the accused function leader and seek clarifications from him?

·         Will you make a note of the complaint, but not investigate anything given the anonymity angle but keep a close watch on the functional leader?

·         Will you request the complainant to come forward and assure confidentiality, but in the event the same doesn’t happen, then ignore the note given that the complainant has not identified himself/ herself?

·         Will you immediately initiate investigations, even if the complainant doesn’t identify himself/ herself?

These are just a few indicative and not the exhaustive list of the next steps.

We would all agree, that there is no formula on how one would react. Different situations and accusations, basis their complexity and gravity would require different actions. A “one size fits all” approach may not work given the wide gamut of violations that can get reported- viz. financial misappropriation, victimization, values violation, harassment (sexual or otherwise), discrimination, hostile environment, process and policy violations, safety issue, potential workplace unrest etc. While the approaches need to be customised, the only single thing that remains constant with anonymous accusations & complaints is that they need to be handled with utmost tact, discretion, confidentiality and care.

Like there are two sides to every coin, even anonymous grievances can be a boon as well as a bane.

The ambassadors for this “Positive Protest” passionately put forward that Organisations need to encourage whistle-blowers as it helps maintain workplace integrity. As a fan of thriller movies which involve this theme, I can relate to the advantage a whistle blower brings to the table where it’s mostly the insider scoop that helps to topple the villains. No matter how progressive and fair the company policies are, and how strong the governance is, there may still be certain unidentified execution pits or application mis-directions at certain nooks & corners….and these are the tidbits of information which one cannot afford to overlook. That’s where whistleblowing becomes the “eye from the inside” and lends it’s helping hand. While these anonymous complaints, at times are hard to follow-up, in my view, it’s these “unidentified accusers” who help draw out the dysfunctionality in the organisational processes and culture without any fear of retaliation or victimisation and thus keep the check and balance in the company. A formal grievance handling mechanism gives opportunities to employees/ staff or even vendors & other allied stakeholders to review any of their employees, line managers, or a wider systemic issue and help unearth those areas which would have otherwise been left untouched.

Now let’s move to the other scale on the balance. The critics find anonymous complaints opening gates to toxic employees who have a vindictive agenda or want to score a goal with another employee. A vexatious or frivolous complaint can also be equated to a form of abuse on the one against whom the allegation has been made as it can disrupt the accused – not only professionally but also personally. Even though the allegations merit no substance due to the “Poison Pen”, Companies tend to lose these good employees who choose to resign before any further harm is done to their reputation.

One aspect that I personally find tricky is around the confidentiality of the source: should we promise absolute anonymity to a whistle-blower who identifies himself / herself? There can be instances in an investigation where there is a possibility that the “promise of anonymity” could get diluted due to circumstances beyond our control. Hence it is very important that false promises are not made by the company officials in order to garner the requiste information. It is very critical not to fall in the trap of over-promising and under-delivering on the confidentiality aspect. The best solution is to transparently tell the whistleblower that the secrecy around his/ her identity shall be maintained to the extent practicable in the course of the investigation.

It’s also important to highlight the constant debate with regards to the level of involvement and deep dive when an anonymous complaint is received. Appropriate judgement on whether there is merit in proceeding with the investigation needs to be exercised when the grievance details are extremely vague and the whistle blower refuses come forth and provide identity. But at the same time, this discretion cannot compromise our legal and moral responsibility as Employers. It is thus recommended to treat every anonymous complaint seriously, though a fine balance between the positive protest v/s poison pen needs to be maintained.

I have been part of many coffee discussions with my friends on whether the former CIA contractor Edward Snowden did a heroic act or committed treason when he leaked classified information in 2013. The constant battle between tagging the whistle-blower as “individual heroes” or “traitors” depends on the context and our outlook with regards to the particular incident.

As a parting shot to this write-up, am tempted to go back to our ancient mythological roots and provide reference to the original whistle-blower in history who in my view positively changed the course of Ramayana. Vibhishana, Ravana’s younger brother joined ranks with Lord Rama as did not approve Sita’s abduction…and this eventually helped Lord Rama defeat his arch nemesis, the demon King of Lanka. 

The Boiling Frog Syndrome

The Boiling Frog Syndrome

Not many centuries ago, somewhere in the 19th century, a group of scientists conducted a unique experiment. They found that when a frog was placed in a pot of boiling water, it frantically tried to clamber out that very instance…when it was placed in a pot of water with a low heat flame, the frog continued to float and gradually adjust it’s body temperature; until the point when water reached boiling point and the frog got unresistingly boiled to death.

Coming back to the moot question, my rational mind ponders: What killed the frog?

· Some of us would state the obvious- that it was the boiling water.

· Others would say that it was the frog because it did not know when to jump out and save itself.

While the results of the gory experiment will get questioned by animal activists and lovers, in my view, it is a good analogy for companies and individuals who choose not to reinvent themselves from time to time or do not feel the need to be flexible and adaptable to change.

We all agree that organizations are set-ups run by people. Hence they naturally reflect the human tendency to adjust and respond instinctively to dramatic storms in our environment. Businesses which have fallen prey to settling into “this is how it is done here” routines or have let inertia take over ways of working, actually end up “slow boiling” their set-ups. One example that strikes my mind is the cassette industry. As a child, I purchased cassette tapes, teenage life was exposed to CDs & DVDs, and now all I do is download songs on my i-tunes. Wonder what happened to some of those cassette manufacturers who did not sail in the direction of this change. These “corporate toads” mistook the cooking pot for a jacuzzi and with the whirlwind environmental changes, they ended up encountering slow suicide.

On the positive side, there are countless examples of companies who have beaten the “boiling frog syndrome”. They have stayed out of their comfort zone, proactively thought about the future and pushed their boundaries beyond the obvious, thus making it difficult for competition to catch up and imitate. Today’s online streaming giant Netflix is one example I can completely relate to. In the early 2000s, Netflix was a simple online DVD rental. They recognised the need for reinvention and allowed movie buffs the opportunity to rent unlimited DVDs for a low monthly cost. After a couple of years, they strategically nabbed many primetime Emmy nominations for their original shows to eventually become a household favourite with multiple shows and movies streamlined for all ages. And today, without any doubt, Netflix has become one of the top notch brands and the coolest stock to invest in.

Picking the success from Netflix, while it takes a considerable amount of conscious effort and energy to get out of one’s comfort zone, in today’s VUCA world, “jumping out of the pot of complacency & mediocrity” is becoming increasingly important to gear up for success. So let’s jump while we still have the energy by letting go of the status-quo.

Gamification: the “Candy Crush” way to Engage.

Gamification: The “Candy Crush” way to Engage

A few months ago, on a Sunday morning, I was strolling near a park close to my house when I saw this group of excited teenagers celebrating the addition of the Pokemon magical creature in their kitty. That got me thinking…..at some point of time in our life, most of us (or atleast one family member) would have been (or currently are J ) addicted to the mobile phone games or glued to our Playstations. Online games indeed have become “the new normal”!

Given that we are at the dawn of rapid business innovation, engagement and productivity continue to remain the key cornerstones for enabling business. In my view, that’s where “gamification” comes into the fore. Just like the famous Candy Crush revolution, I find the premise of gaming mechanisms very attractive: motivate employees by tapping into their need for achievement and thrill by providing the diet of “reward based simulated games”.

There are multiple views oscillating around the pros and cons of gamification. Some people question if it is another futurist fad to spend money…while some believe that it is the fast-track route to raising the bar on productivity or engagement with the Millenials and Gen Z who look forward to this “virtual coffee counter”.

I read these lines somewhere and they echo the philosophy of gamification at the workplace: “In each job that needs to be done, there must be an element of fun. As soon as you find the fun, snap! That job’s a game now!”. Some of the areas where companies are trying their shot and indulging in gaming methodologies are:

· Hiring Talent 2.0: What would you prefer? Computer- games based hiring processes v/s traditional methods. The former one, despite lack of physical presence is interactive and exciting. It provides behavioural insights on the applicant’s thought-process and how he/ she may perform and react at work. From a sourcing agenda, gamification results help align the right candidate behavior with organizational values. From an employer branding perspective, it promotes brand ambassadorship even with the rejected lot as it is always better to tell the candidate that he/ she have not cleared a particular round rather than stating that he/ she has not cleared the interview.

· Tracking Sales Achievement: What fun would it be to have a“technology based leader-board” highlighting “Rocket Singh: Salesman of the year”. Many sales driven companies are leaning on the gamification methodology to drive the right behaviours for their field staff. Instead of vanilla performance ratings, this fair and transparent ranking methodology displays the winners by putting everybody on the same plane during the competition period. The associated rewards attached to reaching higher levels of the game fuels the disproportionate rise in productivity and target achievement. Given the high achievement orientation of the frontline staff, reaching higher levels in the simulation games acts like the classic non-monetary reward whose psychological benefit supercedes the emotional roller coaster of the annual variable payout cycle.

· Learning and Development: The L&D landscape is changing from classroom-led programs to situation based e-learning. Gamified learning is making the educational content stick in the employee’s mind longer due to it’s first hand experiential involvement, competing format, immediate feedback and fun approach towards self-discovery as well as professional development.

· Talent Assessment: Gamification is revolutionizing this segment. With assessment tests taking the innovative format of simulations and games, the choices selected during these games by the employees provides insights which can help HR and business leaders get a clearer picture of the employee’s intrinsic motivators and values and thus plan their growth-chart better.

While a few organizations have started resorting to gamification for driving business results by tapping the basic needs of recognizing and rewarding employees & creating a sense of competition; we are just scratching the surface of this new-age tool to integrate play into employees’ work day. It’s the right time to migrate from small pilots and make gamification “business-as-usual”. At the end of the day, the famous adage holds true even at our offices: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”… “and Jill a dull girl”!