CHANGED GOALPOSTS - ORGANIZATIONS AND TEAMS

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End of the road for an organization! It seems the forced vacations are about to end soon. Well not the best choice of words. But this is how most of those of us who are having the luxury of WFH and are very well getting paid during this vacation of sorts. A more than fair enough way to sustain I believe. The economic need to restart the engines of the world are quite compelling though. However, there is also this feeling of losing out on the recently forced freedom of working as per one’s own whims and fancies.

Some would have found it refreshing due to the possible creative juices oozing. While others would have found it unimaginably hard to go by for the need of being available as good as 16*7. Back to the world we came from, albeit a few changes but mostly so!

With the recent opening up of the lockdown across the country, though partially, there are more and more people visible on the roads now. Seems rather doubtful if its basic necessities that they are out to get as most seem to be dressed for rather a professional outing. With the ID card of one's organization strips flashing flamboyance of the wearer, it is quite getting evident that the 9-5 work life is slowly getting back to it’s heals to start and sprint soon.

Experience in person

Due to my own organization and my surroundings, I have come to notice that this possibly last ode to the lockdown will soon be a thing of the past. We have been seeing a host of offices across India slowing moving back into becoming places with life. Restricted but still definitely peeping out slowly with and of life. For a good period of 40+ days the premises seemed far from it. As if no one ever existed in the barren lands of the corporate hive. The cubicles slowing basking in all fairness to welcome its deemed inhabitants.

In the past 40+ days of the lockdown there have been certain realizations that the mind and the soul as well as the body have come to accept. The most important of these to summarize would be – we live in today not for tomorrow – that is how we are built and are supposed to be living, we are told by the godliness around us. But the safety of civilization has brought around us the need of so many things, that actually one can possibly do without. All we need is food, water and shelter.

Back to yester-age

In current times, we are behaving like the hunter-gatherer we were as a species, possibly. Every day during a particular time of the day we go out to forage in the vastness of the surroundings. Hunting for things that will fulfill our needs for the coming few meals and then again back to square one. There are differences, of course, figuratively, sociologically as well as biologically. Not that I mean to say this hunting and gathering is independently sourced.

The successful survival

A successful today or yesterday! Rather the fact that the money was in our pockets, saved from the previous hunting-gathering expeditions taken. This very fact made it possible for us to remain safe and have a chance to get the exposure to the feeling of working an entire month+, then not feeling the pinch of the enormity of difficulties around; that others of our species faced. All but thanks to one's organization.

The newness of the 40+ days of this expedition brought about a new sense of purpose. How can the mighty human race which has surpassed the test of time get held by the changed dynamics! Well not to sound howling at the top of one’s voice, that is how many of us went about this new way of life that stared at all of us. The beginning was faded, not at all clear. Soon it got a bit stable as the commotion was cleared. Finally, it started to become the new normal. But then out of all of civilizations inventions, the most that got us to the modern age – Industrialization and its allies – came toppling down.

Some shock brimming

Economic activity remained to the confines of a few necessities and essentials. This led to the growth of money to stagnate. Not one organization but all stand affected. All money making and money growing fundamentals shook. Be it the black gold or the actual kind, we saw a dread of things that awaited us now. By the end of the month it made clear that the revenue cycle was now slowing down if not stopping. Revenue cycle slowdown meant only one thing. How far could the vacation be allowed to extend? Not much to be honest. The monthly “Ting” sound that brings the joyous Goosebumps in the employed among us brought Goosebumps right. Not the joyous, you believe, rather the opposite kind.

Getting in return a fraction of monetary value that one was used to. All the pleasantries that get confined in one’s verbal arsenal are now no more caged. But then you cool. You come to your senses. You realize the enormity that is there in front. This is the feeling that millions if not less, would have got after maybe a few days to a few weeks of this “Vacation” so to speak that we all – the better placed were enjoying. After all this was the time of our lives handed back to us like we dreamt.

• “All days a Sunday!”
• “Life’s a vacation, enjoy each moment of it!”
• “A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking.” - Earl Wilson

There would be many more quotes that you, the reader, would have found interesting about life being something to enjoy. Agreed! Read again and see Life is something to enjoy! A caveat that no one tells us about possibly – life is what we see go bye-bye! Yes – not something that goes-by, but rather bye-bye!

Some detailed reasoning – well not too detailed!

Money flow was slow. Businesses were down. Your organization, my organization, all our organizations stand still! Hunting and gathering expeditions started getting more difficult by the day. Restrictions came in – predatory kind, just like possibly our ancestors would have felt. Need the food, need the energy, need the elixirs that life gives! But the predators are waiting around every nook and corner, invisible to the naked eyes. Special armory is needed to fetch it out! Look at the irony of things. The visualization steaks of a tribe of cavemen stuck between a juncture!

Go out – risk possible death due to an aggressor | Stay in – die of possible endocrine failure!

Former is a possible physical blow – You never knew what hit you possibly! And the latter a draining episode that very well took you to failure in classic guerrilla kind. Read the lines and read between the lines – I hear being said a lot! For a chance I choose to use it for my own expression of voice. Pun intended – for those of you who get it!

Synergy of a new kind

Out and out – time to synergies efforts at all levels. The open heart-to-heart or rather mind-to-pocket discussions that many teams see happening now bring about a great reality! There is no ‘we’ at the end of it all when it comes to companies/businesses/teams! That is the scenario until there is a commonality! After that it is only those who add to the value matter!

The interesting matter to see is the duplicitous nature coming out in a matter of weeks going by. Within the initial period of the first month leaders came out to ‘motivate’ their teams to be strong – an effort to keep the flock together! Keep at it and ‘we’ will ride through this difficult of times. Soon on the monthly milestone the ‘we’ disappeared from the discussions that were on the table. Now the verbose was more so ‘team-players’. Not one but all organizations and teams I have had the opportunity to talk with during these times share similar timelines and discussions. Again, a confusing term for the lesser kind. The missing pre-word being ‘productive team-players’! It was only at the month+ milestone that the real sense of the words ‘we’, ‘team-player’ found its true. We now understand it better than the conniving value it is being exploited towards!

My take on it

A better strategy I believe is to call a spade a spade at the right time, not an opportune time. Tell your team-players where you stand! In reality. It is better to get a physical blow than having an endocrine failure. Now possibly you make head and tail of use of the verbose. Human species rather all life – tends to behave like a spring board when brought to a confined zone.

A rosy picture at a wrong time like this inculcates lethargy in the organization. It builds a world far from the actual. It builds a thought of calm where there is none. Communication holds the key. Not fear dispensation but yes, the right communication. And when the ‘Honcho’ has displaced objectives or a displaced path to the actual objective, both scenarios give same result, they more or so build the most latter. I have personally seen the productivity of the team take a hit in the three phases I have tried to discuss here – though superficially! The difference was something to ponder on as the ratios were quite interesting. I present before you a simple chart to showcase what a minute tweak in the communication ends up getting.

How it fared in numbers?

Immense amount of papers and stories are written of being one-self. I do not wish to add one more to it. What to read into these numbers – you the reader – may think! Without giving much background to the analysis or to look at the possible foreground what I wanted to list for myself was the fact that this made me learn:

-    When we hear of commonalities mostly people bring synergies to the table. This leads to a good production value, something to be happy about. It gives the marker to make future comparisons against. Taking anything from 0 and bringing it to 100.

-    When we hear of individual benefits arising out of the defined commonalities mostly people lead to higher production. They tend to be a good team. Taking that 100 to 166.59 which is a markup of 67% growth

- When we are faced with fear dispensation most of us let go of the armory and start moving towards a possible lost battle. Bringing the flow of the trajectory downwards to a drop reaching 75.

However, having said that, experience also shows that in times of apt communication again the trajectory is moved to the positive end. This time I am awaiting its re-occurrence for me to be able to add chapter two of this monologue.