EQ Or IQ Or Both @ Work?

Hello friends, hope all is good with you. This blog ponders over whether one's EQ (Emotional Quotient i.e.  Behavioral Aptitude) or IQ (Intelligence Quotient) or both, play a key role at work.  

Both are obviously, important. However, to some extent, EQ is more key than IQ at work. This is given that while IQ is considered minimum expectation in terms of skills etc., EQ is key to  making things happen while working with other people cordially. This realization should be driving one's actions at work. However, a lot of times one's emotions like anger, ego etc. clouds this reasoning, and makes one act exactly contrary to this. And then one is left facing the professional consequences and trying to recover from the same.  

I wish that in addition to academic skills, equal importance is given to teaching students at school and in college (and that communities and families do so as well), how to hone their inter personal and presentation skills. It will stand them in good stead in their professional lives (and will have a positive rub off on their personal adult lives as well).

A few points/observations from my end below on why EQ is key at work:-

(1) To get work done:- Especially a few years into your career, most of the projects you do involves other people doing the actual bulk of the work, and you needing the help and approvals of others. This could involve peers, leaders, team members, and colleagues in support functions, internally. And also business/vendor partners or clients, externally. So, if you do not work well with people, all work is kaput. Period! Man or Woman is most definitely not an island at work!

(2) It is key for your people / your teams:- As a leader, you are only as good as the team you have. So treasure your team, and do what you can to help in their professional growth to retain them. This is one more reason you should watch your own behavior at work. So that, folks would like to work for you. Also, if you yourself do not do well professionally to be around, or build the right connects with leadership, how will you manage to get career growth for your teams?! Also, if you make enemies at work and you are safe (due to your position, etc.), guess who your enemies at work will go after to cause you indirect hurt? Your team members! They could scuttle your team members' salary hikes, promotions etc., in internal appraisal moderations, internal job interviews etc. 

(3) Within Org/internal dealings, are as important, as with external players e.g. Clients:- Many a professional is at their best behavior with clients but are nasty or indifferent to folks within their own Org. e.g. We have many a Sales person at their best behavior with clients, but not so when it comes to them dealing with internal folks like the Pre-Sales or Business Development folks. Pretty counter-intuitive I would say, given that in most Orgs, Sales folks are dependent almost always on e.g. these Pre-Sales folks for delivering anything to their clients in the deal or sales process! Sales folks who appreciate efforts of Sales support folks and e.g. get that extra 1-2 days from the client for a RFP response submission, will notice the enthusiastic sales support they get :-). 

(4) Grapevine is also key :-  Many who are involved with client work and sales, focus on inter-personal and inter-departmental dynamics within a client's Org to manage e.g. a sales deal. However, how come the same is ignored conveniently within one's own firm? If you do not understand intra-company dynamics among people and teams, you could stir up hornet's nest(s), and leading to unsavory situations for yourselves, your teams, and eventually for those you serve i.e. clients)! To be clear, you don't need to indulge in work place politics yourselves. However, you do need to be aware of it and ensure your actions are managed as per the realities of office politics which exists in every every office (and will exist till end of humanity). A relative who used to run a pharmacy with 2 staff members, told me that even in such a small establishment there is some form of professional rivalry between those 2 folks :-). 

(5) EQ is important in/at every type of Org, role, and level of seniority :-  Even CEOs have to manage the Board, investors and analysts, other than keeping their Org motivated. Even college freshers in their first jobs, need to get reviews done etc. cordially, even when not leading teams or managing clients independently. Last but not the least, there is a misconceived notion that certain types of careers e.g. in Academia or in Public Sector do not need EQ to be a focus aspect. e.g. a research grant request for you and your team might get rejected by the concerned University body, given your lousy image due to poor EQ. Even in "Individual Contributor" roles, EQ matters. If you are a brilliant but boorish inventor, e.g. you will be subject to niggling approval headaches etc. And the staunchest of introverts does feel the pinch of all this, while facing adverse professional fallouts.  

(6) Team, peers, and seniors - All are key :-  Needless to say, don't burn bridges with your senior leadership. They do hold the key to most aspects of evaluation at work. So e.g.  don't get into an intellectual argument with a boss in a public setting, as even if you gain a seeming victory, you have lost (mostly) at work. Simple rules of human psyche! Just not worth it! Some folks, get this, but don't cover themselves in glory in their dealings with their peers or teams. Since, "If I have taken care of the bosses, how do others matter?!" Not true! You need your teams to help you at work, and peers do come handy e.g. with their experience in a sticky situation. Also if you aim to get in to the leadership team of your firm, a key aspect of the evaluation is how your teams and peers perceive you. e.g. your leadership would go with views of your team member who has been with the firm longer, on if you meet the firm's standards on performance and conduct. So to be on the safe side, be good with all!

(7) Your personal image at work, does matter :-  It most definitely does not pay at work to be a brilliant but uncouth lout, as opposed to being a widely liked professional. Rest assured to hear this perpetual whine from the brilliant louts about the widely liked but 'less bright' guy/gal' getting all the success. Note that, at no point am I saying that only a friendly disposition with no real skills will help you become successful. However, as you get senior, someone with a better EQ might do much better than you even if he/she as per you is lower on the IQ scale (unless train smashingly bad on the IQ front). Someone with a bad, loutish image at work, is avoided to be on teams working on career enhancing deals and projects. Don't have any doubts that, EQ is a very big part of the consideration on whether you get that coveted leadership position. By the same token, folks should not leave a company on bad terms, as a lousy impression left could harm your prospects of being rehired if you fall on bad times. 

(8) Only technical and subject skills alone, cannot get things done for you :-   Please understand that, you most probably will never be the only skilled person around at work. So, your good EQ and behavior could become a differentiator, and anyways cannot harm you. As a leader, since hands on work is more done by the teams and you lead them and manage client expectations, your EQ becomes very key as a measure of your competence. Also, doing good quality work sitting in your corner quietly, and it getting noticed on its own, does not happen usually in the real professional world. In addition to your quality of work speaking for itself through e.g. client accolades, route it subtly to leadership via your immediate manager while giving due credit to your team members who helped you in the process. 

(9) There are no secrets in the professional world :-  Good EQ would also include to be silent when need be, and be discrete about what we tell anyone else at work. Please be sure that folks at work do talk to each other, and there are no secrets at work. So, e.g. don't crib about things at work to colleagues, though the way human  mind works you would find it attractive to "confide"  to someone at work. :-). If the wrong kind of utterances from you reach the unintended recipient and especially through a person with malicious intents not known to you, the consequences for you might not be pleasant (sometimes unknown to you). 

(10) Do not confuse good EQ  at work with flattery etc.:-   While it is true that there are folks who resort to flattery rather than display genuinely good EQ, do ensure that we don't misconstrue good EQ as flattery and hence not make the right efforts to improve our own EQ at work. In fact I would go as far as to say that, better to be a person with equal skill who does flattery, rather than be someone with poor EQ. One would otherwise professionally lose out to the flatterer unnecessarily.

My sincere apologies if you find any or all of the above points incorrect [Or even unsavory :-) ]. Do feel free to send in your comments.    

Changing One's Line of Work /Job Function

Hope all of you are good and staying safe. I am returning to this space after a long hiatus, close to almost a decade later. :-).  I have now moved into Management Consulting and I am a Partner with one of the Big 4 firms in their Consulting arm. 

Today I am writing on the topic of what are few of the points one should consider when one is not just changing a job, but actually moving over to a totally new job function e.g. Moving from Software Development and Management to Frontline IT Sales, Or from Frontline IT Sales to Management Consulting. This is based on my personal experiences, and I am happy to have readers add their own perspectives in the Comments section. I have in my 20 years career, made 2 such career moves. After a 7 year career in Software Development and Management, I did a Full Time MBA and moved into Frontline IT Sales. Then after doing 8 years of  Frontline IT Sales, I moved into Management Consulting. While I can say that the first career move was somewhat planned, the second one just happened circumstantially.   

I am listing below a few of  the points which folks considering such a career move involving change of job functions, can keep in mind. 

(1) Do You  Really Want To Do It?:- Think well before taking the step.  It is not going to be an easy change, especially the further down in your career that you make the change. The best is to make the change early in your career and preferably e.g. post an MBA, and if possible as part of a Young Leaders or Leadership Grooming paid/salaried Program of the likes that GE, TAS etc. recruit folks for, wherein you are quickly rotated around roles in various business functions to find your niche. The sooner you do this in your career, less steep will be the learning curve in the new job functions and the implications on your career of any slip-ups by you in the new job functions would be lesser.   

(2) Leverage Strength of Earlier Career in New Job Function:-  Choose a new job function where at least few of the skills you gained in your previous career, are a strength for you and help you get considered for job positions in the new job function and importantly once you join help you to be valued in the new job function. Otherwise you will be deemed a total fresher in the new job function and will be valued only as such. e.g. When moving from a Frontline Sales role into a Management Consulting career, the Sales experience will stand one in good stead, since especially at Senior levels in Management Consulting one is expected to go out in the market and get new business for the firm in addition to essaying the other Consulting roles like leading project/engagement delivery

(3) Be ready to be humble and adaptable, and almost student like:-  Do realize that even if you have already clocked many years of work experience, in the new job function you are effectively a fresher. The new employer in a way has taken a leap of faith with you, and while they do support you as much as they can, it is more imperative upon you to be an ardent and humble student of the new line of work and that you learn fast and become productive soon. Your achievements in the previous career should help you do better in the new job function, and not come in the way of you being humble and learning fast in your new professional avatar. e.g. If you move from Frontline Sales into Management Consulting , you need to be able to now work in an environment where you have to work on Sales, Pre-Sales and Project Delivery, since in Consulting all these functions are performed by same teams and same people across all levels in the firm. If you take the stance that you were in Sales, and will hence do only Sales in Management Consulting as well, then it will not work for your firm and definitely not for you as well!

(4) If you need to go back to your previous career, do it sooner rather than later:- Ideally having made such a major career move, you should dig in your heels with persistence and commit yourselves to be in the new job function for a decently long term, especially the more senior you are in terms of job experience. This is because changing job functions too many times is not just difficult if not impossible, but also does not do well for  your professional profile and resume. If you must go back to your previous career, do so sooner rather than later. This is because the job function you were in previously, would understandably have difficulties in taking you back if you go back later as you are now more senior and also have been working in a different area since the past many years. e.g. If you have moved from Software Delivery into Software Frontline Sales, and want to go back into Software Delivery after many years in Sales, it will not be easy. This is because the frenetic pace at which Software technologies are changing, your earlier Software Delivery experience might no longer be relevant and there would be a mental barrier to recruit you thinking that you have been away from Software Delivery for too long. 

Hope you find this post interesting, and feel free to send in your comments. 

Take care and do stay safe. 

   

Live Zestfully

Hello friends. I am revisiting this space after many years literally :-). So much so that now I have moved into a different age bracket technically speaking :-). Today's topic is somewhat around the same "issue", to get some sort of activity going again in this space. 

Looking at lively, chirpy and energetic people, I have always wondered why people become old in spirit (of course you cannot do much about the looks beyond a certain limit) with time. 

A youthful spirit needs to be nourished by activities which need a suitable set of companions to indulge in. Most friends of your age tend to slow down with years due to health issues ("Hey, the doctor has asked me to abstain from drinking", "My knee gives me trouble and so I cannot play" etc), changed priorities ("Sorry, cannot leave the kids at home and join you folks at the tavern" etc), consider themselves as having got too old ("How can we do that at this age", "I don't like those kind of jokes any longer"), or good old sheer laziness and lethargy ("Yaaawwwnnn").  The way to counter this is to associate yourselves not just with people of your age who are of a youthful disposition in spirit, but also to be friends with younger folks.

Staying off the "Old boy/Old girl" bandwagon also is not such a bad idea. It is all very nice to have memories of the good ol' days when you were in school, college etc. However to get obsessed by that and to then keep uploading faded and crumbled photos from then, always recollecting the "times" (How Life Was Great In the '90s variety of reminiscence), is not at all cool!!! For heaven's sake move on! Live in the present and look towards the future. 

There is no need to feel guilty to crack the same types of jokes etc, as you are not "too old" to enjoy life and to necessarily only indulge in heavy duty, serious stuff like "AAP", "aam aadmi" et al . The kids and family, who love you so much, would not mind you having a good time with your friends once in a while. Spouses and kids should ensure that they do not pull away folks from good friends who tend to be a source of life and energy in one's lives. Don’t keep calling his/her cell phone unless it is an emergency, when once in a while he/she is taking a much deserved and well earned break with friends or indulging in a hobby.

All of the above when combined with what semblance of work and life balance one could realistically manage to achieve, will help one to live zestfully as long as possible. 

Job Designations, Titles Et al

Evangelist, Chief XYZ, Consultants of all Hues, Architects coming in different shapes and sizes, a variety of Managers, and many more....Business Cards and Linkedin Profiles scream out all these different job designations at you. Some sound weighty, some normal, and some confusing.

Job Designations are definitely one HR tool used by Organizations/companies to attract new talent and to appease what exists within. There is definitely nothing wrong with that. It is just that sometimes a cursory look at some job titles/designations without further probing into what the role entails, leaves you with that little doubt about what exactly is the job all about. Have listed below some such designations that I have seen (just some examples I have seen).

(i)"Product Manager":- I have seen it to mean different things as listed below in different companies
--> Shortening of "Product Marketing Manager", and essentially a member of the Marketing Team in a Product company
--> A Role wherein the person interfaces with the Sales Team, Customers, and In-house Production/Engineering teams, to help design the roadmap of the product evolution/development such that it is in line with demands and requirements of the market/customers. In many companies, this role could also involve some form of targets for the sales revenue for the product
--> Full-fledged Sales roles with sales quotas/revenue targets in Product companies, to go out into the field and hunt for new customers
--> Technical Project Management roles in the Engineering/production department of some product companies

(ii)"Consultants" :-)....If dealt in detail, this could fill up a page or two.
--> The ever revered and coveted Management Consultant positions with the Mckinseys etc of the world, who play in the big league
--> The technical experts (IT Consultants) who actually deploy IT systems like SAP etc across industries
--> In many IT companies, a Pre-Sales role which entails technology or industry domain knowledge, is also a designated as a Consultant
--> Of course you have the HR Consultant, Financial Consultant etc, going all the way to Lifestyle consultants etc

(iii)"Architects"...Let alone, the one who helps design homes and buildings, but it could mean any of the following too:-
--> In a Software product company it could mean a person who handles the software architecture/design of a product (or products). He could be known as a Product Architect
--> In the same product company, you could have the same person (or another person) as a Solution architect i.e. one who actually helps design the implementation of a customized version of the product for each customer
---> In some IT services companies, a very Senior Software Designer or a Technical Pre-Sales Personnel, also has a designation as Architect

(iv)"Director":- In many companies, middle management roles have job titles which contain the word "Director". Of course, it is different from a person who is a Director on account of being on the Board of a Company

(v)"Business Development Manager" in the IT industry
--> The Full-fledged Sales role with sales quotas, to go get new business from existing or new customers
--> In some companies, Managers of Pre-Sales teams which help the Sales personnel with Demos and Proposal making, also have this designation (Well, essentially both Sales and Pre-Sales make up Business Development, and so this is correct. Just that job applicant should be aware that the designation could mean either one of the two).

(vi)"Associate Vice Presidents (AVPs)"/"Deputy General Managers (DGMs)"....Note: - Whatever I have written below is mostly based on what I have heard people say, and could most definitely be also be due to these people (at least some) suffering from a case of "sour grapes" :-)
--> AVPs in the Banking and Financial Services industry - Many people claim that this designation is bestowed on people in this industry much earlier in their careers, as compared to in other industries
--> Have seen a Privately owned Telecom company in the APAC region to have more DGMs than in Public Sector Banks in India. While you could easily meet with DGMs in that telecom company, the DGMs in the Public Sector Banks are virtually out of reach on account of their seniority

Sometimes the business environment in which a company operates (e.g. when it comes to what will go well with customers) and what stage of growth the company is in, also decides what designations need to be given to each role within the company. This leads to the same job designation meaning different things in 2 different industries, and sometimes in 2 different companies in the same industry.

Like I said at the beginning, there is nothing wrong in all this. It just adds to the colour of the working world. Having said that, job aspirants need to be aware of this phenomenon and should do the required research on what exactly the role entails irrespective of the job title/designations. Also, recruiters should use this awareness to evaluate resumes in greater detail, irrespective of what job titles are listed by candidates/applicants for any job position.

Is There Really A Perfect Job You Naturally Fit Into?

We have all heard that. "Hey, do not be a square peg in a round hole". "Do a job which is your passion". However, in truth are most people in the world able to get into jobs which are the "perfect fit"? Most "Square Pegs" chisel themselves into "Round Pegs" over time. Not everyone is as lucky as is the God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar who truly "does not work a single day of his life", since his job is his true passion (On a separate but pertinent note, many books have been written and will be written, on how Sachin took his passion to a sublime level with his hard work, perseverance and, love for the game of cricket).

The world at large can be divided into 3 broad categories in this aspect (Taking a career in Writing as an example):-
(i)Ones who rough it out - The unsung, unnamed "would-have-been" writers/authors, who many a times die in penury and sometime succeed with splendid rags to riches stories of struggle to tell
(ii)Ones who build a financial base and safety net as "Fat and Healthy" Square Pegs in a Round Hole, and then move to the Square Hole which though less paying is closer to their hearts (whether to succeed and stay, or to fail and retract) - Famous examples being the likes of Mr. Chetan Bhagat who made his fortunes in the Banking industry before wielding the writer's pen full time
(iii)The Square Pegs who chisel themselves into Round Pegs to Fit the Round Hole (Or put up somehow as square pegs in the round holes, if the chiseling fails). Wannabe Shakespeares or Wordsworths, choosing to be Einsteins, Donald Trumps etc
In the above list, (i) and (ii) are a Minority. The Majority are in category (iii)

People in category (iii) do not necessarily choose their careers the way they do it, due to anything which could be attributed as a serious shortcoming in them. They do so due to multiple reasons which could be viewed as being perfectly valid and sometimes not within even the individual's control:-
(a)Circumstances e.g. an unforeseen family tragedy at a crucial juncture of one's career
(b)Personal Priorities e.g. Money being a priority or a need (or both), could cause many to not seek jobs aligned with what they feel passionate about (at least not at the start of their careers)
(c)Opportunities e.g. a person born in the hinterland of any country with say no schools to go to, would find it a much tougher journey in terms of his or her career

Is the situation really that bad? Maybe not so.
--> We all have days when we feel that we are made for another job. It is almost always temporary. It is human psyche when under stress to look "for the grass on the other side which is always greener"
--> Maybe what you feel is your true passion and true calling in life is not really so. Maybe you are best fit for the job that you currently do, and in fact might be a big failure if you follow your "heart" when it comes to your career. Many times there is a logical reason why you are what you are and ended up doing a particular job
--> Maybe this is God's way of running the world. If everyone runs after their passions, maybe there would be no one to do many jobs necessary to run the world.
--> Importantly, as we all know, there is nothing in the world which is 100% perfect. So, we can never be perfectly made for any job i.e. even the roundest of pegs needs some chiseling. The want to do whatever one does perfectly and sincerely carries many a person through his or her career (and thankfully ensures that the world moves along pretty fine). If this was not true we would not have had the numerous Executives who have worn different hats like Sales, Operations, Finance etc with reasonably equal aplomb.

So, everyone only has 2 choices (choosing either one is correct) - Either have it in us to rough it out till we find a square hole, or patiently chisel away at oneself into a round peg. So, since all of us have hence made the right choice, let us close this chapter in a happy mood!! :-)

Taxation types

Some taxation "types" followed by different countries:-

(i)High Taxes Imposed, and high-end services provided to citizens e.g. USA, UK etc

(ii)No Taxes Imposed, and very, very high-end services provided to citizens!!! e.g. Dubai and other GCC countries

(iii)High Taxes imposed and poor, pathetic services provided to citizens!! e.g. India.

"Placeholders"

I am back after a long break from blogging :-). The topic of today's blog post is a tad bit random in nature.

I am sure that all of us are familiar with the term "Placeholder". I am going to write something around this term, in this blog post.

Many of us who are working with (or have worked with) India based companies in the IT / ITES services space, would probably identify with what I am about to mention in this paragraph. Often I see the signboard (Yes, the ones with a velvety red background, with letters in golden colour playing out some form of greeting etc), near the entrance of my office building, and see a message which goes like "XYZ Co Welcomes You!" The word "You" in the Welcome message is what I call a placeholder:-). Yes, you guessed it right - It means that there are no "welcom-able" current or prospective customers visiting the building that day, and so we welcome....You!

The "placeholder" phenomenon can be extended to other areas of life too.....

Many of the sports channels in India, many a times adhere to repeat telecasts of the classic knocks played by Sachin Tendulkar way back in 1998 vs Warne & Co in Sharjah, during periods when no live sporting events are there to be shown. [Please note: I am a die-hard Sachin fan, and watch each of these repeat telecasts with equal zeal. Just that I wanted to throw around some more "placeholder" examples. Warned you - This post is totally random:-)].

One of the Hindi movie channels (Don't remember which one), uses the Govinda starrer "Dulhe Raja" as a placeholder, with repeat telecasts of this "superhit comedy masala".

A few years back, one of the English movie channels was using the Stallone starrer "Cliffhanger" as a "placeholder".

Ok, folks I am done with all the random notes:-). Will be back soon with something "less random"... Enjoy....