The following was narrated to me over the weekend by a Professor of Finance and a former finance industry executive with experience in well known multinationals.
“Upon asking his supervisor about his not being promoted even after performing well at his job and being recognized for it as well, he was told that he was asking the wrong question! His supervisor told him “You’re asking the wrong question! You should ask – what should I do to get promoted?” Quite naturally, this confused the finance executive and now Professor all the more. Upon enquiring, he was told by his supervisor that he was undoubtedly very good at his job but hadn’t demonstrated leadership by developing a competent second rung of leadership. “You should make yourself redundant by growing out of your job to be promoted” was the message from the supervisor; else, upon promotion, who would do the executive’s job at least as well as it was being done?!
The executive took the message to heart. In the next 2 years, he was promoted over 4 times! “
Is the same promotion philosophy applicable in a startup as well? I believe it is.
A group of energetic, passionate and talented people come together to create a startup to realize their dreams. In the early days of the startup, when there’s ambiguity and amorphousness about the company’s structure, roles and responsibilities, it is understandable when the founders and early team members do everything and anything possible to get the job done right, on time. After a while, as the startup grows, a more formal structure comes into being.
To read the full, original article click on this link: People Growth in Startups – Are your employees rising to their level of incompetence?
Author: Sanjay Anandaram
