Beckon goodness

Management

To make one good action succeed another is the perfection of goodness (Ali Ibn-e-Abu Talib RA). Wisdom that emerges from setbacks strengthens goodness in people. Goodness has nobility but lacks quality to be defined precisely and scientifically. Goodness glows. Seek it from within and not from without. A passive, honest, trustful attitude will usher goodness. A quiet and unflustered soul sleeps in thunder. First and foremost, there has to be recognition of the virtue, its presence later; following recognitions, there has to be presence and build up towards its pre-dominance in character and actions.

To the Roman Catholic School, I went, its motto in latin was “virtuous sola nobilitat” rendered into English, it means virtues alone makes for nobility.

So what is a virtue? Plato and Aristotle who wrote and reduced to writing what Socrates spoke on the squares of Athens states, “Virtues are good habit acquired by repeated practice.”

“I left corporate America because of the sense of alienation it created in life and soul,” (anonymous). Human instinct demands moderation and is therefore in constant quest towards creating a balance between moral demands and material demands. It is when the two get far too separate during the professional journey that one begins to experience the vacuum and void, in the demands of the soul.

Some virtues are the edifice upon which character is built; it is the drift of the entire society from being virtuous, that is leading towards development with great speed of our intellectual poverty.

Most are denuded of the basic virtues that must attend, to any person claiming to be part of the human species. A case in point to prove my argument is the mauling and de-spoiling of infants, both boys and girls, by the de-humanised souls. And how unashamedly this “news” is broadcast by all modes of communication. In such a society, how can it be expected to have any different mindset of people, who climb the corporate staircases. Because of the lack of basic goodness, do we witness harassment at workplace! Devoid and completely shunned of virtuous and good character traits, a manager adds misery to the colleagues that fall under supervision.

Often, I reflect if it will be possible, for corporates to have Nelson Mandela’s, Mother Teresa’s, Sattar Edhi’s, and the likes thereof. Not conceivable, you think my dear readers. Try and look around with interest and deeply, they exist, but may be obscured from your own limited “managerial eye”. The effort of the leader / manager has to find them and then stall them as role models. There is so much pleasure to emulate goodness found in others. Try it, if this sounds a sermon, so be it, because this scribe, is now part of your thought process. We all need corrective attitudes for development of goodness in us.

No amount of advancements in technology, be it digitalisation, fuzzy logic enhancements or even artificial intelligence bordering upon human touch, can ever replace the humane element, which is the critical most factor, because as against machines / computers which are programmed to serve loyally, a human is an asset that requires nurturing beyond receipt of a pay check at the end of any month. Our failure to focus on human resources results in the decay of good habits, or even its cultivation, too.

Human resources must receive attention at the board level, for its soulful nourishment. A board that cares through meaningful policy making for the well-being of not-just the staff, but their families included, will have lesser worries about productivity. A contended workforce is a guarantee for enriched productivity. It has been a personal experience that the output of a workforce that is ‘cared for’ produces amazing results.

Many corporate leaders, under the garb of professionalism, behave with colleagues in a de-humanised manner. Their portrayal of ruthlessness is made to be seen as a smoke screen of being thorough professionals. Haven’t you heard this ilk probably proclaim that “I have a no-nonsense attitude”… A manager blessed with virtue and living soul will possess ability to bear a container load of non-sense, which in turn will make him recipient of an amazing overload of commitment from his co-workers. A thought lost in the beguiling maze of arrogance.

Whenever there is change of the helmsman, the first victim of change is the human resource. If the new entrant is wily, he will whichhunt for loyalists and send them on corporate pilgrimage, to areas/(departments) of least attention and importance and to preferably die a professional death in its dungeons. The Mughal rulers’ principle of sending the traitors, force or perceived to holy pilgrimage remains a valid and practicing thought on the corporate scene too. Goodness is lost.

Own cohorts are brought in and promoted. These are weak leaders / managers who seek acceptance on the basis of not their strength of skills and talents but by political maundering. Such manager-ship / leadership fail for being recognised in the annals of corporate history. A move to do such acts shuns all possibilities of endurability. It lives and dies with the respective individual.

In an organisation that I worked and later led too, we came up as a management team with a slogan of being a “Caring Institution…” Care was to exceed beyond staff, clients and was aimed to delve into caring for the society – this slogan was matched by solid policies that went beyond the “regular care” offered by other market participants. Consequently, we witnessed massive growth in numbers – every single KPI showed perpendicular growth.

Lo and behold, when the ‘keys’ of leadership were passed on… The caring institution changed to be a “firing institution” --- the “professional army” set up a Henry – VIII type, scaffolding for corporate be-heading, which was referred back to the Board, with great respect, reverence and awe, as “right-sizing”. A complete illusion. A mirage. A self-destruct approach. Goodness was laid to rest.

A good manager is he, who knows the art of handling lower rate of return on investment; higher returns, any fool can handle… No manager’s shirt should be lost on the floor; instead roll-up sleeves and camp with the workforce, to inspire and draw from them solutions that would lead to better returns and performance. Most managers fail on this count!

I have, in my career come across numerous managers, who thundered and proclaimed, “open-door policy” but invariably all had a very well-guarded, “closed mind”. I say guarded because the secretary and most of the secretariat staff, acted as the bulwark to prevent the meditating Buddha, styled as manager, to interact with colleagues. Aloofness is professional; what a deceitful humbug!

I will try and capture, the traits of a good manager from the Osho book on “The Revolution” by making amendments within brackets: “A Master (good manager) simply listens to you, watches you, observes you, loves you, permeates you, envelops you and slowly, slowly starts helping you to be yourself. A Master (good manager) is not an authority and the Master (good manager) cannot be an authority because he does not give you answers. He (good manager) simply helps you to understand your question. He (good manager) makes your question profound, he (good manager) gives depth to your question”. So what follows is that a virtuous manager guides, holds hand and takes you towards your own destiny.

“It is usually the case most men (managers and leaders, this is my insertion) that their nature is so constituted that they pity those who fare badly and envy those who fare well,” (Spinoza-ethics). To quote my dear colleague William Asad, a distant cousin of W Shakespeare (my hunch), “If failures are rewarded; how can you expect goodness to reside?”

We must allow for an environment of goodness to prevail for best results.

The writer is a freelance columnist