Designationsss!!!

A Designation... When you dont have one, then you want it.. and When you have one, then you may not want the responsibility that comes along with it. Nevertheless, it feels good to have a nice fancy designation. Doesnt it? Whether you deserve it or not is secondary.

However, one would have to agree that in the recent past with the advent of the new age "Knowledge-based" organisations, organisational hierarchy as we knew it 20 years back in the traditional manufacturing industries has gone out of the window. Today I can be an Assistant Vice President at the age of 23 and a Vice President at probably 26. If something like this were to happen back in the old days, even the thought of it would have been blasphemous.

However, with the advent of the "MBAs"; the guys who think they know it all even before they start working, throwing fancy designations has become to norm with all companies looking to attract the best talent from business schools.

In the previous generation of Baby Boomers if you got promoted once in 3 or 4 years, you were considered to be a fast tracker and had a bright career ahead if you stayed with the company. These individuals would actually be excited that they got promoted. Today with Gen Y, if they dont get promoted one year, then suddenly, the company is not all that good as it was when they joined or growth prospects are limited or they they look at joining competition at a higher designation. Promotions are like salary increments these days. People expect them at least once a year. And hence, organisations have devised their own ways and means of keeping Gen Y happy year after year. No wonder, designations today have a number of prefixes like, "Additional, Assistant, Deputy, Senior, Executive, Associate, Joint" which have ensured that a normally flat organisational structure has been turned into something else altogether with 500 AVPs, 1000 Deputy Managers, 30 Joint Directors etc etc.

If you looked at it this way, would you be 1 among thousands or 1 among 3 or 4... To elucidate further, this is the very difference between someone who is the Vice President "IN" a company and someone who is the Vice President "OF" a company. In the former, you probably will be swimming in the sea with thousands others as is the case with some of the multinatonal banks which started the fancy designation throwing back in the early 1990s. However in the latter, you are probably one among 3 or 4 people in the company and your actions have a huge impact on the fortunes of the company as is the case with large manufacturing firms.

So why is that people stuck to companies even when they werent getting promoted every year? Well, this can be answered in many ways. One, they were loyal to the company. Today loyalty is probably a function of the money one draws from their jobs. Two could be that there lack of options. The economy was still protected and there probably was no other place to go so they stayed put. As we know, today opportunities are limitless and the world is your playground. Three, they were probably looking at security whereas today, most are just looking at more money rather than anything else..

Good things always come to patient people. Please note, its patient and not lazy or lackadaisical. However in our Gen Y, people like this are few and far between as everyone is benchmarking themselves with the most successful person they know in their age group and wants to surpass them. Yes, some guys get what they want and yes they get it when they want and yes you feel they dont deserve to be where they are. But thats life and at some point you have to accept it. But having a fancy MBA tag from a top B-school only gives you a head start in your career and doesnt guarantee success in the long run. Those who win in the long run will be those, who have the grit, the determination and the perseverance to overcome all challenges presented to them and emerge victorious.

Ever wondered what the longevity of sprinter's career is as compared to that of a marathon runner? The answer is simple. Whereas sprinters peak between 19 - 24 years and have a rather short lived career, marathon runners are at their prime much later when they are in their 30s and they go on running till they are well into their 40s. Though both probably start their careers at the same age and work equally hard, sprinters achieve success much earlier however as they get closer to their mid and late 20s their career is over.

So I will leave you with one question. Would you rather be a sprinter or a marathon runner?