This is right in most organizations; There is always a mix between its employees as regards their performance and the roles they play in the organization’s hierarchy. Their outputs also set the demarcation between leaders, managers, and executives. There are outperformers, those performing to the best of their capability, while some may be lagging in delivering results.
All cannot be in leadership positions, and neither can all be managers or just in executive roles. There needs to be a proper equilibrium to maintain a sustainable corporate decorum.
Usually, the bell curve of the specific organization’s performance management is referred to in defining this sensitivity. An organization with a 10% C-suite and 30% managerial or 60% for executives, excluding blue-collar, is indeed for a sustainable enterprise.
In every organization, people do climb on the corporate ladder based on their skills, efforts and performance, and they land up wrestling for positions between C-suite and managers based on their performance. Even luck at times eases their progression, but for sure hard work and attributes of an excellent professional output remain the key to their success.
In the organization hierarchy, C-suite, Managers, Executives, and blue-collar all have a role to play. The C-suite is supposed to be leaders, enforcing strategy and vision; they carve their respect amongst their peers, line managers, and executives.
They manage their delegation and reinforce their lines of the domain to deliver results. Wherein the Manager awaits to get the definition of his role from his senior, implements instructions about the role play, given to them to manage their assigned Key Result Areas (KRAs). The executives are those under delegation and those in waiting to take orders.
Each of these roles can never be forced upon, but each finds its role play based on individual efforts, skill sets, and at times, given circumstances. In general, no executive can be confined to a specific position, unless individually influenced and self-imposed.
In order to reap the real benefit of the high-performance organization, its employee engagement strategy must focus on its executive’s category. That category is by far the largest in strength and critical to its sustainability. The executive group must not be left to enjoy their sweet spot or in reclining modes.
The organization must focus on bringing more and more to take front seats and eventually enter into the progression ladder. They should not be left to surrender to their fate or left out as an act bestowed on them as a matter of their destiny.
Therefore, it is important so to build a genuinely robust leadership pedigree in any enterprise, it should be risen within from Executives to the C-suite. Anyone can progress to a C-Suite position, and one does not need to be born with special instincts. Nevertheless, to be a leader with the impact, it would surely need all the attributes.
The ability to command with respect, engage people with the loftiness of vision, communicate by touching hearts, fairness, justice to all, relentless, self-reflection, and actions that call for collective good are some of the key attributes that support the rise from executive to C-Suite role.
Whilst all people are treated equal, their capabilities and circumstances to leverage the given opportunities and their strengths define their career growth. It is, therefore, not fair to expect all to be leaders or managers.
Naturally of these, some rise to be C-Suites, some as manager and some as just executives. Those lagging in performance expectations must not be seen with animosity or disability but be treated with care as by their own choice; they may have decided to occupy that slot.
It is likely that these find their happiness in their assumed avatar but must not be left out from the organizational engagement reach.
A good organization must engage them too, even if their performance cannot be turned around, but the organization can surely be benefitted from this outreach. In conclusion, the contribution by each level of the hierarchy is key for the sustainable growth of any organization.
The ability of any organization to engage with C-Suite, Managers and Executives whilst understanding their specific requirements to develop them for progression will define the success of the organization.
Source: Forbes Middle East