I recently got to know that in my daughter’s school, all teachers have an interesting annual target. The target is that at the end of the year, every child in the class must receive “Certificate of Excellence” for at least one area. The belief is that every child is good in at least one thing. If the teacher doesn’t find anything good in a child, she isn’t looking hard enough. So, a teacher must find something good in each child and then help the child develop it.
something good in everyone
I was so amused by the thought and compared it with the corporate culture of our times. In fact, I shouldn’t call it culture as there is nothing cultural about it. Anyways, …
So, I was wondering if there be a company in which every manager has a similar performance goal in additional to all the regular ones like meeting deadlines, achieving sales targets etc. Each manager must identify at least one area for each direct reportee where that person can excel. And then through the year, help that person demonstrate his potential in the chosen area.
And this can be completely unrelated to the work for which that person has been hired. If someone is good at painting, there can be an exhibition where he/she can show his/her talent in the whole department or the whole office building. If someone is good at organizing hiking trips, some outbound trip is planned where he/she is incharge. If someone is good at singing, there can be informal singing sessions past working hours.
These are just examples. The skills and the way they are brought out can be different. Even making it part of the performance goals is an example. A company can choose its own method of implementing it. The important thing is the belief that there is something good in everyone.
Won’t that company have a lower attrition rate and higher productivity?
Won’t more and more people want to work in that company making it easier to attract people?
Will you not like to work for such a company? Will you not like to build such a company?
The earlier you start, the easier it will be.
Start now…
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#1 by YR on June 25th, 2009 - 3:02 pm
Great thought, I must say.
Who would not wish to be a part of such an organisation (mind it, I am not using the word ‘company’ :)).
But the problem facing such an idea is the lack of concern for an all-round development of employees in most of the present-day companies.
You can definitely work on such an idea in a start-up or your own company, however in alomst every well-settled organisation, the core values and visionary statements may vary, but the bottom line always intents extracting the maximum effort from the employee in order to make the targets/deadlines meet. Means of trainings and personality development do exist, but the primary motive behind them is also to make the employee skilled further for the primary job at hand.
Just my 2 cents..
#2 by Manas on June 25th, 2009 - 3:10 pm
Unfortunately, all that you say is true.
#3 by YR on June 25th, 2009 - 8:55 pm
Yeah, but still there is always a hope.
Although I have not been at such magical places but still whatever I have heard/read about organisations like Zappos, Google, etc.. makes me intrigued and motivated in the such beliefs…