Top To Bottom

If you are not growing, you are dying. It was one of the first few realizations as I embarked on my corporate journey. The ecosystem was designed in a manner that only the best succeed. What a clever idea!

However, as I progressed, I realized the burden of sustaining excellence. As I excelled at my role, I left many mediocrities behind. So what could go wrong with excellence, you think?

A lot.

The closer you are to the top, the further you are away from the ground. Simply put, one loses touch with ground realities. The further you are away from ground realities, the more decisions you make at the top begin to lean on idealistic models and less on complex realities.

As you go high, the ground-level problems become tiny, and you assume there are no problems. As you scoff and dismiss, some of the most significant projects fail to minor issues.

The Boeing 747 has six million parts. Forty thousand rivets on one wing. If one of those rivets is damaged, it could risk the lives of four hundred and sixteen passengers.

Many intelligent minds in big sea-facing glass cabins strategize about the future of technology and come up with a profound philosophy for the rest of their ecosystems to follow and execute. 

However, when that message reaches the street, it has a different meaning and connotation. The ground staff does not relate as the reality differs from the company's macro vision.

Who is bridging the gap? Who is responsible for relating the macro vision to the micro reality of the workforce? Merely announcing a new corporate strategy or repeating what you heard at the strategy meeting is not enough. 

The harmonious function of these small parts makes the whole engine work. As a leader,your job is to show how it works for the micro level. Whether by way of a training program, road show, clinic calls, debriefing sessions, or even career counseling, it is your job as a leader to land the macro vision, whatever it takes.

Enable the micro to maximize the impact of the macro.

Building a team is complex, but pushing an ecosystem is enormous. Take care of the individual contributor, the lone rep on the street, the partner team in a tier 2 city! No amount of penalty will drive them. Instead, reward with the tools and path to success; you will find that the eagle has landed.

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AB

Tune in to BasTalk : a podcast about life at work. 

Here are some episodes to get you started: 

Apple : Toxic Work Culture

Spotify: Confirmation Bias

Amazon: Career Gaps in resumes

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