When do Self Evaluation Tools Work?

Do self evaluation tools help in an organizational context?

Or rather the question should be ‘When do self evaluation tools help in an organizational context?’

There are 2 requirements for ensuring effectiveness of self evaluation tools. Firstly, respondents must be willing to mark choices which genuinely characterize them instead of marking ‘more socially acceptable choices’. Secondly, respondents must be willing to identify areas for action and act on them. Often the usual response after taking a self evaluation tool is ‘I am of this type and that explains why I behave the way I do. I am ok with this and I don’t think I need to change anything.’

As Managers and Facilitators at workplace what can we do to make self evaluation tools more effective?

It is easy to say that we must administer these tools to individuals only when they are ready for the same. There is merit in this school of thought but there is also a danger. This danger is of managers/facilitators being passive spectators in the entire process; of absolving oneself of any responsibility to actively shape their workplace.

The question is ‘When are individuals ready to answer genuinely to self evaluation tools, identify action areas, and act on the same? What can managers/ facilitators do to create relevant environmental conditions?’

There are two ways of addressing this situation. You either create conditions for ‘safety’ or of ‘discomfort’. Do you remember the times when you experimented or when you felt you changed significantly? These would have come either from situations where ‘discomfort’ with status quo was so high that you had no option but to change, or from situations characterized by ‘safety’ where you chanced upon a better way of doing things while experimenting and adopted the same.

Which one is a better environmental condition to create – Discomfort or Safety?

Would you want to be in discomfort 7 days a week, 365 days a year? I am fairly sure most people would not want to be in discomfort continuously.

I do feel the challenge for managers/facilitators is to create conditions of ‘safety’ at the workplace. When an employee feels safe, he is willing to experiment. Self evaluation tools can work under such circumstances. Feeling safe is a state of being we are okay being in continuously – rather we would want ‘safe conditions’.

Does this mean there is no place for discomfort at the workplace? There is place for discomfort – but not continuous discomfort. You would not want your adrenaline pumping 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

What should a manager do if he realizes there is no sense of discomfort within his team ever? I would contend it does not matter as long as from the safety domain within which the team is working, it is extending itself and performing well. And if you really want individuals to answer genuinely to self evaluation tools and act on identified areas, I doubt whether conditions of discomfort/non-safety are effective.

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Sourav

Phenomenal Field and Informed Choices

Some months back a friend shared an article on how learnings from the Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” can be applied to selection and recruitment. The article spoke about 3 ways of approaching selection and recruitment:

• Psychometric paradigm – this is about selecting a candidate for the organization. Hence look at what is required of an individual to do the job and then assess the candidate on these parameters. The underlying assumption here is that jobs are relatively stable and individuals are the variable which result in performance or non – performance on the job.
• Social Process paradigm – an interview is a part of wider gamut of social interactions..don’t look at an interview as an end in itself..be sensitive to people.
• Person – Organization Fit paradigm –This is about both the parties getting full information on each other and then making an informed choice. Hence there is a lot of mutual information sharing which happens. Hence anchoring candidates onto the company would start off much before making the final offer. It would ideally start off from the first interaction he has about the company. Second, you just don’t stop with evaluating the person for the job. You get to know his “phenomenal field”. The underlying assumptions here are that jobs are not relatively stable and individuals are not the only variable that impact performance/non – performance on the job. You will need to evaluate an individual in terms of the context he would be getting into (the work team, bosses, culture, etc).

Should we look at the “phenomenal field” of an individual?

At the end of the day, all change is caused by individuals. Hence individuals are the instruments for change. But then is there a case for considering the social context s/he would get into? There is a risk of stereotyping here but at the same time it is imperative to understand how an individual would be able to work with and through the key stakeholders in a social context. The focus here is not on whether the individual is significantly different from the others in the system. The focus is rather on how the individual would be an active creator of effective social interactions.

What about “anchoring an individual” towards the company?

Anchoring an individual should start off from the first interaction. Irrespective of whether an individual gets selected or not, s/he still would have formed impressions about your company and would be a messenger. Sharing information with individuals is an important part of creating buy in for the individuals. Anything which is different is bad – that’s normal human reaction. This is the mindset of a new comer to the organization – especially a lateral hire. Anchoring him around how things might be different in your workplace is an ongoing responsibility of the recruitment manager until the joining process is completed, and subsequently of the immediate boss.

In today’s world the individual chooses the organization as much as the organization chooses the individual. At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of the organization to ensure it makes an informed choice and the candidate gets the opportunity to make an informed choice too.

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Sourav

HR-Team Discussions

What are town hall discussions between HR Managers and teams they work with meant to accomplish?

Visualize a HR Manager having a discussion with a team of around 15-20 employees. What should be the content of the discussion? Who all should be there? What should be the decision making process during such discussions?

Here are a few thoughts:

• I frequently hear that it helps line function to get an independent point of view on health of HR processes in a team. This is the reason why HR Managers usually meet teams without representation from the line hierarchy. But at the end of day, implementation would have to be done by line function. Hence it is necessary that all relevant people are present in the room. Until and unless it is an exigency (e.g.- a complaint against the boss needs to be investigated), the team should always be met along with their reporting manager. The reporting manager has implementation authority when it comes to his team, and any solution proposed which does not having his buy-in would not work.
• There might be situations when reporting manager or other key stakeholders are not in the room. In such situations it is necessary that all stakeholders are talked to before a conclusion is formed on any issue. So when points are raised by team about important stakeholders not present in the room, the HR Manager should mention something like ‘I’ve heard what you guys have to say on this issue. I would further talk to XYZ person to understand his take on the issue. I would get back to you on the way ahead by around this time.’
• Such forums can be used to discuss in detail certain key HR initiatives/processes being focused on in the year and get the team’s buy-in for implementation at the local level. Hence it is necessary that HR Manager is clear about initiatives/processes he would discuss and what outcomes he would aim for in the meeting.
• Such forums are a place to explore health of HR processes in team. This is not easy to evaluate. For any HR process there are 2 levels of evaluation. First, has process being executed in letter? E.g – have goal setting, mid term reviews, and end term reviews happened for each team member? Second, has the process being executed in spirit? This is where an exploration of how the conversation in each part of the process was would help. The objective at this second level is around – was that particular conversation effective in meeting objectives of the process?
• Such forums also provide an opportunity to understand intra-team dynamics. Is this team effective? How are the relations within the team? Again the unit of observation and analysis would be conversations within the team.
• It is important that clarifications on road ahead are made. Whatever can be committed to should be committed to right away. A note to all stakeholders who were not present in the room should be sent. The objective is to ensure these stakeholders also understand what behaviors they might need to change or what the team expects from them.
• There is a possibility that a HR Manager comes across a team which acts powerless or doesn’t take ownership for issues it faces. The primary objective of the discussion in such meetings would be to make the team members aware of the dysfunctional role they are playing and egg them on take ownership to resolve the issues they want resolution to.

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Sourav

The Thinker or The Implementer

Take a closer look at the statue in the photograph. Would you call him a Thinker or an Implementer?

What about you? Would you classify yourself as a Thinker or as an Implementer?

What are the words/phrases we associate with a “Thinker”? Intelligent, Brooding, Sure footed, Reflecting, Intellectual, Philosophical - are some of the positive ones. Indecisive, Not so sure footed, Risk Averse, Slow, Less energetic - are the not so positive ones.

What are the words/phrases we associate with an “Implementer”? Fighter, kaam kar lega, “fist pumping, chest thumping - no odds are too high for him”, “Sleeves rolled up, sweat dripping from forehead, on the battle field guy”, crisis manager, never says no – are some of the positive ones. Tunnel visioned, Can’t dig beneath the surface, Knows the whats but not the hows and whys, Can’t think beyond the obvious - are the not so positive ones.

Compare the positives and the not so positive words/phrases for the two categories and you would see the point I am trying to make. We tend to classify “thinkers” and “implementers” as two mutually exclusive sets. If you are good at thinking then you surely are not so good at implementation. If you are good at implementation then you surely are not so good at cognition. Our day to day lives abound with examples of this belief in action.

We tend to classify certain jobs as requiring more/less brains than other jobs. Consequently we classify them as “our type” or not “our type” of job. Certain jobs require you to get your hands dirty – you get to know the ground realities in such kind of jobs. Certain jobs require more grey cells – we should do these jobs after we have got our hands dirty.

The belief also gets reflected in the way we take many of our people related decisions: “He is a thinker. This job requires someone with action orientation”. The belief also gets reflected in the way we approach situations – “This is a crisis situation. There is no time to think; let us act”: “If you think, you can’t act fast enough”: “This is a complex/critical situation. Take your time! Give it a lot of thought before you act!”

I am not sure as to how thinking and implementing can be separated from each other.

Almost everyone I have asked “Are you a thinker or an implementer?” has chosen one of the two options – have hardly come across anyone who says that I am both. But when I ask them to recollect instances where they have displayed cognition and/or implementation, they are able to come up with situations in both cases.

By the way, “The Thinker” is the name of the statue! :)

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Sourav

A Cup of Tea!

A cup of tea is not just a cup of tea – it is much, much more than just a cup of tea!!!

There is no wrong time to have a cup of tea. You can have a cup of tea when you are feeling good or bad, when you are in office or at home, when you are in a flight or in a train, when you are at a bus depot or a roadside dhaba.

The "cup for the tea" matters. A plastic cup is a strict no, no! A glass cup is on! A “bhaar” (Bong term for an Earthern cup) is definitely on – but for that you need to travel to the Eastern part of the country.

The form of the tea matters too. Dip tea is not on! Neither is the tea from the vending machine! Green tea is okay and so too is Black Tea. The sinful “overflowing with milk” tea or the Orange Pekoe tea from Ooty is definitely, definitely on! And when mom makes tea or some of my Mashis/ Pishis make tea – you can just survive on that tea for the day.

Where one has a cup of tea means a lot. A cup of tea at your desk is no fun. A cup of tea in a conference room is meant to be a conversation starter or interrupter – in such cases it’s almost as if it the tea has a secondary function. Its blissful to have the morning cup of tea while seeing the sun rise and its soothening to have the evening cup of tea while seeing the sun set.

By now you must be wondering as to why I am drooling so much over a cup of tea. Let me confide to you a secret. I just finished my last cup of tea for today and I am wondering at the prospect of having no more tea for the day :(. But then I will have my first cup tomorrow while seeing the sun rise :).

So with that realization let me sign off – but not before I thank the Krishna’s, Chitto’s, Dadu’s, Navina’s, Gokul’s, and Sai Sagar’s of the world. May God bestow upon you all the prosperity in the world for having provided me with my life fluid - Tea! :)

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Sourav

A Hearty Lunch!

Today I had a late brunch,
Around noon I wondered whether I should have my lunch,
I thought and I thought and I then thought again – finally I went to Sai Sagar on a hunch,
Even though I was suffering from a bit of cash crunch,
There on Paneer, Dal, Rice and Kanda I munched,
Now my heart is filled with joy after a hearty lunch,
I fondly remember those times when “what’s for lunch” brought sister and me to trade more than a punch,
Ah! The old times leave my heart and mind entangled in a bunch,
On this note I would take your leave – after a hearty lunch!

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Sourav

It Averages Out!

“Everything averages out in the long run!” Hmmmmmm......Does it?????

Franc Puskar’s team lost the finals of the 1954 Soccer World Cup. Roger Federer “finally” didn’t make it to the semi final of a Grand Slam. The Australian cricket team “expectantly” lost a match after winning a dozen matches continuously. What’s common between these situations? No prizes for guessing this one - it obviously is the “law of averages” propping it’s head up. Inevitably the law catches up with you!

Can we ever escape the law of averages? Certainly not! The chances are that the first mistake you make after a string of successes would be attributed to the law of averages. Can we avoid making mistakes? The answer’s an obvious no! We would make a mistake - the only things left to be determined are “when” and “in what frequency.”

So what does the term “law of averages” mean to us and how does it make us feel? First, it’s “a law” – and a law “is not questioned”:)!. What kind of words do we associate with the word average? – Mediocre! Not the best! How do we feel when someone calls us average? – certainly not great! All of us want to realize the “best” in ourselves :).

On one hand the law of averages seems to be inescapable while on the other hand there is this human need not to feel average. So what does one do?

One choice we have is to give up and do nothing – let us leave everything to fate; let us go with the tide; time is circular – anyways everything equals out in the long run; we rise from dust, and we go back to dust too.

The alternative choice we have is to pursue what we feel strongly about. What we have in our hands is the “here and now” and let us make an attempt to do the best we can in the “here and now”. What happens over the long run – let us see! We would periodically fail and for all we know things might anyways average out over the long run. But atleast we would have had the satisfaction of trying. Else we just might slip into a state of inaction.

It takes an unreasonable man to accomplish anything meaningful!

Let us try inspite of the law of averages and not not try because of it!

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Sourav

Whats in a Name!

"Quite a bit actually!"

I had not realized this till the time i started thinking about what should i name my blog. Should it be a fuzzy name - something like "I am thinking!"? or should it be a buzzy name - "Thinking loud"?. Hmmm!!!!! But then......ain't all of these too "eeee" kind of names (as one of my friend's likes to call them)?

Hold on!!! I think I am getting too far ahead. The question to be asked is "On what basis should I name my blog?" Aaaahhhh! The brain takes over again! :).... You know what! Big deal! Let the brain take over - anyways we make too much fuss about this right brain and left brain divide - there is usually an assumption that we have a brain and frankly even if we have one, do we use it frequently enough ?:)

So on what basis should i name my blog? Usage of pun - my favourite - is a must ..else all my efforts would go to dust (There i go again with my rhyming)!. It also should talk about why i am writing this blog - I want to share what i feel and what I think about everyday occurences around me. I want to speak about what thoughts occupy me while i "walk".

A plethora of ideas came to me but only a few stayed with me:

• aMUSE - my old favourite - but then it's already been used somewhere.
• aVIEW - hmmm! okay - but not good enough.
• aMUSEaVIEW- sounds better
• OFF-COURSE - yeah! but doesn't capture the essence of it.
• Can i think of a name which talks of a sound? - "Call of the Wild" ---noooooooooooo!!!!!!! The idea of a sound based name is out - right now!!! This name actually caught attention for all the wrong reasons - cheezy to say the least!

But finally, after about a fortnight's deliberation, i have made up my mind on what to name my blog.

So be there with me while I "Talk the Walk" - and sometimes stop to have a cup of tea while sitting on a rock (There goes the rhyming again! :) )

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Sourav
P.S - A big thank you to the grand old man who seeded the idea of writing a blog in my mind.