The Ekalavya Column - February 2012

 Why do we frequently fail in assessing others correctly? Why is it that those we thought to be great candidates while interviewing them turn out to be disappointments later?

Only this morning, we were in conversation with a 52-year old CEO of the Indian operations of a Fortune 500 company, whose CV reads like this : Bachelor’s from one of the most renowned colleges in India, MBA from one the best known institutions in the world, and 30 years of work experience, the first 20 years of which with an MNC that is probably the most respected in India

He brought up the matter of a recent recruit, a Mr. X, with national-level responsibilities, taken on board to provide strategic thrust in an area of critical importance to the organization. ‘The way it’s going, looks like things might not work out with him’ said the CEO

Our immediate response : ‘Things will never work out’. In fact, we’d said so months earlier when we’d met with Mr. X for the first time at one of our organizational transformation sessions

Let’s pause here

What is that we at Transforma foresaw that the CEO could not? Are we clairvoyant? How is it that we saw it as a certainty, not a mere possibility? And reached conclusions that were not marginally, but radically different?

Remember, we are talking here of a recruitment decision made by company which has tremendous standing world-wide. Strong practices in multiple areas. As also a decision approved by an individual who is marked not only by his academic or work-experience credentials, but a humane and just person, given to taking well-considered actions

So what had we seen in Mr. X others couldn’t? The answer does not lie in what others could not see, but in what we at Transforma ignore, and what we instead choose to focus on

Over the last decade, in the course of assessing tens of thousands of individuals from across companies, industries, levels, age-groups and countries, a simple metaphor we have deployed is that of a tree, - a metaphor we call the Transforma Tree. In this, a key point is that we allow ourselves to jump to conclusions about the health of the tree by looking at its visible part. The lushness of its foliage. Whether it is laden with fruit. The profusion of flowers it has on show

The question is : will examining this truly help correctly predict the future fruit-bearing capability of this tree? What if there were a terrible storm? Would the tree then survive? Or if there were three years of drought in a row? Would it deliver in such harsh conditions?

That’s what we focus on while assessing others : not the top, but the bottom part of the Transforma Tree. The part below the soil. The part that is not visible to the eye. The part that tells us the true story. Of whether this a case of a yet another genius only in a bull market or one truly capable of delivering fruits even when the going gets tough

So we disregard the top part of the tree in an individual, that part that we call ‘Aptitude’ – things like academic credentials and scores, demographic details, domain expertise. And zero in on the internalities, trying to sense the non-visible parts – the part we call ‘Attitude’. The part that is made up of his values, his belief-systems, the thoughts and feelings that drive his actions in any sphere : personal or professional

For a genuine advance indication of what is to come from an individual, the easy-to-scan externalities: aptitude, are of near-irrelevance. It is the difficult-to-sense internalities that truly matter. So do not stop at what the person already knows. Look instead for his ability to learn, his openness of mind, whether he shares his knowledge. Note his intelligence, but look for his ability to work hard, his tenacity, his resilience. Not what he can do by himself, but along with others

It is by looking out for those with less-than-promising root systems that we at Transforma write the chronicles of deaths foretold, while even well-intentioned CEOs of large organizations sometimes allow themselves to get carried away by the visible, - the part above soil-level

And it is through this primary focus on the non-visible that we help organizations, including dealerships across the country, improve their performance dramatically. By identifying for them which of the current employees are not worth carrying further on their rolls. Who to retain. Who to invest in. Who to promote. What responsibilities to give them

So where’s the barrier in putting this to practice? Ah, - it’s in how we allow our minds to work

Don’t think so? Let’s try just one of many well-known examples

Take a look at these two thumbnail sketches. Which one does our conditioning make us believe holds more promise : Person ‘A’ – kicked out of office twice, used opium in college, sleeps until noon and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening, or Person ‘B’ - a decorated war hero, a vegetarian, a non-smoker, who drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on his life-partner?

Made your choice?

And you chose Person ‘A’ – Winston Churchill or ‘B’ – Adolf Hitler?