From the success and failure of lion, learn how to appraise your subordinate

Why do many amateur predatory animals fail to hunt in the beginning of their life? How can the predatory animals ensure and achieve success in hunting? Most of the predatory animals like lion, tiger, cheetah, leopard etc., always try to reach the neck of the prey animals while hunting.

It is easy to kill the prey by choking or strangulation. This is well known to all the predatory animals. Whenever the predatory animal catches other parts of the body of the prey animal than the neck, the hunt success is quite uncertain. Most occasions, the predatory animals would fail miserably when they had failed to catch the neck of the prey quickly.

The corporate leaders must understand the important management message that only when the right ‘intervention’ is made by hitting the core point or issue, they can make a difference. In most occasions, the dialogue between the boss and subordinates encircles ‘trivial’ and ‘diagonal’ issues than the core issue and that would ultimately lead to conflicts and confusion.

Most of the bosses in general especially during performance appraisal time, love to quote the ancient and archaic incidents about the subordinates with clear intent to denigrate and belittle. A few years ago, what stupidity the subordinates might have done, the bosses would like to quote than what improvement is required in the given task. They leave the main issue and divulge into other issues just to settle the score with the subordinates.

The purpose of such meeting - appraisal, both of them miss to respect and the entire exercise of appraisal may end up disastrously in most corporate. It is like how a lion or cheetah when fails to catch the neck of the prey loses the hunt, the right intervention, and right issues are when not discussed, the failure becomes certain.

The corporate employees have to learn a lot both from the success and failure of the predatory animal in its hunt. If it had succeeded, one needs to know how it had and if it fails, why it had failed. During all corporate meetings and discussions, a right issue and right intervention are inevitable.

Another important management message also the above example conveys to the corporate people. Only when the predatory animal catches the neck of the prey, it can quickly and meaningfully culminate its effort. If it allows the struggle of the prey animal to prolong, its struggle too would prolong.

If the boss wants to increase the suffering of his subordinates, in the process, he will be also increasing his own sufferings.

Supports and the help received by every one of us are always directly proportional to what we offer or extend to others. If this important management message is not well understood by the corporate people they will be doing nothing but degrading the values and ethics of the organization.

Dr. S Ranganathan