Opinions of Monday, 29 December 2014

Auteur: Dr S Ranganathan

Why people are noisy?...a HR message

Some people are noisy while some are very silent, less interactive and secluded in nature. The noisy people are also known to pick up quarrel with others often. Image the role of these people in corporate. The question is how to manage these noisy, quarreling people in corporate ecosystem. This is a big question and a challenge to the HR function of most corporate. If we learn the nature properly, such people can be managed easily.

In animal world, we can find two types of behavioural dispositions viz., solitary and social. Most animals prefer social grouping, aggregation or well defined hierarchy based social living (Eu-social animals) in order to achieve safety and security. In social grouping, the animals do interact with each other. The interactions need not be always positive, it can also be fighting or teasing at each other.

Such interactions can be through body postures, aggression, making different kinds of sounds etc. Lion, wild dog, hyena, zebra, wild buffalo, different species of primates etc are some example for social animals.

On the contrary, the animals that are solitary like leopard, tiger, jaguar etc., seldom make noise. They are more focused in their mission than the social animals. The reason being is that they live a solitary, confined life and hence have to be extremely smart in sensing both the prey and their danger. So they make less noise.

In corporate we can definitely see people with both types of behavioural traits viz., social and solitary. But these traits often manifests as noisy, talkative, showy and fighting types. Most HR function when see such people, they engage them differently to avoid fights in the organization. The HR would then bring a non-fighting, lonely loving person as project or team head.

The people who are noisy and fighting types definitely have team instinct and spirit more than the people who are less noisy and love solitude. Team performers only will fit into team and not the solo performers. The exhibition of certain behaviour of people should not be defined in popular sense. It should be understood differently from its likely origin in respect to evolution.

Noisy and fighting people are generally the best team players. That is how such trait has evolved. Every behavioural disposition of people will tell us clearly about the leadership quality of people. Such understanding and interpretation is possible only if the HR function learn about nature, the beavioural traits of animals, their evolution and adaptation etc.

Remember, noisy and fighting people can really prove better to your team than the so called non fighters. Mending a team player to play in a team is easier than a solitary person to function in team.

But also know about people who are longing for attentions and recognition. Such people also make lot of noise either to through their weight or to prove their role worthy.

Especially when the owners and bosses of the company exhibit such behaviour, it would affect the culture and harmony of the organization. Most of the time, the power & authority go inversely proportional to the ability of people to understand and comprehend different subjects. When people realize such truths, become cranky and crazy at times and hence become fighter cocks. Let god save such organization.