Recent news has caught my attention and I decided to take a detour from ‘Innovation’ theme to write on it. It’s the news of Vikram Pandit resigning (or being fired) as CEO of Citibank. The fact that the news was broken on the day the firm delivered excellent results and beat market estimates makes it even more puzzling. But is there a reason to be puzzled? Does performance directly results in success? These are the questions that I’d like to address in this blog.
How many times have we seen someone at a higher level (let’s call him Raj) and wondered how did he end up there? We thought the bosses did not make the right decision or Raj flattered the bosses (or got lucky) to get the promotion. In all these thoughts, we always question bosses judgment or conclude that Raj is undeserving of the promotion. Here is where we make the mistake. We do not look to see what aspects of Raj have earned him the promotion because we are too narrowly focused on performance. As we go higher in the organization, performance is just one of the areas (Infact, social research exists that shows weak link between performance and success).
Let’s examine Vikram Pandit’s case a little bit more. Vikram Pandit has become CEO of Citibank in 2007, at a time when the bank was in dire straits. He worked through the difficult periods to turnaround the bank. He worked for a $1 per annum salary with no bonus for a period of two years. Under his leadership, the bank’s performance turned around and it posted five consecutive quarters of profits. Citibank’s Q3 2012 results beat market expectations and confirmed to one and all that finally Citibank is on a solid ground. He received congratulatory messages from one and all. But when he walked into Chairman’s office that evening, he was put in a situation where he had to resign.
If you look purely at performance, Vikram Pandit had one of the best runs with the bank. He successfully steered the bank through one of its most difficult periods, repaid $45 billion federal lifeline, rebuilt capital and focused on the growth of the bank. However, he could not build a strong base with the board. Warning bells should have rung when Michael O’Neill has become the chairman of the Bank in 2009. Michael O’Neill has been in the running for CEO of Citibank but lost the position to Vikram Pandit. When Michael became the chairman, Vikram Pandit should have focused on building stronger relationships with other board members. Earlier this year, Fed rejected Citibank’s proposal to buy back shares and Michael O’Neill took advantage of this opportunity to influence board members that Vikram Pandit is not right for the CEO role. Pandit’s inability to build relationship with board members and Fed has resulted in his losing the top job of the bank.
Fundamentally, many of us assume that the world that we are living in is fair and therefore if we do a good job, things will automatically happen to us. This is driven by our inherent need for predictability as it results in a ‘controllable’ world. Unpredictability worries us and therefore it is safe to assume that world is a fair place. In order to succeed, it is important take ‘control’ of the world as against operating in a ‘controllable’ world. It is also important to lose the idea that performance itself is enough for success (case in point – Vikram Pandit).
To attain success, it is important for Leaders to focus on the following areas (in addition to performance):
Visibility – It is important to be noticed and visible. Other things being equal, people prefer and choose what is familiar to them and what they have experienced before. This is common across cultures. Repeated exposure increases positive effect and reduces negative feelings. Familiarity also reduces uncertainty and people tend to prefer whom they know. Visibility also ensures that you occupy a higher mindshare with key stakeholders.
Build Relationships – It is important to build relationships that go beyond transactions. Relationships can only be built over time and hence it is important to invest time and energy proactively. While it is important to build relationships with those in power, it is equally important (if not more) to build them with those people who could get into power positions. Like a football game, yield will always be better if you are in position where the ball can potentially arrive as against chasing the ball in its current position. Relationships with those who could get into power would yield better results.
Influencing – Influencing skills are critical for success and it is even more important to influence the way your performance will be measured. It is important to acknowledge that we are not strong in all areas and no one can perform equally well in all aspects of their work. It is important to influence your job performance amongst those dimensions that favor your strengths and continuously highlight those areas. Marketing is an essential skill that we need to develop. It is important to market yourself on the dimensions that play to your strengths. If marketing is not your strength, build relationships with those who are good at it and leverage them to market yourself.
Manage your superiors – At the end of the day, Boss is important and we have to learn to manage him/her. Remember what is important to your Boss. Performance has many dimensions and once again, it is important to ask your Boss about dimensions that are important to him/her. Do not assume. Ask them what aspects of the job they think are critical and how they see what you ought to be doing. Note these down and compare these with your strengths/dimensions of performance that you can do well. If there is a mismatch, you know you have to influence. At the same time, ensure that the dimensions that are important for Boss (and those you are not extremely strong on) are well managed. Ask your Boss for advice and assistance (most of us assume that asking Boss for advice or assistance is seen as weakness by them). In fact, it still conveys your competence and command of the situation while helping build a stronger relationship with your boss.
Performance is important but is not sufficient to result in success. It is important to work on the above aspects to result in success. In addition to the above, you need to demonstrate following traits to be successful: Ambition, Energy, Focus (on activities that play to your strengths), Self-knowledge (knowledge about oneself) and a reflective mindset, Confidence (and ability to project self-assurance), ability to read others (and empathize with their point of view) and capacity to tolerate conflict.
If only Vikram Pandit focused on building better relationships with Board members and Federal Bank; changed the dimensions of his work to strengths he brings to the job and read the others better (the intentions of the chairman), he may still have been the CEO of Citibank. Now, was that a fair decision by the Board? Who said the world is fair? What about you? Are you geared up to be successful in this ‘unfair’ world? What aspects do you need to focus on?
