24th March 2018, will
go down as a monumental day in the history of cricket. On this day, sometime in
the afternoon, a visual came up on screen of Cameron Bancroft, a young
Australian cricketer trying to use a yellow coloured piece to alter the
condition of the ball. A few minutes later, another visual came up on screen,
where he was trying to push it down the front of his trousers.
A huge uproar broke out in the
entire cricketing fraternity. It was speculated that if a young Mr. Bancroft
was trying to alter the condition of the ball, this would never be without the
knowledge of the team think tank. In the evening, the smokescreen cleared.
Steve Smith the young Australian captain confessed that it was a plan from the
team think tank to try and make some impact on the game. He confessed that some
senior players in the team were in the know of the plan, and that they acted
out of desperation.
While it was extremely brave to
come out and confess, their hands were forced by damming circumstantial
evidence. As an immediate impact, Smith and his deputy David Warner have been
stripped of their captaincy and vice captaincy respectively. Australia as an
entire sporting nation is in shock at this development. Even the Australian
Prime Minister Michael Turnbull is outraged at this incident. At the time of
writing this, the cricketing future of both Steve Smith and David Warner is
uncertain.
The similarity of this incident
to Corporate Behaviour is unmistakable. To me this incident isn’t any different
from a Company trying to cook its books to show better profits. Or any policy
to bribe an official to get that favoured contract. Or an action to mis-sell
the product to achieve sales targets. There are two elements that need analysis.
Whatever the outcome, one cannot
dispute the fact that Steve Smith is an extremely talented batsman, maybe among
the best among his generation. While he has definitely put in the hard work and
hard yards, there is no mistaking the fact that he is used to winning; used to
get great returns from his batting. He sets very high standards of himself.
This in itself is a double edged sword. When the expected results are in danger
of not matching to the expected high standards, is there a fear of
failure? And if so can a high achiever
cope with failure? If not, will he resort to unfair means to pre-empt failure?
A similar danger is very evident
in Corporate Life where the high performer gets into a leadership position. For
a supremely talented and intelligent person, initial success comes very fast.
He / She is a high achiever both in school as well as University. Even when
they come into the workplace, they are the ones who achieve targets, and even
get promoted faster. However as levels rise, the challenge starts getting
tougher. These super achievers are so talented that they will even surmount the
tough challenges. However there will come
a time in their careers where the next target isn’t easily achievable.
These people aren’t used to ‘not achieving’. I will not use the word failure
but use it as ‘under achievement’ as per their standards. It is when these
people may try to use different, maybe unethical methods to achieve their
success.
So my piece of advice to managers
and HR people is this. Whenever you see a super talented person and a super
achiever, go slow on him or her. Delay that promotion. Tell him / her that even
though their performance was great, they need to spend more time before they
are eligible. This will be their first test of ‘under achievement’. See how
they deal with this. It will be a test of their resilience. If they survive and
come out with flying colours, you are creating great talent. If they leave in
pursuit of greener pastures, be happy, you have protected your organisation
from potential future damage.
The above is a generalisation,
and some people will always do the right thing.
Let us now examine the role of
Cameron Bancroft, the youngest player of the team. I am not sure whether he was
entrusted with the task, or he overheard the conversation and decided to do it
on his own. A lot of young leaders will blindly follow the instructions of the
boss even if they are border on the infringement of the law or morality. Or
some of them would try and achieve success to please the boss. As young
professionals I would request them to use their judgement. Please do not do
anything wrong or morally incorrect just to get success. It will impact you in
the long run.
If I were part of the Indian
cricketing fraternity, this would be an opportunity. As I say, Steve Smith has
already stepped down as captain of Rajasthan Royals. If I was in charge of
Indian cricket, I would recommend rescinding the contracts of Smith and Warner
from the forthcoming Indian Premier League. Would the punishment be too harsh?
Maybe yes. But for a sport which is flirting with controversy, it is time to
send a message.
After all, winning isn’t
everything. Winning in the right manner is.
