A few weeks back I was watching an interesting video about the Indian Army. The speaker in that video (Capt. Raghuraman) spoke about how the Army trains not one soldier, but an entire platoon. Which means any mission given to the platoon is carried out by the platoon. There isn’t room for an individual soldier’s idiosyncrasies.
Which led me to wonder, “Isn’t a corporate entity really a training organization?” Aren’t the team members getting trained on- the- job everyday, till they are able to function as one team? At- least, I believe this is what every organization is desirous of, even though the results might sometimes disappoint.
I am personally aware of senior employees who have completed more than 20 years in a single organization. Of course they have risen through the ranks, going on to take up bigger challenges as they grew. This notwithstanding, they have also shown themselves to have become highly trained in the way the organization works. This is why they are able to perform under such high levels of expectations. A newcomer, on the other hand is in no position to do this- the newcomer really does not know what he does not know.
It is on this accord that I often suggest to the junior candidates to stick it out in the companies that they will join. It takes a certain amount of time, a certain number of mistakes and a certain number of successes that go on to shape the employees’ personalities. Through their rectifications and celebrations is when the real training and moulding takes place.