Rigid or flexible people can do wonders in Corporate – Learn from Emus and Kangaroos

Emus and Kangaroos cannot walk backward. Emus are flightless birds while the kangaroos, the marsupial animal, predominantly live in Australian continent. Due to the anatomical architecture of their feet, both the animals cannot walk backward. For Kangaroos, the tail acts as third foot and helps the kangaroo to balance its body while running. Both the animals can attack humans also.

This limitation of kangaroo and emus, the corporate leaders not only should understand but also should accept in its sense. Only when they accept, the people can deal different situations and people.

Like how Emus and Kangaroos cannot walk backward, some people cannot walk back on their commitment or statement or belief system or opinion or concepts. These people have systemic problem and hence cannot change their style.

If the corporate leaders and the HR function really understand these people, can ‘convert’ these people as real performers not only the organization would benefit, but such people also becomes successful.

But in most instances, the corporate easily brand these people as ‘stupid’, rigid and least flexible. We cannot expect a kangaroo to walk backward. Kangaroo uses its tail to balance its body. To walk backward, the kangaroo has to make the tail defunct and functionless. In other word, has to learn to walk with two legs or become strictly and exclusively biped.

The behaviour of most people can have a link in the anatomy as well. The anatomy of Emus and Kangaroos are only limiting these animals to walks backward. These animals may not have the behavioural limitation or some attitudinal issues and hence they refuse to walk backward.

Similarly, for some corporate leaders, some functional or ‘yet to be known reasons’ may be holding them ‘to become’ different. The concepts, the view points, the decisions, the opinions etc., once formed in these people, they may not change those belief systems so easily in rest of their life. Many corporate would find it hard to deal with such people. Once the existence of such ‘anomaly’ is respected, such people can be guided to do wonders without conflicting with their ‘original’ nature.

Only wise leaders and the ‘true’ HR function can tap such resources properly. The rigid people can do wonders than the so called ‘flexible’ people. The task assigned to such people should support and compliment the limitation/rigidity of the people and should not challenge or threat them. Understand the nature, its vastness and variety and the management principles it contains and so are the diversity & the structure and function. Every aspect of nature, however big or small, has a strong management message for the corporate world to learn.

Dr S Ranganathan, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai