Dial "D" for Dilemma - mapping an evolutionary career journey

In a classroom full of young and enthusiastic budding management graduates in a "tier-III" B-school the other day, I remarked: " I am sure all of you have read Peter Drucker's books or heard of him" . As expected, all the students nodded their heads in agreement vigorously and the classroom echoed with a resounding "yes". My next question evoked almost complete silence, except for a handful few who feebly raised their hands, when I asked : "How many of you have heard of Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner?" 

Zillions of articles, books and books have flooded the leadership arena. But the concept of dealing effectively with dilemmas that these two management gurus have articulated struck a chord in me. The ability to reconcile dilemmas, in their esteemed view, is at the heart of leadership. I couldn't agree more.  

Similar to the biblical 7 deadly sins, the two authors have put forth the concept of 7 divergent dilemmas, as described below:

• Universalism (Rule making) versus Particularism (Exception-finding)
• Individualism (self interest & personal fulfillment) versus Communitarianism ( group interest & social concern)
• Specificity (preference for precise singular "hard" standards) versus Diffusion (preference for pervasive hazy patterned "soft" intangible processes)
• Neutral (emotions inhibited) versus Affective (emotions expressed)
• Achieved status (status earned through success, track record, accomplishments through effort) versus Ascribed status (status assigned to a person's background, potential e.g. family lineage, education etc.,)
• Inner-directed (control and strong direction from within) versus Outer-directed (control and effective direction from the external environment)
• Sequential time (perspective of time as a race with passing increments) versus Synchronous time(perspective of time as a "dance" with circular iterations)

It is pertinent to note that these seven dilemmas are almost universal across all domains. We encounter one or the other of the above dilemmas to varying degrees in our daily professional and personal lives. An eight dilemma: "Centralization" versus "Decentralization" may probably apply more to corporate structures than to individual beings; nevertheless, this dilemma revolves around the concept of power and its concentration or distribution.

Reconciling these dilemmas is by no means easy. It would be tempting, in most situations to adopt one or the other extreme stance in different situations, but those choices could turn out to be sub-optimal or detrimental choices, sometimes with undesirable consequences. For example, in a highly volatile situation, it may be prudent for an individual to stay calm, composed and not express his or her emotions (neutral), but it is possible that moderate expression of feelings (affective) may salvage some of the losses if no opinion is voiced. People may applaud successful self-made entrepreneurs (achieved status), but show equal or more deferential respect to individuals of noble descent or royal heritage (ascribed status).

The dilemmas can probably be approached by the line of questioning put forth by Stephen Covey in his book, "The Third Alternative", wherein the reader is provoked to consider a new idea that has not been previously conceived by either party in a conflict or disagreement situation. The book deals with conflict management more than dilemmas per se, but the idea of dealing simultaneously with opposites to derive a different previously uncharted path resonates to a large extent.

Interestingly, one's career journey can be perceived as an evolutionary ascendance while dancing between the extremes of the above 7 dilemmas at different time intervals, to arrive at an equilibrium over time. That equilibrium could resemble the attainment of maturity, which is not an end-point in itself, but a state of resolution after a series of realizations and trade-offs on either side of the dilemma. Often the solutions to dilemmas are derived from synthesizing elements of both extremes or using forces in each extreme to reinforce the other in a circular framework.

To illustrate the concept of dilemmas through a career journey, consider this scenario- as youngsters fresh out of academic institutions, in the first jobs, our attitudes would be individualistic, rearing to earn our reputations through accomplishment and achievement while scorning ascription, demonstrating affective and inner-directed behaviors, while seeking specificity in guidance, direction and inputs from superiors. However, life may not move in tandem with our aspirations and mindsets. As we grow in our corporate lifespans climbing the elusive career ladders, while individual brilliance is often recognized (individualism), teamwork becomes essential (communitarianism), Demands of the job may not be articulated in precisely clear terms (specificity); they may have to be derived and understood through nuances and situations (diffusion). Each of us would want to believe that we need to be treated uniquely (particularism), but the organization may have set policies and common frameworks to address its workforce (universalism). Thus our career maps could resemble a series of spiral threads representing the swings of evolving dilemmas at different times in the journey. Dancing between the extremes and finding the balancing "sweet spots" within the landscape of the dilemmas would be a key challenge.

Dave Ulrich, in his pioneering book on HR, "Human Resource Champions", describes four roles for HR professionals:

1. Administrative Expert
2. Employee Champion
3. Change Agent
4. Strategic Partner

Variations of these terminologies have appeared in the HR lexicon today. However, if we were to relate elements of the leadership dilemmas to the above roles, it would probably not be far from the truth to perceive that the "Administrative Expert" role would involve a great degree of specificity, whereas the "Change Agent" and "Strategic Partner" roles would tend to be relatively diffuse in scope. Likewise, the "Employee Champion" role would call for an inner-directed competency. As an HR professional transcends these roles in the career journey, s/he would be grappling with these elements along the way. People who will emerge as leaders in this journey are those recognize, navigate and reconcile such dilemmas.