Bridging / THE GAP

Even civil servants can't resist change

KRIENGSAK NIRATPATTANASAI

I have just published two new books in Thai: Coaching by Story 1 and Coaching by Story 2. They contain 61 good stories about positive attitudes, management, leadership and coaching. These simple and inspired stories can serve as coaching tools for managers who want to help their people perform to their potential. Today we present the second of four excerpts, on Management.

A group of Taweeporn's old friends met at his father's funeral. After the ceremony, they had a chat. Puwanai, who works at a multinational corporation (MNC), started by discussing his workplace.

''There have been a lot of changes in my organisation lately _ new projects, new initiatives. Some planned product launches stopped, other unplanned ones started. It's like chaos there. I wonder whether management knows what they are doing.''

Swang, who works in a large local firm, added: ''I thought it was only happening in my firm. My company has been forced to change due to changes in our customers and suppliers. They have changed their organisations, people and processes.''

Taweeporn, who works at a government bureau, added with a surprise. ''It's happening at my organisation as well. My agency just got a new leader who was an outsider. Under his CEO leadership style, things aren't the same. Most of our staff are resistant to the change, including me.''

Puwanai threw a question at another friend: ''What do you think, Anan? You're the wise man.''

Anan, a management consultant at a leading international consultancy, smiled. Among the group, he is seen as intelligent as well as a good listener with a lot of wisdom from his experience and reading.

''What you're talking about is a phenomenon that has been happening globally,'' Anan says. ''It started around 10 years ago in the West. Since the collapse of communism, the free market has grown dramatically. As well, the Internet and technology have changed the way we live. The saturation of media is another thing that has accelerated the change.

''Mergers and acquisitions have been happening all over the world. Every month there is at least one megadeal. Each time, it affects thousands of employees, customers, suppliers, government and shareholders all over the world. As Swang just mentioned: even a Thai firm like his has felt the impact from the change.''

Swang raised his viewpoint with optimism. ''Mai pen rai. Soon things will cool down and it will be business as usual.''

Most of the friends nodded, with a heavy sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, Anan disagreed. ''Guys, you may not like what I have to say but I really mean well. You're too optimistic and do not live in the real world. The chaos will not stop. The speed of change will be even faster and more unpredictable.''

Taweeporn a civil servant, known by his friends to hold conservative views, amicably challenged Anan with a smile. ''Why is that, Anan?''

Anan replied, ''It's simple. Competition! On the one hand, you can see that many organisations have expanded their capacities in order to gain economy of scale. They have surplus supplies that can be sold at low prices. On the other, you have China penetrating markets all over the world with cheap products. China knows that the quality of its products has room for improvement and its manufacturers won't stop. Other factors are technology and customer demand.''

Puwanai asked, ''What should we do then?''

Anan explained, ''First, as we are talking now, we should open our eyes to the new paradigm. Nothing is predictable anymore. We have to learn to be flexible, in line with prevailing situations. This means we need to have more than one scenario when it comes to planning. We have to communicate even more effectively since there are several catalysts to change in various aspects. If we fail to communicate well, people who have to make decisions will not have enough information to make sound judgments.

''As change accelerates, there will be more and more grey areas. We cannot demand clear-cut job descriptions any more. Hence, we should have an entrepreneurial mindset. It doesn't matter if this task is mine or someone else's. If it benefits our stakeholders, I'll do it. We have to wear the entrepreneur hat and put up a sign, 'The Buck Stops Here', not 'The Buck Starts Here'.''

Puwanai raised his concern, ''But we have to work harder and be more accountable. What's in it for us?''

Anan said, ''The more you work, the more your skills and capabilities improve. It means you've added value to yourself. But you have to step out of your comfort zone. You cannot afford to be sabai sabai (easy-going) any more.

''Why? Because we'll never know whether one day the organisation may stop hiring us. Your jobs may no longer be worth handling internally and the organisation might decide to outsource your work or your company might merge with another and your job may suddenly become redundant.

''There is no such thing as a guarantee or job security anymore. The only security you can have is the knowledge that you are capable and have a better chance for employment than others. And the easiest way to enhance your personal value is to ask for more work and more responsibilities.''

Kriengsak Niratpattanasai is the founder of TheCoach, specialising in executive coaching in leadership and cross-cultural skills. Copies of previous columns are available at www.thaicoach.com. He can be reached at 02-517-3126 or coachkriengsak@yahoo.com

Bangkok Post

Monday April 09, 2007