My Experiences in The Second Year in Leadership Role

This is somewhat related to my article” my learnings in the first
year of leadership role”.

My experiences in the second year in leadership role..
By Sashi Prabhu
“It was the best times, it was the worst times” …. This is straight out of
Tale of two cities by Charles Dickens…..
Taking into context in today’s scenario… some organizations excel and
continue to reap huge profits and unprecedented top line growth while
some organizations continue to call the recession a spoilsport.
The cycle of boom & bust continue to dominate trends….
Great organizations ride the boom and defy the bust…. And they do this
by focused approach on human capital.
In organizations that are not so great we see a trend …. We now see

people talk about Human Capital in their vision statements… in their
glossy Annual Reports.. and as much as possible in TV interviews to
show case the cause of how they really care for their people………
Usually these companies do not try to leave any physical footprints in
this area apart from intellectual analysis, masturbation and paralysis
after that.
But we still find top notch performers emerge in these organizations.
I did a bit of research of my own in the Indian context over the past year
or so and to the best of my limited ability tried to sum up some
Of the cutting edge factors.
I call these cutting edge factors as they help these top notch performers
out perform their peers be it boom or be it bust. Be it hail or brimstone &
fire. Be it high tide or be it low…..the cutting edge factors facilitate their
growth to the top more rapidly than their peers.
1) Deliver high quality results.

Hitting your target is important but isn’t enough.
To be a top notch performer you have to get your numbers with merit
& distinction without stepping on toes or at the expense of any
colleagues… you need to have core competence to deliver results
but along with that you need to demonstrate tangibly that
you have the support of your colleagues and can influence all
upstream & down stream process owners.
2) Learn a new discipline
Try to master a discipline related to your line of work.
Initially you are recognized for all job related technical skills.
Then you manage a small work group of employees and then move
on to larger teams and senior roles. It is when you want to reach the
senior roles that technical skills dim away to make way to
motivational roles … team building role……strategic
thoughts….implementation of these to convert these to ever growing
top lines and bulging bottom lines..
3) A sense of urge to succeed.

This urge drives them to give not 100% but 120% and that too not at
any cost but by using values as guiding factors. These are the people
who are in a position to fuse their individual values into the values of
their organizations. The strategy house of these organizations usually
uses values as a foundation.
4) experimentation bug
These top notch performers are on the hunt for high productivity
paths to set the bar high. They have it in them to change a
challenging and unfavorable situation in their favour not by treading
the beaten path but by leveraging their keenness to find advantage
and mitigating the risk if any in the process.
5) Be have:
Main Entry: be·have
Pronunciation: \bi-ˈhāv, bē-\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): be·haved; be·hav·ing
Etymology: Middle English behaven, from be- + haven to have, hold
Date: 15th century
Transitive verb
1 : to manage the actions of (oneself) in a particular way
2 : to conduct (oneself) in a proper manner
Intransitive verb
1 : to act, function, or react in a particular way
2 : to conduct oneself properly
That’s what the dictionary tells us. Although results gets us looked at
its only “outstanding”( be careful what this is … varies from
organization to organization) behavior that gets us noticed and keeps
you on the list of top notch performers.
5) Timing & antennas

A sense of timing is of utmost importance as to deliver results
consistently this trait is paramount. A mistimed approach could be the
recipe for a career derailment. The antenna is also a good sensor
which a top notch performer possesses which helps them give them
the “gut “feeling about pursuance and backing off from projects and
paths they choose.
6) Openness to ideas
Performers do not argue at the begin during the initial generation of
ideas or solutions. They make it safe for people to suggest crazy or
controversial ideas. After they have some ideas, then invite people to
push back on them.
7) Build teams
Bring everyone into the fray. Gently rein in people who talk too
much and encourage those who are silent to speak up.
8) Identify cues
Don't just listen to people's words, watch non-verbal behavior. Are
they smiling? Really listening? Glaring, smirking, or rolling their eyes?
Model constructive non-verbal behavior and coach people who
(perhaps unwittingly) interject negative expressions.
9) Learn people's quirks.
Some have remarkably thick skins; nastiness doesn't faze them.
Others are so thin-skinned that even gentle critiques send them into a
rage or a funk.
10) Dependability
Ability without dependability is a liability. Recognizing this is very
important early in a career. This trait along with determination will
take top notch performers long way.
To be on the list of top notch performers is a skill as well as an art.

There are no ground rules and to make matters worse there is no
tenure. Performers usually fall off the list or eliminate themselves if
they are not ecstatic enough through the rough ride.
I have also tried to list down some certain factors that cause the fall of
the list
1) Desire to please the boss.
2) Resist giving honest feedbacks.
3) Avoid open disagreement with the boss.
4) Poor performance in the new role clubbed with repeated failure in
quarter on quarter.
5) Behavior not in line with values.
6) Not being mentally prepared to be on the top notch performer list.
To sum up in a few words results always make a difference but the

major differentiator is the behavior and the crux is how one goes
about all the cutting edge factors.
A word of caution to HR managers handling programs for top notch

performers.
To be able to maintain a brimming list of top notch performers there
needs to be consisentency, clarity, consensus and creativity in HR
practices to cultivate the crop of a higher & finer breed of performers.
By consistency I mean have talent spotting & developing programs

through out the wave forms of boom and bust. Most HR usually
abandons these programs during the bust period in the garb of cost
cutting. One also needs to be clear on the skills & the patterns of
behavior that the organization is looking forward to from these
performers in the future and these must be communicated with
utmost clarity. There needs to be consensus on the list of the
candidates .some times it turns out some that some top guy does not
like the looks of the top notch performer and by investing in such
people you are hurting the person and the organization by many
more folds so have a consensus among the leaders (it’s a different
story that the leaders usually do not look at each other eye to eye).
Be creative about the next breed of performers that you lay your eyes
on … learn from the experiences.

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This is somewhat related to my article” my learnings in the first

year of leadership role”.

In organizations that are not so great we see a trend …. We now see

But we still find top notch performers emerge in these organizations.

1) Deliver high quality results.

3) A sense of urge to succeed.

5) Timing & antennas

To be on the list of top notch performers is a skill as well as an art.

To sum up in a few words results always make a difference but the

A word of caution to HR managers handling programs for top notch

By consistency I mean have talent spotting & developing programs

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