Mundane Musings - Trouble on Top

Conventional wisdom and gyaan, doled out by self righteous gurus in seminars and workshops, goad us to identify our Weaknesses, work on them, Use our Strengths To our Advantage and Come Out On Top.

And like good obedient professionals, many of us burn our creative energies in pursuit of those elusive new highs, setting new benchmarks, exceeding targets set by others, as we go about our daily lives in a rush for that elusive pot of gold. We pause, if at all, to temporarily bask in the glory of a milestone conquered or a win achieved, till the next one is laid out for us. And so the race continues.

There are many others on whom the spotlights seldom focus. There are those why try and fail, those who give up midway ("This ain't for me") and others who don't even try, basking in the glory of the freedom of their choice and the joys that come from being on the sidelines.

That, ladies and gents, is the essence of corporate life for you.

The world celebrates its icons and role models, and provides them the limelight they crave for. It puts them on a pedestal and worships them. What does this mean for the one being worshipped?

It isn't a coincidence that today's world has grey shades in moral and ethical transactions, and boundaries of Right, Wrong, Good, Bad are often flexible and redrawable. Gone are the days when we used to look at our icons and role models as infallible and perfect - We smile when social media and television pulls down societal icons to their nadir, and rub our palms in glee. It's almost a secret, vicarious pleasure - Wow, There goes another one down the hatch!! Is it any coincidence that our own value systems are much more in the grey zone - No longer are things Black or White , as they were in our parents' generation. We acknowledge, accept and justify emotions like envy, revenge, rage, anxiety, anger - and we make sure we can swing the either way when push comes to shove. We tread the middle path - not so much out of balance, but out of the need for flexibility and convenience. Extreme positions in the intellectual space are frowned upon.

Well, I digressed. We will agree that all of us who aspire to reap accolades, respect, status and influence that come with being the best, or even being bloody good at what we do - there is a price to be paid. We rub people the wrong way, knowingly or unknowingly trample souls in our journey ,our peers often resent us, families have to make do with less of us - and this is just the beginning. Look around and you will know what i am talking about. High performers walk the tight rope all the time - it's invariably one thing at the cost of another.

Let's look at it from the other side. Humans have this innate need to size themselves against their companions. When we come across someone who we perceive as better than we are, we experience discomfort, envy, insecurity or fear - even hatred in extreme cases. All of this cloud our judgment and impact our engagement with the so called top performer. More often than not, we view them as a threat, simply because in them we see all that we are incapable of - and that can be scary. Which perhaps explain why that we as a society are more likely to belittle, insult, and damage reputations of celebrities and high achievers than the average guy on the street. 

Where does that leave one as a high performer? He is the fall guy who's constantly on the radar of everyone, being watched like a hawk. Worse, when shit hits the ceiling (or the fan- depending on which part of the world you hail from), organizations expect him to clean up the mess. Once, twice, thrice - it's pleasurable and ego- uplifting, but everytime? Not so sure. One phrase I often heard in my Navy days was The Only Reward for Hard Work is More Work. True that.

What then, do organizations and bosses do to make sure this lot is taken care of.

Top performers, for all that they bring to the table, by paying a price explained above, have significantly higher expectations from the organization, some of which are summarized below.

   - The Boss better be good, if not better. Top performer constantly push the leadership.   They expect their leadership to be a step ahead, invest in them, remove barriers, give   them winning teams all the time. They hate being under the scanner all the time, worse   still, being told what to do. Bosses, particularly if they are insecure ,struggle with   handling these guys.

   - Alphas always look out for new things to do. They are poachable. So as a boss, you   need to go out of your way to make sure they continue to feel valued. Even when they   get poached, they take the best with them.

   - You will always see them bending the rules, and stretching the boundaries. They will   miss an important deadline, citing an excuse, the others can't dream of coming up- say   a PTA meeting or a dance competition at the kids' school - and as a boss, there's pretty   much nothing you can do. As a boss, you constantly live under the concern that others   see you as undly favouring the topper.

   - Alphas will burn themselves out in pursuit of a professional goal. They show superb   levels of commitment and ownership in their chair, often at the cost to the family and   personal relationships. As a boss, you need to be aware of this and sort out any work   /life balance issues that they may be facing. Tell them once in a while, to get a   perspective.

As a society, we will always need people to look up to - People who walk the untrodden path, light up new frontiers for others to emulate and follow. The road to this is strewn with numerous barriers, potholes and 'dark times'. Organizations owe it to their top performers that they identify their pain points and assuage them. Otherwise, it is only a matter of time before you post that board of "Superstar Wanted - Again!" outside your door.