Past Failures = Success, one can get it!

The year was 2011 and the month was December. Engaging with the team member in a tough situation gave me a bewildered feeling. The background of this had its own share of pains. Having a team member who was consistently underperforming obviously had a consistent impact on the overall business. The discussion on him and his area had become more like a topical event for all stakeholders.

While I was traveling to meet him alongwith my Manager, my mind took me into a flashback. Questions of the following kind were popping up in my mind -

- Why the continuous perseverance didn’t work with him for his own good?

- Why did it happen was the 1st question?

- Were his pains genuine?

- Is it appropriate for organizations to have a humane aspect and not analyze everything just basis numbers?

- What will happen today? Will I be able to take that unfortunate decision?

- Should I trust in his situation?

As I started to think about the initial days of his joining, I realized that his entry was purely my decision. As a leader of the unit, I started to feel that I was equally or more responsible for his failure. He was selected with a lot of fanfare and a few days after he joined, I had received a complaint against him about his absence from work. I went into the details only to realize a challenge he had recently faced in his family. I wasn’t in the loop on this and hence this communication gap got settled and I informed the client team about the reason for this miss.

While I always strived to look at the brighter side of things, the 2nd such issue came to my notice. This time, I realized that his close family member is undergoing treatment in the hospital. To manage this, he has to keep visiting the hospital. The most startling thing was no communication or prior discussion since this was a routine affair at his end.

I started to analyze his performance only to realize that he wasn’t on top of the market-led challenges and there were quite a few issues that remained unattended for a long time. Generally, whenever a person joins any new organization, there’s always a settling phase to understand the nitty-gritty of the business. In his case, this period wasn’t utilized appropriately and it became a lot more visible. My eyes were on him and caution became a humdrum affair in his case.

We used to meet every month for our reviews and his performance was under question with a lot of externalization of issues. I had already started mentoring him in line with the challenges connected to communication, honesty, and his own commitment levels.

With time, I started to see changes in his behavior however that wasn’t reflecting in his business numbers. He had another emergency in his family and thus another month went by. I was mentally aligned to exhibit perseverance in his case.

He was going through a lot on his personal front and that was also reflecting both in his own mental and physical agility. I didn’t even realize when 6 months were already behind us. I did have a heart-to-heart chat with him and he promised me to bring things back in action.

Through this reflection, I remembered the quote of Henry Ford which stated – ‘Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently’

We reached the office and it was time to sit with him again for another discussion since another 3 months went by. My office team was against him for his laziness in response coupled with below-par leadership qualities and business deliverables. My mind wasn’t accepting all the negatives against him.

As he started, I could see his bloodshot red eyes, his shaking fingers, and his voice was a bit shaky. We built confidence in him and he shared all the work that he had done. There were few aspects that were never brought to our notice and those were some best practices that were initiated by him. During the course of the discussion, I also learned that he is on his way to becoming a father. He asked for one more chance and he promised to prove to us. I had a one-on-one chat with my Manager and convinced him that we must give him another chance and that I take complete ownership and happy to follow what happens if things don't fall in place.

What happened in the succeeding months can be best explained from this quote by Paulo Coelho –

“And, when you want something, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

His performance not only improved significantly but he grabbed several appreciations on his initiatives. There wasn’t a looking back for him and seeing him rise and shine even years later brings me happiness beyond words.

What did I discover from this -

1. Just don’t believe in numbers, look through the intent to find ‘Diamond’

2. The worst challenges can be solved if one can just ‘Communicate’

3.‘Success’ is doing better today than yesterday

4. One can be benign even when things are not falling in line. The right ‘Mindset’ can bring ‘Success’

and,

5. Do trust your instincts!

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