Managing Dickheads
"We are so different and individualistic that we can't work together." Subroto Bag chi, a senior executive in wipro technologies and Indian Technology MNC, said to his chairman in a straight talk. But Premji, the chairman, simple reply to the statement was, "That's because we should work together." High performers are very erratic, individualistic, and egoistic in nature. Less experience senior management team would think only negative characters in them, a destroyer, keen to break well defined rules, unreasonable, a person who can't take a company to its goal. Is that true in real world? Just to name a few Louis Gerstner, Steve jobs, Larry Ellison, Richard Branson, Henry ford etc. These super human just can not be defined by any lexicon. You make a study on one and other will take 180° turn to the table on that definition. Super performers are always at 180° of any defined personality. To work with these kind of people a whole new set of skill, are required and managing a group of super performers is a job only suitable to a similar devil. But wait for a second; does all these disqualification make these high performers unsuitable for a place in your team? Think again, can your team live without these out of box thinker. Answer is yes. A major portion of any team are made of media are managers. Team still perform (obviously in relative sense) But put one these 180° spit firing performers, you run a speeding speedboat we can win the race or get topped down in matter of time. But you will be agree with me that only a speedboat can win the race, not a two boat. Your only function (mind it, a devils job it is) to sit on the stirring and keep the synergy of all system working together to achieve the required result. Managing these high performers is an art, a test of your extremes. But the outcome is many fold which makes it imperative to have these dickheads in your team as many as you can. They hate to loose. They want to win every day, every hour. They are high in energy, high in temper, high in ego. They are intolerable to mediocrity. For them anyone less than 100° is a sinner. They go to extreme to produce result and get angry to the level of hell if someone does not get in done with their efficiency level. They may even break loose on you if you come in their way. But those are the ingredient of a successful. Winning team. You need to give them space, be patience, sit and watch. Your task is to keep them not breaking others boundaries and something in the team's benefit let them break it. It is a tight ship to manage but at the end of the day, it is your capabilities to direct their high energies and enthusiasm to produce required business results. Take my words, your only job here would to direct these dickheads in a particular direction and your company success is on autopilot. So go and find at least one. Big Dickhead, you hate keep in your team. Arvind Kumar is an Electrical Engineer from a premier Institute, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. He has 4 years experince in marketing business consulting services and marketing services. He is founder and CEO of http://www.nuttymarketer.com. You may reach him at arvind@nuttymarketer.com.
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