Even after you change....your problem presist? A HR message

Every species adapt or adjust or show some level of flexibility or compromise to survive. The fear of loosing life if it fails to exhibit the above traits only makes different species of animals and plants either to adapts, adjust, compromise or be flexible. The question is when one adapts due to a strong trigger or cause then it is supposed to over power and over come fear about the same cause/trigger that has caused such changes. But most animals, even after their adaptation, continue to be in scared and fearful state. The question is why adaptation and fear go together? Shouldn’t adaptation in fact remove fear?

The management truth is different. Adaptation or adjustments or flexibility are meant only to minimize the risk/danger and not overcome. It means, if the prey animal has adapted to run faster than its predator, it has only developed the capability to over speed the predator to escape and not to overcome predator.

The adaptation of prey species to run faster than its predator cannot change the predatory behaviour or instinct of the predator. It means, your adaptation is ‘you’ specific and it is nothing to do with others. Similarly, the predator too would adapt to overcome its prey.

It is like I will change because you and you change because of me. Then we both shall continuously change because of each other and let such process continue. Because of the above, the balance of ecosystem is maintained and both the prey and predator enjoys equal right and justice.

The unfortunate part in most corporate is that the bosses would expect their subordinates to change. When the subordinates change for the sake of the bosses, bosses would continue to feel happy and proud initially as they have successfully changed their subordinates. But that would never solve the problem because the bosses would remain unchanged. In due course of time, boss-subordinate conflicts become acute.

The bosses always want their subordinates to learn newer techniques, skills, knowledge etc., but the bosses never update and become contemporary. That is how most corporate functions these days. When people who have developed newer skills and techniques unfortunately find no utility value in the same organization, naturally they would leave their organization. The organization and the bosses would call such people ungrateful, thankless etc., as they have developed all such skills and techniques only at the expense of the organization and once they have learned, they wants to join another organization. The truth is that the organization never finds any value for such people.

When the organization has made its people to adapt and acquire newer skills, the organization and bosses also must adapt and create sufficient opportunities to fully ‘use’ the newly acquired skills of the people. If such scope is not there, then the people should not have been made to adapt and acquire new skills.

Philosophy of ‘you change’ because of me and ‘I change’ because of you, the corporate must follow. It means, both the people and the organization must evolve together and not separately.

S Ranganathan