ENEMIES OF THE ORDINARY-Kamals position

While growing up, I came across a latinic phrase which says “Aut optimum, aut nil” which simply means “either the best or nothing at all”, ever since I have made up my mind never to stand plain and undistinguished. I have made up my mind not follow the customary, usual and normal but to constantly think out of the box, increase my bandwidth and birth the unusual. In essence, I declared a war against mediocrity and the average; I became an enemy of the ordinary.

Taking a quick look at those who have sculptured our world positively, I discovered that they were men and women who dared to take a stand different from the norm and refused anything commonplace and unexceptional. Early twentieth century, all the giants in the field of engineering came out with a consensus that “Metals can never fly” postulating different theories and backing their position with several mathematical facts, but Orville and Wilbur Wright refused to share in the opinion of the multitude and that’s why we have airplanes today; imagine what life would have been without aero planes today.

A call to be an enemy of the ordinary is a call to personal freedom; it’s a call to forever nail the coffin of mediocrity. It’s a deliberate attempt of moving from problem solving to creativity and from being reactive to being proactive. It’s an attempt to help deep- divers not to struggle in shallow waters because of the fear of the unknown. In my quest of being an enemy of the ordinary, I came across Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inaugural speech, which I believe should be a uniform anthem for all willing to take this route.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us

We ask ourselves

Who am I to be brilliant, talented, gorgeous, fabulous?

Who are you not to be?

You are a child of God; your playing small doesn’t serve the world

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that others won’t feel insecure around you

You are created to make manifest the glory of God within us

It’s not in just some of us, it’s in everyone

And as we let our lights shine, we give others permission to do the same

As we are liberated from our own fears

Our presence automatically liberates others.

Qualities of HR Leader

1. Leads – Inspirational Leader, initiates and leads change, shapes definition of the future and influences direction of company, provides long term solutions, delivers results, leaves a legacy of positive lasting contribution
2. Role Models the companies principles and values
3. Drives HR Competitive advantage for the Company and is connected to the external community
4. Demonstrates strategic understanding of the business, it’s leverage points and it’s organizational implications
5. Masters business partnering skills: influential, collaborative and effective communicator. – coach counselor and confidant to business leaders

6 Demonstrates breath and understanding of multiple business units

7. Demonstrate global understanding of multiple regions’ and countries’ business and organization

8. Delivers results through multi-skilled technical competencies in HR

9. Delivers capacity and diversity within, as well as beyond, the HR discipline

10. Balances stewardship of interests of consumers, shareholders, business leaders and employees.

Enemies of the Ordinary

The ordinary embodies mediocrity and not excellence. The ordinary thrives on the status-quo. You sustain the ordinary in your comfort zone. It does not stretch the mind, body or spirit. The ordinary does not generate controversy. The ordinary is not creative. It is just like the other output and so operates in the competitive plane.

I am a legend and an enemy of the ordinary. The ordinary has room now and not in the future. The ordinary conforms. I embrace change and I am willing to learn, unlearn and relearn. “The gift of the ordinary man will make room for him but the gift of the legend will make room for other people”[1].

The ordinary does not attract high net worth attention. It has and adds little value. The ordinary is born out of an ordinary vision or dreams, average inputs and processes and results ultimately into an ordinary output. The ordinary does not command a leadership position. The ordinary is a perpetual follower. The ordinary lacks ‘differentiation’ and does not demonstrate the desire to be at the top. The ordinary does not stand out.

Passion and a desire to get things done are attributes that produce the extraordinary. You must be willing to be adaptable, agile and try new things to achieve the extraordinary. It requires individuals who are high spirited and strive for personal excellence to deliver. It takes renewing the mindset, clarifying issues and working with team mates to develop solutions that meet client needs.

The ordinary does not see ahead. It does not aim for the best or incredible. It does not go the extra mile. If you desire to give something back to the society then like me, you must be the enemy of the ordinary. You cannot afford to pursue yesterday’s agenda today. The ordinary carries along excess baggage i.e. it carries along habits, culture and people that it does not need.

The ordinary does not encourage a vigorous personal and professional growth through training and development. The ordinary is an ally of ineffectiveness, inefficiency and sub-optimal productivity. The ordinary does not satisfy the customer and so cannot generate or sustain a long term revenue stream.

The extraordinary makes business productive and fun at the same time. It takes tough yes and no decisions i.e. it takes a stand. It delivers on promises and does not compromise on quality. The extraordinary finds a better way everyday. It challenges the process and seeks to improve by building on a continuous idea flow.

I am intelligent, talented, disciplined, focused and powerful beyond measure. I cannot stand the ordinary.

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[1] © Adeosun Oluyemi Theophilus

Beefs at the Work Place....{conclusion}

I have had the privileged to witness how groups operate when they are divided into teams and some form of competition is introduced. As soon as their results start to vary, beefs start to set in. The trailing teams gang up to beef the leading team.

People beef others when they feel their chances of picking the prize is been threatened or diminished by others. People beef the man of the moment. People beef the man that is achieving result (or has the potential to). If you are a victim of “beef” that’s an indication that you have got greatness emanating from you.

Don’t “beef” others…….be creative

Creativity puts you in a class of you own. It places you ahead of the pack. Instead of envying someone learn from him and add to your knowledge base then come out with a better performance. Creativity makes you see your colleagues as complimenting your efforts and vice versa. The internal rivalry stays healthy and does not jeopardize organisational success. Creativity makes you innovative i.e. keep seeking ways to improve on processes, reduce cost and improve quality.

…….Coping under intense beef…..

v Anticipate the beef – if you are a goal getter know that beefs will come. This will at least prevent you from shock when you start perceiving it. For every mission their will probably be opposition.

v Talk to your professional mentors- your problems become small and inconsequential at the feet of the masters

v Know that it wont last forever- after a while the beef will stop. Evil carries within itself a self destruct mechanism.

v Don’t take it personal-it’s hard to do but do it all the same. Don’t hate or resent people who beef you. See them as your allies.

v Beef exposes your gifts and talent- you discover during this period hidden area of strengths that you have and untapped sources of energy that you were not aware of.

v Don’t bother to appease them- trying to appease colleagues who beef you usually aggravate the situation. Just ignore the beefs. Don’t disdain them but treat them as if they compliment you.

v Reach out to the invincible hand-Adams Smith believed in the activities of the “Invincible Hand” so do I. Put your hand in his hands and he will see you through the beef.

v Improve your performance- this is not the time to chicken out. Rather develop your capacity to deliver more. Nothing calms down critics like consistent results. Put your mind to work. When the opposition strikes, don’t let your mind go on strike.

My friend has weathered the beef. He has gotten a promotion and a raise. His outstanding value adding service has finally gotten the attention of the boss. Thank God he didn’t throw in the towel. Will you?

© Oluyemi Adeosun

www.yemiadeosun.blogspot.com

Beefs at the workplace

Objectives

• To make people realize the futility of “beefing” colleagues at work.
• To teach people who are victims of “beefs” how to overcome the challenge.

In those days, when you hear the word “beef” it referred to something pleasant i.e. cow meat but more recently, beef is a word more often used to describe a negative feeling for someone or something. I would like to put the records straight by defining the term “beef” as a situation where an individual or group of people is persecuting, finding fault, talking down, watering down or ridiculing someone’s effort or input in the organisation. It may also lead to withdrawal of support for the individual.

Let’s take a case sample of a friend of mine, who was a victim of beefs in his office, he noticed the following actions

v Responsibilities that were supposed to accrue to him were assigned to other people.

v He was denied access to training opportunities.

v His superiors/colleague did not teach him things he ought to be taught. He was forced to learn the hard way.

v During appraisal he is consistently rated C

v He couldn’t apply for a raise(because his workload is small even that is not his making)

v He was told “what” to do and not “how”. He was denied the benefits of his superior’s experience.

Have you ever been the target of a “beef?” Do you “beef” your colleagues?

I asked my friend a question and I will like to put it across to you. Why are you the target of a beef? Do you beef other people?