`Spot the shirt sleeves at work and learn from them'

• There are `doers' and `talkers' in every organisation and an intelligent new recruit can soon learn to distinguish between them.
• While office meetings may be important in an organisation, very little useful information is actually shared.
  
• A newcomer can listen carefully and spot who are the people who express practical ideas, based on facts and the realities of the market and who just spout high-sounding jargon.
• Many seniors will only be too happy to share their knowledge and experience if you ask them.
  
• Some senior managers are always interacting with subordinates, rolled up sleeves, and all while others rarely come out of their rooms.
• The most competent person in any team will be valued, and perhaps, be the first to reap the rewards, says this interesting article in The Hindu.
  

- Dilip

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Source: The Hindu, 03-07-2006

`Spot the shirt sleeves at work and learn from them'

Special Correspondent

`In an office where there is free interaction across the hierarchy, a newcomer can quickly learn the competencies required'

Bangalore: Spot the "shirt sleeves at work" and learn from them how things really happen in your organisation, says management expert and writer Susan Marshall in one of her books.

"There are `doers' and `talkers' in every organisation and an intelligent new recruit can soon learn to distinguish between them,'' says G. Chandrasekhar, former faculty of a management school. This becomes important because new recruits have already learnt the management theory or technical knowledge they can acquire while at college. What is now required is to see how systems actually work in real life.

While office meetings may be important in an organisation, very little useful information is actually shared. Most employees with really worthwhile suggestions want them to reach the top management directly and take credit for them.

But a newcomer can listen carefully and spot who are the people who express practical ideas, based on facts and the realities of the market and who just spout high-sounding jargon.

Corporate coaches suggest that the new recruit should try to cultivate the first sort while not exactly avoiding the second. Whether your company has a formal "mentoring" system or not, many seniors will only be too happy to share their knowledge and experience if you ask them.

"Too often many young management graduates think they have little to learn from a senior with less academic qualifications... they are making a serious mistake,'' says Prof. Chandrasekhar.

While the way companies function may sound uniform and similar in textbooks, in reality there are always significant differences, based on the kind of leadership an organisation has. Some senior managers are always interacting with subordinates, rolled up sleeves, and all while others rarely come out of their rooms.

In an office where there is free interaction across the hierarchy, a newcomer can quickly learn the competencies required, he says.

This comes out of a thorough understanding of what his or her specific role is, what is expected of them and how they can enhance the quality of their output. A fresher can learn the basics of such essential competencies in a few weeks and then build up on them.

The most competent person in any team will be valued, and perhaps, be the first to reap the rewards.