Are YOU the right person in the right place? This morning, in my personal development hour, I came across a wise observation by King Solomon of Israel. He said:
“There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!”
Ecclesiastes 10:5-7, NLT
While this is one of the ironies of life, applied to the management of human resource, these are Human Resource mistakes that those in charge often make:
1. Giving great authority to foolish people. This is a strong statement, isn’t it? But isn’t it true that often we find people in the office of the Head of department who are fit to be in the “lowest” position in the company by virtue of their character, level of productivity, attitude to work, time management, motives for work, interpersonal skills, anger management, organization, and strategic thinking? Woe unto you if you’re the one being referred to here!
2. Giving low positions to people of proven worth. I often say that positions don’t matter; one can lead from anywhere. True indeed, because many entities are being influenced by this “tea girl” who places every cup on every table with a smile and a listening ear, having information in almost every office, and speaking wisely into the lives of every worker. Everyone actually calls her ‘mama’ despite her age. That said, however, there are things that won’t happen without being in certain positions in an organization. That’s why specific people who have over a period of time proven their worth should be cascaded into certain positions so they can add more significant value to the programs and processes of the institution from that vintage point. Organizational politics is what keeps people of proven worth in low positions to the disadvantage of the whole entity.
3. Dishing out great perks and non-pecuniary benefits to those who don’t deserve them, leaving the high performers unrewarded. This will always happen where there is no human resource and performance management system in place amidst having many staff on board. And it frustrates the high performer while keeping the underperformer in his laid-back position. How is your rewards (and sanctions) policy? What are the welfare guidelines like?
Conclusion:
When I shared this, my friend Horeb Mpobwengye responded:
“You are making me remember the statement that people with power have no ideas and those with ideas have no power.”
- Don’t you think it’s time to put the right people in the right places and also treat them as they deserve if we expect them to perform as they should?
- Like I reflected yesterday morning, it is not true that people are the most important resource; only the RIGHT people are.
- And when we find them, we are better off having them in the right places than throwing them anywhere we can find.
Share this sharing if you found it helpful.
#YouWillManage
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