Outsource parental care... a corporate message

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Are they, the Malleefowl, indifferent or irresponsible or wise & intelligent or confident?  What is so unique about the Malleefowl that live in some parts of Australia?

 

This bird follows a very unique method of rearing the chicks.  They seldom spent time either with the eggs by way of incubating them or caring the chicks until they become ‘self reliant’.

 

The Malleefowl, during winter, dig a huge pit and fill the pit with wide variety of organic materials like leaves etc., and allows them to decompose.  Ones the process of decomposition starts, the female bird lay eggs on the top of the pit and cover them with soil.  The heat generated during decomposition of the organic matter, the eggs hatches out. 

 

The processing rearing chicks from eggs and the absolute science involved in the above process are clearly known to the Malleefowl.  Their knowledge would have definitely given them the confidence and understanding that they need not spend time or effort in incubating the eggs and the same can be achieved easily through different means. 

 

The bird Malleefowl represents how the knowledge should give confidence and the confidence should enable one to act wisely instead of wasting effort and time.  The corporate people must ponder as to what extend their knowledge makes them confident and they are functioning confidently. 

 

For the parent birds to refrain from the inborn biological responsibility of incubating the eggs is not easy.  They learned the fact that by incubating the eggs, they are providing nothing but providing only constant warmth to the eggs.  When adequate warmth is provided, the eggs hatch automatically.  To achieve the above, either the birds (male and female) in shift can do the incubation or can explore some alternative methods.   Exploring some alternative method does not mean one is bequeathing the responsibility of parenting or become indifferent or insensitive.  This might be the philosophy of Malleefowl. Despite having the knowledge of how to rear the chicks, the bird if fails to do so means, the knowledge what the bird have is not complete.  Incomplete knowledge never makes one confident.

 

Many corporate bosses despite having complete knowledge of the project and knowing well about the capability of the subordinate whom the responsibility of completing the project work is given, will involve in each and every stage.  They cannot give freedom to their subordinates because they lack trust. 

 

Naturally when one lacks trust, the knowledge become redundant or goes waste.  Knowledge should give confidence and confidence should eliminate trustless ness, only then leaders with freedom of thinking and doing would emerge.   Look at the behaviour of Malleefowl and never call such behaviour as strange and quixotic.  The corporate leaders and the HR function must do an internal audit as to see whether the corporate bosses are really confident about delegation.  

 

The management message of the Malleefowl is that the people in corporate should never create conflict between their knowledge and trust.  Knowledge is trust and hence one must trust the knowledge. 

 

Dr S Ranganathan, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai

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