Man Management
I used to work with a leading South Indian private-sector bank many years ago. The Bank was subsequently taken over by an MNC bank that already had a presence in India.
The MNC Bank engaged an HR Consultant to assess the capabilities and potential of the senior management of both banks, so that manpower could be redeployed to the advantage of the combined organisation.
The HR Consultant put all eligible executives through various group exercises, based on a matrix designed by them, and also conducted one-to-one interviews with individual candidates.
In one of the group exercises, the candidates were told:
“If a World Cup cricket tournament were to be organised in India, and you happened to be the Chief Coordinator for the event, list, along with a time schedule, the various arrangements you would need to finalise for successfully hosting such an event.”
Having played cricket at the club level during my school and college days, and being a keen follower of cricket for many years, I was quite confident. To me, this appeared like an over-pitched ball that I could surely hit for a six! I was convinced that I would be able to draw up a complete and precise activity list—and that nobody else could do it better.
I was in for a surprise.
When the HR Consultants shared their feedback on the exercise in the presence of all the executives being assessed, I discovered that the lists prepared by several other executives were far more comprehensive than mine.
I felt rather embarrassed by my own overconfidence.
That exercise made me realise, for the first time, at the age of 52, that I was not particularly good at micro-management. More importantly, I realised that I needed to keep this limitation in mind while discharging my responsibilities in the future.
A few years later, I was moved to a different role and designated as the Nodal Officer of the Bank at the CDR (Corporate Debt Restructuring) Forum.
In our Bank, we had a system whereby, whenever an account was referred to CDR for rehabilitation, the matter was first discussed internally among the Business, Credit Risk and CDR teams. A collective view was then developed before the account was taken up at the CDR Forum.
Knowing my limitations in micro-management, as well as the need for collective decision-making involving three different verticals, I deliberately delegated the finer details of the exercise to the respective teams. I kept myself updated on the subject through their perspectives and then used my judgement and intelligence to present our case at the CDR Forum in the most effective manner.
Knowing my weakness became my strongest point.
As a result, my Bank came to play a meaningful role in the deliberations at the CDR Forum. We were able to protect the Bank’s interests effectively, despite the fact that our exposure in many of the CDR accounts was only a small fraction of the total exposure.
Looking at it from a broader perspective, I would compare it with a game of hockey or football.
The left and right wingers create opportunities and pass the ball to the centre-forward. The centre-forward, working in tandem with the wingers, takes the play forward and eventually scores the goal.
Everyone has a role to play. The leader’s role is not necessarily to do everything, but to bring together the strengths of different people and make the team perform as one.
Executives from our Bank, as well as those from other banks representing their respective institutions at the CDR Forum during the 2005–2015 period, were witnesses to the effective participation of my MNC Bank and the consequential benefits that accrued to the Bank.
The HR Lesson
I believe organisations, and HR in particular, should evaluate their teams, especially people who come on board, not merely on their individual capabilities, but also on how best those capabilities can be utilised, whether at the micro or macro level, in the larger interest of the organisation.
A person may not be good at micro-management, yet may possess excellent judgement, leadership ability and strategic thinking.
The real art of man management is not to make everyone do everything. It is to identify what each person does best, and put that strength to work for the organisation.
Know your troops before they are deployed.