In all of this, how prepared am I to take this next decision? Do I understand where I am and how I meet the required performance standards? Whether my contributions are being recognized in the organization or by the associates with whom I deal with on a day-to-day basis? To help decipher and make the most informed decision, we need to evaluate what we do, how we do and most importantly – where we do and then choose the best breeding ground for our invaluable talent.
Our career and growth is akin to a farmer and how he cultivates his land. Apart from getting the best seeds, the best infrastructure, the best irrigation system, the best organic culture and much more, it finally boils down to whether the ‘soil’ is fertile enough. Whether the conditions are good enough from the time the seeds are sown right until it is harvested. So, let's look at the types of soil and the seeds that are sown, which is akin to our organisation and our talent contributed, respectively.
Rocky ground environment:
This is where the environment is tough. People around you have no feelings and it would seem that you are in the midst of a lifeless environment where neither your manager nor your peers have feelings or words of encouragement. Often, many of us get stagnated in our jobs when we don’t get the required support from people around us - sometimes even without a pat on the back. Seeding talent in such an environment would mean that our contribution is not well-accepted and it may seem mediocre to the boss as they have a fixed and rigid way of seeing things or getting tasks accomplished. In such conditions your talent may not be able to take root, because of the hard-wired policies that are practiced and may not be congenial for you, especially if you are full of ideas.
Pathway environment:
In this environment, you may be pushed around, sometimes without any direction. Your ideas may be trampled upon without even being given an opportunity to express. People who are stuck in organizations like this, often end up job-hopping. The situation doesn't allow people to settle down, understand the system and bring their respective value to the table. Leaders in such organizations are more mindful of profits over people, thereby impacting employee morale. Employees who find themselves in this pathway environment may sometimes get lucky as they may be pushed and nudged to fertile or compatible surroundings and there maybe chances that they blossom at a later date. It is up to us to evaluate whether or not the pathway environment suits our goal, especially by just toeing the line of the organization while overlooking our own goals.
Thornbush environment:
Under the guise of working in a challenging environment and a place where one is required to think out of the box, it is very easy to get lured into joining such organizations today. However, without the given infrastructure - be it on the people side or on the process side, many companies have what I call the ‘thornbush’ environment. While it is good to be in a place that challenges us every day, with constant change, etc., it is also important that adequate space and empowerment is given to employees to fulfill their dreams or at least an opportunity to contribute to the organization with their sustainable ideas for the future of the organisation.
Fertile soil environment:
Even before we look for an organisation that has a great stage for talent to be exhibited, we should ask ourselves if we have the right skills, the right attitude and ethics that are befitting the organisation. Our decision should be backed by choice and not compulsion. Just because others seem to find this fertile environment, should we also be part of it? Are we worthy of it? Would it be suitable for me and my career objectives? Sometimes even in suitable conditions like this, employees may not be successful because they fail to develop themselves by constant upskilling thereby perhaps getting side-lined.
So, the need of the hour is to focus on our ‘controllables’ – which is our preparation. Introspecting and preparing to ‘seed’ ourselves into fertile ground either by seeking green fields in our current organisation or outside.
The final verdict is for us to thoroughly evaluate our current work environment versus the industry to check whether we are on ‘Rocky ground’, ‘Pathways’, ‘Thornbushes’ or actually on ‘Fertile soil’.
The thought of seeding our talent in organisations should always start inside-out with us being ready and prepared from within and then looking out to make that next decisive move.
Happy seeding!!
