One quality or characteristic that sets apart a well aligned, highly energised unit,whether it is a harmonious happy family,an upbeat corporate or a partnership of a music /script writing duo is the clarity about what is important for the unit,what is negotiable and what is not.As for example if 'Truth' is important for a family, all members including the youngest child knows this & will take a stand on it without compromise. In the same manner in a factory, if 'Quality' is a core for the organization, every one across the organization is clear about this and any suggestion from anyone to compromise it in any manner would be refused by even a junior member of the team without a second thought.Similarly, a music director duo could be clear that they would not create a 'Kolaveri' type of song irrespective of the amount of money the customer is prepared to pay.
In the recent elections to the Delhi assembly,the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the second largest number of seats but was still short of majority. The media persons were asking ordinary leaders of the party as to whether they would form the government with the support of either of the two established national parties.The respondents who did not enjoy any position in the party hierarchy had no hesitation in saying that they would not take the help of either party, as they were two sides of the same coin. The clarity at this point of time was so good that there was no shred of doubt in their minds to make the statement.If a similar question was to be asked to the leaders of the established parties, the answer would have been "our high command" or "national executive"will deliberate & decide.
This brings us to the interesting observation that when an organization or unit is young or new, the clarity as to the fundamentals is very high amongst all the members and the consequently they enjoy high levels of harmony. With the passage of time,as the business becomes bigger the clarity begins to erode and you see the energy levels of the members of the family/organization/partnership begin to sag. Our challenge, whether it is in a family or organization is to keep the alignment and energy levels of the unit consistently high by regular frequent communication & reinforcement of the fundamentals that are the core and non negotiable. Would you like to call them the core values? Whatever you call them,you will be able to assess the level of its clarity in the unit by observing the energy levels in the organization.If the energy levels are coming down you know where the correction or fine tuning is required to be done.
In the recent elections to the Delhi assembly,the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the second largest number of seats but was still short of majority. The media persons were asking ordinary leaders of the party as to whether they would form the government with the support of either of the two established national parties.The respondents who did not enjoy any position in the party hierarchy had no hesitation in saying that they would not take the help of either party, as they were two sides of the same coin. The clarity at this point of time was so good that there was no shred of doubt in their minds to make the statement.If a similar question was to be asked to the leaders of the established parties, the answer would have been "our high command" or "national executive"will deliberate & decide.
This brings us to the interesting observation that when an organization or unit is young or new, the clarity as to the fundamentals is very high amongst all the members and the consequently they enjoy high levels of harmony. With the passage of time,as the business becomes bigger the clarity begins to erode and you see the energy levels of the members of the family/organization/partnership begin to sag. Our challenge, whether it is in a family or organization is to keep the alignment and energy levels of the unit consistently high by regular frequent communication & reinforcement of the fundamentals that are the core and non negotiable. Would you like to call them the core values? Whatever you call them,you will be able to assess the level of its clarity in the unit by observing the energy levels in the organization.If the energy levels are coming down you know where the correction or fine tuning is required to be done.
Very nice article . I completely agree with Rajeev sir with his views.
ReplyDeleteWell said by him that wether it is in family or organisation, our main challenge is to keep the alignment and energy levels of the unit consistently by regular frequent communication and reinforcement of the fundamentals.
In my views, organization core values educate clients and potential customers about what the company is about and clarify the identity of the company. Especially in this competitive world, having a set of specific core values that speak to the public is definitely a competitive advantage.
I would like to simply say that, to become highly energised and effective organization, we have to focus on our some of the most common core values like commitment, integrity, balance and accountability. With a lack of standard in any one of these values may demand utmost attention on priority basis for rectification.
Thank you Ankit for sharing your thoughts
ReplyDeleteRajeev Sir, You are always welcome :)
ReplyDeleteNice Article Rajeev,
ReplyDeleteThe most important thing for any professional organisation is its core values. There are many organisations where core values are well defined & are available in organisation's publications / website, but not practiced. This has no meaning. Core values should be reflected in your day to day business activities, be it with your internal stakeholders or external stakeholders.
Thank you Rajendra. You have hit the nail on the head.Practicing the values in the day to day work is the key.
ReplyDelete- integration of orgn culture n values with core hr processes n practices is an area of great interest to me n hv been driving it actively for my orgn since eight years now.
ReplyDeleteTo practice these core values one of the most effective way is that the leadership team 'walks-the-talk'..But that's not a simple thingto happen.
Additionally also critical to integrate the behaviours we value in all practices incd recruitment on boarding performance management R&R etc . Hv several examples of how we have attempted this through various initiatives over the years.
But Would be even more interesting to know how you'll do this in your organisations!
I saw you comment late. Thank you for sharing. You have stated that "Have several examples of how we have attempted to integrate behaviours we value in all HR practices through various initiatives over the years".
ReplyDeleteSo why don't you share these so that all readers will benefit? You could write an article in this regard.