(The Second in the Series-III of ‘The 7 Mavens of SOPs’)
By Dinesh P. Bhrushundi @ dbknowledgey©
Profound Gratitudes, yet again from ᵭᵱᵬ’the मितवा’ for Great Response to Series-I & II, and a grand welcome to Series-III of ‘The 7 Mavens of SOPs’
As you know by now, ‘ᵭᵱᵬ’ is my initial and ‘मितवा’, a Marathi acronym for Friend (मित्र), Philosopher (तत्वज्ञ) and Guide (वाटाड्या), my humble role to ‘Sit Back and Give Back’, after 4 decades of career.
Series Title: ‘7 Mavens of SOPs’ is expression for instilling some of my learnings as “seven propositions in sets of seven SOPs (norms)”, befitting the human mental capacity and attention span. The collection of thoughts, ‘7 Steps Of Powering-People’ is about infusing ‘Engage2Excel’ or ‘E2E’ mentality in the young minds, mainly in to the two entities as they enter and till they exist there, students in the institute and members in the organization. In my viewpoint, ‘emPowering People’ is the trigger point for ‘E2E’, however, the ‘emPowering’ itself is a 7-step ladder (Ref Fig.)
EMPLOY(Enroll): This step marks the beginning of association of an individual with an industrial (or the institutional) establishment. It is very important from two standpoints, one which is obvious is the competency and another which is mostly (exceptions apart) overlooked is culture. A good deal scrutiny of both, to the set criteria, is a must to make the further journey joyful and existence effectual.
EDIFY: The step expects at least four aspects for the metamorphosis of (students and) members. Endeavors of (curriculum by institutions and) continuous learning programs by industries should help them: Educate, enlighten and elevate to evolve as a person ; Coach mentor and guide to become a (potential) professional; Inform, inculcate and impart to improve continuously as a (country) corporate citizen; and most importantly Nurture, cultivate and develop them to uplift as a human being.
ESPOUSE: The activation of this step should happen as a formal ‘Welcome Event’ as incumbents ENTER, persist till their association EXISTS and suitably continue even after their EXIT. Appropriate program (e.g. Counsel/ Buddy) to adopt the incumbents in groups or individuals can help to a great extent. Right forums to accept and aptly support their ideas should be formed and functioned. Such sponsors should at times stand up and defend the first few errors of comrades to promote the culture of ‘fail fast to learn fast’.
ENTHUSE: Two things drive human actions: necessities- food, sleep, avoidance of pain; and rewards. Any object, event, or activity can be a reward if it motivates us, causes us to learn, or elicits pleasurable feelings. To motivate is one of the various aspects associated with this step. The environment should be made conducive enough to inspire the fire in the belly and trigger innovativeness in mind of the inmate. It should galvanize actions to initiate meaningful changes which are appropriately incentivized to activate the reward mechanism of the brain.
EXPERIMENT: Another important step helping to empower people is EXPERIMENT. It has got two connotations: one the ‘practical content’ in the learning pack; and the degree of freedom to fearlessly carry out implementations of ideas. The adults learn more through experiential approach than conventional, thus the curriculum or the continued learning interventions should be so designed and devised. The freedom for test and trial will give tolerance for that one error for want of which one will hesitate to try at all.
ENCOURAGE: It is said that ‘Success has many fathers, but failure is often orphan. This step enunciates the necessity to own up the failure just in case. The sponsors must cheer up the efforts despite their not being up to the desired level of the achievement. They should support the members to take a deep and detached look to objectively reflect on the situation and support them to gain insights from such understanding. They must boost the morale, buoy up the subdued sentiments of members. The very thought of presence of someone to reassure, helps push the bar up. If they do not learn to take calculated risks and take informed decisions for the fear of failure it is in fact the failure of the sponsor.
EXAMINE: This is qualifying step which entails a well thought of means on the part of the sponsor to test the learning of the member so far and to assess the degree of the risk appetite. It is important to check the approach and attitude exhibited, the skills and spirit shown and the knowhow and knack of finding silver lining demonstrated by the member. Identifying the fine tipping point which differentiates the ‘readiness’ of the member from a ‘bit more readying required’ is rather difficult. Hence a few (at least one) iterations of the ‘Experiment-Encourage-Examine’ is recommended to reach the point as precisely as possible.
I am sure, we all have been empowered at a point in time or empowering others at another. And we night have noticed/used these steps subconsciously. The attempt of explicitly expressing them is meant to enlighten the reader to consciously follow these and effectively empower people and expedite the ‘Engage2Excel’ culture
Bestest!
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